A Very Brief History of the Sephardic Jews

Chances are you may not have ever heard of the Sephardic Jews, or even realize that the Iberian Peninsula once held a large population of Jewish peoples. Sephardi simply means “Spanish” or “Hispanic” and is a reference to Sephard, a Biblical location. (Obadiah 1:20). The Sephardi people were Jews that migrated from North Africa into the Iberian Peninsula during the Reconquista (the period of Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula beginning around 711 AD). They established dense communities throughout the Peninsula and had distinct traits and customs that differed from the Ashkenazi Jews from Central Europe. However, much like the Ashkenazi, the Sephardic Jews of the Iberian Peninsula faced many attempts on their lives and ideals.

In 1391, mobs on two separate occasions attacked the Jewish communities in the Iberian Peninsula, The attack on June 6, saw the deaths of at least 4,000 Jews and thousands more were forced to convert to Catholicism as a means of avoiding execution. These events directly led to the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, or more commonly known as, the Spanish Inquisition. Originally, Isabella I of Castile, and her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon, requested a Papal bull (basically a kind of public decree supported by the Pope) to establish an inquisition into those conversos (Iberian Jews that had converted--against their will--to Catholicism). It was rumored that many of the conversos were still actively practicing Judaism and the Crown wanted to make Spain a Catholic state after centuries of Islamic rule. The Inquisition formally began in 1478 and intensified quickly.

The 1492 Alhambra Decree was an edict formally ordering the expulsion of all practicing Jews from the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. Jews were paraded through the streets and tried for “the crime” of practicing Judaism. Those found guilty were either expelled from the Peninsula or, more commonly, executed. The more intense periods of persecution lasted until the early 19th century. Collectively, at least 150,000 Sephardic Jews were charged with a crime and at least 3,000 Jews were executed. The Spanish Inquisition did not officially end until 1834 and the Alhambra Decree was formally rescinded in 1968.

It wasn’t until the latter half of the 19th century, although much worship was kept private, especially during the Spanish civil war (1936-1939). In the years surrounding WWII, thousands of Jews fled Nazi persecution and sought asylum in Portugal and Spain.

In 2013, Sephardic Jews descended from those expelled during the Inquisition are entitled to reclaim citizenship in Portugal under the “Law on Nationality”. In 2014, a similar law was passed in Spain.

The history of the Sephardi peoples is rich and extensive. This entry simply highlights a few significant events in that history. For more information on Sephardic Jews, check out Faith and Fanaticism: Religious Fervour in Early Modern Spain by Lesley Twomey.

The Inquisition Tribunal by Francisco de Goya (ca. 1819) depicts a tribunal during the Spanish Inquisition also called auto da fe (which in a completely non-ironic twist, translates to "act of faith") in which the accused were forced to wear pointed, paper hats called a coroza. Those found to be guilty of continuing to practice Judaism, were paraded about, humiliated, forced to convert to Catholicism or were executed.