The Jews of Iberia

PAUL BLAKELEY
Copyright © 2012 Author Name
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1500751448
ISBN-13: 978-1500751449
 DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the descendants of all the Spanish and Portuguese
Jews who suffered at the hands of the Inquisitors or were forced to convert or
leave Iberia
 CONTENTS
Acknowledgments i
Introduction 1
Pre-Inquisition Iberia 4
The Inquisition 16
Christopher Columbus 27
Survival Through the Inquisition 35
The Twentieth Century and 45
Onwards 57
Appendix 1 63
Appendix 2
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It would be wrong of me not to mention and acknowledge some of the

sources which helped in the compilation of this book.
The Jewish Encyclopaedia
Wikipedia
The Jewish History Sourcebook
Henry L. Golden and Martin Rywell, in their treatise, Jews in American History
Meyer Kayserling (1829-1905), Christopher Columbus and the Participation of the Jews in the
Spanish and Portuguese Discoveries
Simon Weisental, The Nazi Hunter
Sr. Mendoza, Beit Eliyahu, Belmonte
Ana Cavalho, The Jewish Museum, Castelo de Vide
Palacio de Los Olvidados, Granada
 INTRODUCTION

In January 2010 I received an email from a second cousin whom I never

knew existed. She revealed that I, as she, was a descendant of a Portuguese
Jewish Sephardic immigrant, Rafael DaCosta. Rafael, born in 1725, arrived
in England in 1746 together with his wife Ester and son Gabriel.
Whilst I am of the Jewish faith, I had up until that time been unable to
trace my family back beyond 1817 and had no idea that I was anything other
than Ashkenazi, let alone that my mother’s family name had originally been
DaCosta (latterly Costa) – the Costa name disappearing from my line of the
family in 1846 through marriage. It thus turned out that Rafael DaCosta was
my six times great grandfather. My mother had often said that somewhere
down the line her mother’s family were descendants of Spanish or Portuguese
Jews, but as a young man this seemed of little consequence to me.
Despite numerous attempts by family members to trace the family history,
prior to Rafael and Ester’s departure from Portugal, no information has been
forthcoming. I could therefore only speculate on their lives during the
Inquisition and the circumstances surrounding their escape from Portugal.
Since I live in Spain it was easy to visit Portugal in an attempt to learn
more about the crypto-Jews during the mid-Inquisition period. My
researches uncovered some fascinating information about this unfortunate era
in Iberian history, which resulted in my desire to further research the Jews of
Portugal and Spain.
My research was by no means comprehensive, but I got to visit some
fascinating places and speak with a number of interesting people.
As I’ve grown older my interest in Jewish history has increased. I am not
a religious man, nor am I a regular attender at a synagogue, but my ancestral
roots have proved to be of great importance to me. I am proud to be a Jew –
not just a member of a great religion, but of a genetic race of people, which
makes Judaism unique.
This book attempts to trace the history of the Iberian Jews from medieval
times, through the Inquisition, the diaspora, the survival of the Jews through
the Inquisition up to the modern day.
I was prompted to write the following account after having given a
successful illustrated talk at St Albans Synagogue in April 2014, entitled the
‘Iberian Jews and the Inquisition.’ The pages that follow are an expanded
version of my talk and contain much additional information.
In writing this account I understand that much research has been done by
others more eminent than I. My résumé does not claim to be comprehensive,
nor does it uncover any new material. What I hope it does achieve however,
is to provide an honest and concise account avoiding too much analysis,
postulation or embellishment of the facts.
Much of the information is available on-line on a variety of sites, but there
is no single site which collates a concise account of the Jews of Iberia, their
history and their heritage. I have attempted to draw together a number of
interesting, and in some cases little known facts. I have however
occasionally indulged myself in putting forward one or two of my own
thoughts and theories. Above all I hope the words which follow will prove to
be of interest to the reader.

Paul Blakeley
Royal Flamingos, Benahavís, (Málaga)
August 2014
 PRE-INQUISITION IBERIA
THE ROMANS, VISIGOTHS, MOORS AND CHRISTIANS

Although there are theories that Jews first came to the Iberian Peninsula
around 300 BCE with the Phoenicians – an area now encompassing Syria,
Lebanon and Northern Israel – there is no concrete evidence to suggest this is
little more than conjecture. Firmer evidence exists that Jews arrived in Spain
during the Roman era following the Roman’s conquest of Judea, with the
resulting diaspora extending to the far reaches of the Mediterranean Sea. It is
thought there were two influxes of Jews into Spain, after the destruction of
the first and second temples of Jerusalem. Thus the first arrival would have
been in 70 CE after the destruction of the first temple by the Roman Emperor
Vespasion. Biblical accounts tell of the Jews settling in a far off land named
Sepharad which was translated as Aspamia, which is generally believed to be
Hispania or Spain. Sephardi Jews still identify Spain as Sepharad in modern
Hebrew.

The Roman Province of Hispania

During the Roman period the Jews of Iberia had a comparatively trouble-free
life; they were employed in a variety of occupations and had tolerable
relationships with the non-Jewish community. The same could not be said of
the Jews living further east where Christianity had become the dominant
religion.
Whilst the expulsion of Jews from Iberia or their conversion to
Christianity is generally associated with the 1492 Spanish Inquisition and
1536 in Portugal, the phenomenon of Jewish persecution, conversion and
expulsion can be traced back as far as the early seventh century. At that time
the number of Iberian Jews totalled in excess of 100,000. Things
dramatically changed when the ruling Visigoths converted to Catholicism and
began to employ Christian edicts for the persecution of the Jews. In 613 CE
the Visigoth King Sisebut decreed that the Jews either convert to Christianity
or face expulsion. It is believed that as many as 90,000 of their total number
converted, with many fleeing north to Gaul or south to North Africa.
Despite this there were many unconverted Arian Visigoths who continued
to offer some protection to persecuted Jews.
As in later history, many of the conversos continued to secretly practise
their Jewish customs for the next twenty years when King Sisebut was
succeeded by the moderate King Suintila. At that time most of the conversos
returned to Judaism and many of those exiled returned to Spain. However,
this respite did not last long and throughout the remainder of the seventh
century persecution of the Jews increased.
In spite the of continued persecution there were few expulsions and the
Jewish population remained sizable. However, the Council of Toledo once
again called for forced baptism. For those who disobeyed there was to be the
sequestration of property, corporal punishment, exile, and slavery. There
were heavy fines, for any person, especially the nobility and members of the
clergy who spoke in favour of the Jews or offered them support.
At the end of the seventh century King Egica recognised the injustice of
forced baptism, but continued to enforce it for practicing Jews. However, life
was made difficult for the Jews economically through increased taxes and the
compulsory fixed price sale of all property ever acquired from Christians.
The economic hardships were enough to end the agricultural occupations of
the Jews. They were also precluded from conducting business with the
Christian community in both Iberia and overseas.

In 711 CE the Moors invaded Iberia and their victory spelt liberation for the
Jews, who were instrumental in providing invaluable assistance to the
invaders. Córdoba became a Jewish stronghold having been left by the
Moors for the Jews to defend, whilst the cities of Málaga, Seville, Granada
and Toledo were occupied by both the Moors and the Jews. As a result,
Iberia was seen by Jews from the outside Christian and Arab world as a land
of religious tolerance and understanding.
The culture of the Arab peoples left a lasting impression on Sephardic
Jews, perhaps strange to understand in today’s troubled world. The Arabs
enjoyed many achievements in both culture and intellectual pursuits, all of
which were embraced by the educated Jewish classes. It was almost
inevitable therefore, that Arabic became the main language of Sephardic
science, philosophy, and everyday business. The influence was so great that
even Jewish prose and religious works were written and spoken in Arabic.
Thus Jews were gradually integrated into the Arabic culture.
For the next 200 years Jewish activity and prosperity increased as they re-
established themselves in a variety of professions which included medicine,
commerce, finance, and agriculture. Confidence was growing amongst the
Jews as their community expanded culminating at the end of the ninth
century by a period known as “The Golden Age.” In 882, Abd al-Rahman III
became the first independent Caliph of Córdoba. Abd al-Rahman was a great
supporter of Arabic scholars and made Iberia the centre for the study of
Arabic literary texts as well as written records and the establishment of their
authenticity. This resulted in the development of Hebrew studies, and thus
Córdoba became the centre for Jewish scholars who could be assured of a
hospitable welcome.
The intellectual achievements of the Sephardim of al-Andalus (Muslim
Spain) was not restricted to philosophy and the literal arts, but expanded into
such fields as medicine, astronomy, logic and mathematics. There was also
study of the work of the Creator, in an attempt to better understand and
become closer to God. Al-Andalus also became a major centre of Jewish
philosophy and became the home for many prominent Jewish philosophers.
By the beginning of the eleventh century some Jews were even becoming
prominent in politics serving as viziers, or local ministers, in a number of
cities, including Granada, Seville, Saragossa and Lucena close to Córdoba.
Joseph ibn Naghrela, the son of a rabbi, succeeded his father as both the
vizier and rabbi of Granada in 1056. Having had a charmed upbringing,
Naghrela suffered from a lack of humility and it is said, had control over the
king and was accused of several acts of violence for which he became hated.
For whatever the reasons, on 30th December 1066 a hostile mob of Muslims
stormed the palace where Naghrela was taking refuge. They massacred a
significant number of Jews, said to number 4,000, and in so doing crucified
Joseph ibn Naghrela. The 1066 Massacre was the start of the decline of the
Jews which worsened as extreme Islamists infiltrated al Andalus from North
Africa.
 The Spanish Kingdoms under Christian Rule 1030
In 1085 when the city of Toledo fell to the Christians, the ruler of Seville
sought relief from the Berbers who had arrived from Morocco and who hated
the Islamic culture of al-Andalus. As well as battling with the Christians,
who were making their presence felt, the Berbers had begun to implement
reforms to bring al-Andalus more in line with their more fundamentalist
views. Despite extensive enforced conversions, the Jewish Sephardic way of
life somehow continued. In Lucena, the Jewish community, by whatever
means, managed to bribe their way out of conversion and some Jews even
served as diplomats and physicians to the Berbers.
Eventually the Berbers were forced to withdraw from Iberia due to wars
that were raging in North Africa with Muslim tribes. As the Christians
advanced in the north, Iberian Muslims appealed to their brethren in the
south. By way of retaliation the dhimmis – the Jews and Christians residing
in Morocco – were treated harshly and expelled from Morocco and al-
Andalus. Faced with the choice of either death or conversion, many Jews
emigrated. Some, including the family of Maimonides, fled south and east to
the more tolerant Moslem lands, while others went northward to settle in the
growing Christian kingdoms.
In northern Iberia the Christian Reconquista, the re-conquest, continued.
However, it seemed that by the twelfth century the Jews were once again
being treated favourably. The intellect and special services the Jews had to
offer suited the new Christian rulers. Their linguistic skills and knowledge of
the Muslim enemy was invaluable to the Christians during this time, in much
the same way as they were able to benefit the Arabs in the early stages of the
Muslim invasion.
As the Muslims retreated and the threat to the Christians subsided, the
Christian leaders allowed the Jews independence in the reconquered cities,
enabling communities to develop their culture once again and grow in size
and importance.
The conqueror of Toledo, King Alfonso VI in 1085 became very
favourably disposed towards the Jews granting them full equality with the
Christians. In return the Jews showed their appreciation by offering their
services to king and country. As a result Alfonso's army contained 40,000
Jews, identified by their black-and-yellow turbans. So considerate was the
king to his Jewish soldiers that he would not enter into battle until after the
Sabbath. Pope Gregory VII got to hear of the king’s favouritism towards the
Jews and warned him not to allow the Jews to rule the Christians. Then,
during the battle of Uclés in 1108, 30,000 men were killed which provoked
an anti-Jewish riot in Toledo. Many Jews were slain, and their houses and
synagogues were burned. Alfonso died in the following year and had not
been able to carry out his threat to punish the perpetrators of the massacre.
After his death the inhabitants of Carrion in the Province of Palencia attacked
the Jews, many of whom were killed or imprisoned and their houses pillaged.
Subsequently, and throughout the twelfth century, the Iberian rulers
continued their favourable disposition towards the Jews, with new
communities developing in a number of cities. The territory of Portugal was
granted independence in 1139 during the reign of Alfonso I. The king was
also kindly disposed towards the Jews and assigned the important position of
Supervisor of Taxes to a Jew, Yahia Ben Yahi as well as nominating him as
the first Chief Rabbi of Portugal.

After two centuries of mainly good relations with their Moorish and Christian
rulers, the situation for the Jews of Iberia began to deteriorate.
In 1212 the Crusaders began the “holy war” in Toledo, during which
many Jews were killed and robbed. Five years later King Ferdinand of
Castile and Toledo came to the throne and under his rule the influence of the
Church in the persecution of the Jews worsened. Spanish Jews were required
to distinguish themselves from Christians by wearing a yellow badge on their
clothing, a symbol which was adopted by the Nazis some seven hundred
years later. This order was issued to keep them from associating with
Christians, although the reason given was that it was ordered for their own
safety.
In April 1250 the Pope issued a charter, prohibiting Jews from building
new synagogues without special permission, also making it illegal for Jews to
make proselytes under pain of death and confiscation of property. They
could no longer associate with the Christians, live under the same roof with
them, eat and drink with them, or use the same bath; neither might a Christian
partake of wine which had been prepared by a Jew. The Jews could no
longer employ Christian nurses or servants, and Christians might use only
medicinal remedies which had been prepared by competent Christian
apothecaries. Every Jew had to continue to wear the yellow distinguishing
badge, although the king reserved the right to exempt any one from this
obligation. Any Jew apprehended without the badge was liable to a fine of
ten gold maravedís[1] or the infliction of ten lashes. In addition Jews were
forbidden to appear in public on Good Friday.
Despite the restrictions, the Jews still regarded themselves as Spaniards,
both as regards their customs and their language. They owned real estate, and
cultivated their land and surprisingly even continued to hold public offices.
Whilst their wealth and influence won them respect it also created jealousy.
The rulers however recognized the contribution of the Jews and continued to
protect them.
By 1300 there were about 120 Jewish communities in Christian Spain
numbering half a million or more – almost ten percent of the total population,
Castile being the most densely populated region.
The Jews greatest area of prosperity came through the money business
that gave them much influence. The rulers, the Church, noblemen and
farmers, all needed money, which could only be borrowed from the Jews, to
whom they paid from between twenty and twenty-five percent interest.
The Jews developed their own political administrations and for the most
part lived in individually administered ghettos or juderias within their cities.
In Castile, the head of their administration was the rab de la corte, the chief
justice or rabbi. These court rabbis were men who had rendered services to
the state, including royal physicians and chief-tax-farmers. They were
appointed by the Kings without regard to their religion or rabbinical
qualifications.
In the fourteenth century anti-Semitism was growing once again.
However, by the middle of the century Peter I showed favour towards the
Jews, which earned him the nickname of “Peter the Cruel” or “The Heretic”.
However, in the towns of Paredes, Palencia, Jaén and Granada, Jewish homes
were raised to the ground, synagogues pillaged, Torah scrolls ripped to shreds
and Jewish families taken prisoners. There were orders in many regions
forbidding the association of Jews with Christians unless the Kings required
their advice or financial support.
Prominent Jews assembled in Madrid in 1391 and received information
that riots were threatening in Seville and Córdoba. Indeed a riot broke out in
Seville and the governor of the city ordered the arrest and public whipping of
two of the mob-leaders. Nevertheless the mob murdered and robbed several
Jews and threatened the governor with death. A matter of a couple of months
later another riot broke out and the mob attacked the juderia in Seville killing
4,000 Jews; the rest submitted to baptism as the only means of escaping
death.
At this time Seville had a Jewish population of 7,000 families. Two out of
the three large synagogues in the city were transformed into churches.
Rioting was prevalent in a number of other cities, especially in Córdoba
where the entire juderia was raised to the ground. The result was horrific,
with the authorities powerless to intervene. At the end of it 2,000 corpses of
men women and children lay in in the streets, in the houses, and in the
wrecked synagogues.
These terrible massacres rapidly spread and were repeated in Jaén and
Toledo, followed by communities in Castile, Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and
Majorca where 300 died. There were also riots in Barcelona were 100 Jews
were killed on the first day alone. The persecutions continued unabated and
were a precursor to the Inquisition one hundred years later. During the
period there were numerous conversions and it is said that in the year 1415
alone up to 3,000 Jews were baptized. Jews were precluded from practising
as physicians, surgeons, chemists, money lenders or handicraft workers.
They were ordered to wear clothes of inferior quality and prevented from
leaving the country. Curiously enough their ability to finance the Crown was
to be called upon in the future when King Ferdinand wanted to fund
expeditions to annex new lands to the kingdom of Spain.
The persecution and exclusion of the Jews, not only had a devastating
effect on the Jews but also on the entire Kingdom of Spain. Commerce and
industry were at a standstill, the land was uncultivated and there was no
longer any finance available. Many communities had been reduced to
poverty and had lost more than half of their population. In Aragon and
Castile, in addition to the Jews, there were many conversos or New
Christians. It was these people who now possessed the talent and the wealth,
and through intermarriage with noble families, the converts gained
considerable influence and filled many high-ranking government posts.

The fact that numerous Jews had converted to Christianity did not seem to
quell the peoples’ hatred of them, which by the middle of the fifteenth
century had extended to the conversos or New Christians – there just seemed
to be no escape from the persecution. In fact it became so bad that in 1467 a
violent uprising took place in Toledo against the New Christians and
Marranos (the New Christians who continued to practise as secret Jews) with
many being killed. In 1473 the violence was repeated in the city of Córdoba,
with New Christian houses being looted and razed to the ground and many of
the residents being brutally murdered.
However, those Jews who had been baptized and remained true to their
new religion gradually began to work their way back into important and
influential positions, especially those connected with tax-farming[2].
When Ferdinand (Fernando) and Isabella (Isabel) ascended to their
respective thrones, measures were taken to segregate the Jews from those
who had converted – the conversos – as well as from the Old Christian
population. Initially the measures were put in place in Toledo in 1480 when
Jews were segregated into special barrios or neighbourhoods, known 450
years later as ghettos. In 1492, just prior to the Inquisition similar barrios
were established in the Navarre region in the north of Spain.
It is interesting to note that Ferdinand was the grandson of a Jew, but
despite this and having a number of New Christian advisors, both monarchs
were totally intolerant of the Jews, converted or not. In 1484 Ferdinand
ordered that all Jews and conversos should prepare themselves for the
Inquisition under the direction of Pope Innocent VIII.
One of the reasons for the increased objectiveness of the Catholic
monarchs was the disappearance of the fear of any united action by Jews and
Moors, the kingdom of Granada being at its last gasp. The rulers did,
however, promise the Jews of the Moorish kingdom that they could continue
to enjoy their existing rights in exchange for aiding the Spaniards in
overthrowing the Moors. This promise however, was soon to be repudiated
by the Decree of Expulsion.
 THE INQUISITION
THE ROYAL DECREE, EXPULSION AND CONVERSION, PUNISHMENTS FOR HERESY

A copy of the signed page of the Alhambra Decree dated 31 March 1492 issued against the Jews of
Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella
Whenever the Jews of Iberia are mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind
is the Inquisition, which after the holocaust was the most infamous deed
committed against the Jews.
The 2nd August 1492 is perhaps one of the best known dates in history –
usually because it was the day Christopher Columbus had planned to set sail
from the port of Palos de la Frontera in Spain to discover new lands – but
more of that later. In Jewish history the 3rd August 1492 is the day the
Spanish Inquisition officially commenced. Persecution continued in the
independent country of Portugal, but their Inquisition did not commence until
1536.
The Edict of Expulsion of the Jews, known as the Alhambra Decree, went
public on 29th April 1492 giving the Jews up to four months to convert to
Christianity or leave Spain. On the day after the Royal Decree came into
force the Church appointed Familiares, trusted Old Christians, all known to
be loyal to the Church to act as informers for the Holy Office. They were
essentially the secret police of the Inquisition, whose function it was to spy
on New Christians and report on suspected acts of heresy or apostasy and to
assist in bringing all suspects to the prisons to await trial. The Familiares
would be selected from the general population, but had to be married,
widowed or a clergyman who had taken minor orders.
 Official document issued appointing a Familiar
It was stated that the Royal Decree[3] which would become law in the
form of an Act, was made for financial as well as religious reasons. The Act
stated categorically that despite the incessant and most energetic efforts of the
Inquisition, the New Christians were influenced by the Marranos, who
secretly continued to practise Judaism in order to return to their old faith,
which the Act stated, greatly imperilled the Catholic religion.
Those Jews who wished not to leave Spain would have to accept
compulsory conversion to Christianity or suffer the most severe
consequences. Those Jews who wished to leave would generously be
permitted to take their property with them, excepting gold, silver, coined
money, and any goods that were subject to laws prohibiting their
exportation. The King would benefit economically from the expulsion of the
Jews and the confiscation of their assets as he needed significant funds to
bring new territories within his dominion.
Before the Inquisition it is said that the Jews in Spain numbered several
hundred thousand, some estimates put the figure as high as 800,000, but
records from various sources differ greatly. Nevertheless total numbers made
up a significant proportion of a total population of Spain which at that time
numbered less than six million. To put this number in its true perspective, if
the same proportions held true today, Spain’s Jewish population would
number about six million.
In pre-Inquisition Portugal there were at least 80,000 Jews out of a total
population of 1.25 million, representing about 6.5%.
 The main concentration of the Jewish population in Iberia in 1492
(shaded areas)

In Spain it is estimated that as many as 300,000 Jews fled the country, the
majority of whom travelled east along the Mediterranean settling in Turkey,
the Balkans and North Africa. Some emigrated north to France, The
Netherlands and Scandinavia. Others travelled west to Portugal, especially
those living along the border in Extremadura, only to be caught up in
Portugal’s own Inquisition some forty-three years later. There were many
others who crossed the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the Americas, specifically
the Caribbean, which started with Columbus and his successors. More will
be said on the latter in a later chapter. Almost all the Jews who remained in
Spain submitted to baptism under the edicts of the Inquisition to become New
Christians or conversos. However, a minority of the conversos continued to
secretly practise their Jewish traditions. They were known as crypto-Jews or
Marranos. The word Marrano was far from being a complimentary term. It
was adopted by the Old Christians, being the old Castilian for “dirty pig” –
the Jews forbidden food.
In Portugal up to 3,500 Jews were massacred, 30,000 did penance for their
sins and the remainder either emigrated or converted to Christianity.
Thus, at a stroke of a pen Ferdinand and Isabella expelled all the Jews
from their lands to put an end to the largest and most distinguished Jewish
settlement in Europe. The expulsion of this intelligent, cultured, and
industrious class was prompted only in part by the greed of the king and the
intensified nationalism of the people. The real motive was the religious zeal
of the Church, the Queen, and the masses. The official reason given for
driving out the Jews was that they encouraged the Marranos to persist in their
Jewishness and thus would not allow them to become good Christians.
There is perhaps no better way to sum up the expulsion of the Jews and the
hardships they suffered than to quote the following account, originally
written in Hebrew in 1495 by an Italian Jew[4]:
“And in the year 5252 (1492), in the days of King Ferdinand, the Lord visited the remnant of his
people a second time (the first Spanish visitation was in 1391), and exiled them. After the King
had captured the city of Granada from the Moors, and it had surrendered to him on the 7th of
January of the year just mentioned, he ordered the expulsion of all the Jews in all parts of his
kingdom and in the kingdoms of Castile, Catalonia, Aragon, Galicia, Majorca, Minorca, the
Basque provinces, the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, and the kingdom of Valencia. Even before
that the Queen had expelled them from the kingdom of Andalusia (1483).
The King gave them three months’ time in which to leave. It was announced in public in
every city on the first of May, which happened to be the 19th day of the Omer, and the term ended
on the day before the 9th of Ab. (The forty-nine days between the second of Passover and Shabbat
are called Omer days. The actual decree of expulsion was signed on 31st March and announced
the first of May, the 19th day of the Omer. The Jews were to leave during in May, June, and July
and be out of the country by August I, the 8th of Ab).
About their number there is no agreement, but, after many inquiries, I found that the most
generally accepted estimate is 50,000 families, or, as others say, 53,000 (This would be about
250,000 persons. Other estimates run from 100,000 to 800,000). They had houses, fields,
vineyards, and cattle, and most of them were artisans. At that time there existed many (Talmudic)
academies in Spain, and at the head of the greatest of them were Rabbi Isaac Aboab in Guadalajara
(probably the greatest Spanish rabbi of his day), Rabbi Isaac Veçudó in Leon, and Rabbi Jacob
Habib in Salamanca (later author of a famous collection of the non-legal parts of the Talmud, the
En Yaakob). In the last named city there was a great expert in mathematics, and whenever there
was any doubt on mathematical questions in the Christian academy of that city they referred them
to him. His name was Abraham Zacuto. (This famous astronomer encouraged the expedition of
Vasco da Gama). . . .
In the course of the three months' respite granted them they endeavoured to effect an
arrangement permitting them to stay on in the country, and they felt confident of success. Their
representatives were the rabbi, Don Abraham Seneor, the leader of the Spanish congregations, who
was attended by a retinue on thirty mules, and Rabbi Meïr Melamed, who was secretary to the
King, and Don Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508), who had fled to Castile from the King of Portugal,
and then occupied an equally prominent position at the Spanish royal court. He, too, was later
expelled, went to Naples, and was highly esteemed by the King of Naples. The aforementioned
great rabbi, Rabbi Isaac of Leon, used to call this Don Abraham Seneor: "Soné Or" (“Hater of
Light” a Hebrew pun on Seneor), because he was a heretic, and the end proved that he was right, as
he was converted to Christianity at the age of eighty, he and all his family, and Rabbi Meïr
Melamed with him. (Seneor and his son-in-law, Meïr, were converted on June 15, 1492;
Ferdinand and Isabella were among the sponsors). Don Abraham had arranged the nuptials
between the King and the Queen. The Queen was the heiress to the throne, and the King one of the
Spanish nobility. On account of this, Don Abraham was appointed leader of the Jews, but not with
their consent.
The agreement permitting them to remain in the country on the payment of a large sum of
money was almost completed when it was frustrated by the interference of a prior who was called
the Prior of Santa Cruz. (Legend relates that Torquemada, Prior of the convent of Santa Cruz,
thundered, with crucifix aloft, to the King and Queen: “Judas Iscariot sold his master for thirty
pieces of silver. Your Highness would sell him anew for thirty thousand. Here he is, take him,
and barter him away.”) Then the Queen gave an answer to the representatives of the Jews, similar
to the saying of King Solomon (Proverbs 2 1: 1): “The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as
the rivers of water. God turneth it withersoever He will.” She said furthermore: “Do you believe
that this comes upon you from us? The Lord hath put this thing into the heart of the king.”
(Isabella says it is God’s will that the Jews be expelled).
Then they saw that there was evil determined against them by the King, and they gave up the
hope of remaining. But the time had become short, and they had to hasten their exodus from
Spain. They sold their houses, their landed estates, and their cattle for very small prices, to save
themselves. The King did not allow them to carry silver and gold out of his country, so that they
were compelled to exchange their silver and gold for merchandise of cloths and skins and other
things. (Ever since 1480 Jews and Gentiles were forbidden to export precious metal, the source of
a nation's wealth).
One hundred and twenty thousand of them went to Portugal, according to a compact which a
prominent man, Don Vidal bar Benveniste del Cavalleria, had made with the King of Portugal, and
they paid one ducat for every soul, and the fourth part of all the merchandise they had carried
thither; and he allowed them to stay in his country six months. This King acted much worse
toward them than the King of Spain, and after the six months had elapsed he made slaves of all
those that remained in his country, and banished seven hundred children to a remote island[5] to
settle it, and all of them died. Some say that there were double as many. Upon them the Scriptural
word was fulfilled (Deuteronomy 28:32): “Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another
people, etc” (all Spanish Jews, who were still in Portugal in 1493, were enslaved by King John
(1481-1495). The children were sent to the isle of St. Thomas, off the coast of Africa[6]). He
also ordered the congregation of Lisbon, his capital, not to raise their voice in their prayers, that the
Lord might not hear their complaining about the violence that was done unto them.
Many of the exiled Spaniards went to Mohammedan countries, to Fez, Tlemçen, and the
Berber provinces, under the King of Tunis. (These North African lands are across the
Mediterranean from Spain). On account of their large numbers the Moors did not allow them into
their cities, and many of them died in the fields from hunger, thirst, and lack of everything. The
lions and bears, which are numerous in this country, killed some of them while they lay starving
outside of the cities. A Jew in the kingdom of Tlemçen, named Abraham, the viceroy who ruled
the kingdom, made part of them come to this kingdom, and he spent a large amount of money to
help them. The Jews of Northern Africa were very charitable toward them. A part of those who
went to Northern Africa, as they found no rest and no place that would receive them, returned to
Spain, and became converts, and through them the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled
(Lamentations 1:13): “He hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back.” For, originally,
they had all fled for the sake of the unity of God; only a very few had become converts throughout
all the boundaries of Spain; they did not spare their fortunes; yea, parents escaped without having
regard to their children.
When the edict of expulsion became known in the other countries, vessels came from Genoa
to the Spanish harbours to carry away the Jews. The crews of these vessels, too, acted maliciously
and meanly toward the Jews, robbed them, and delivered some of them to the famous pirate of that
time who was called the Corsair of Genoa. To those who escaped and arrived at Genoa the people
of the city showed themselves merciless, and oppressed and robbed them, and the cruelty of their
wicked hearts went so far that they took the infants from the mothers' breasts.
Many ships with Jews, especially from Sicily, went to the city of Naples on the coast. The
King of this country was friendly to the Jews, received them all, and was merciful towards them,
and he helped them with money. The Jews that were at Naples supplied them with food as much
as they could, and sent around to the other parts of Italy to collect money to sustain them. The
Marranos in this city lent them money on pledges without interest; even the. Dominican
Brotherhood acted mercifully toward them. (The Dominican monks were normally bitterly
opposed to Jews). On account of their very large number, all this was not enough. Some of them
died by famine, others sold their children to Christians to sustain their life. Finally, a plague broke
 out among them, spread to Naples, and very many of them died, so that the living wearied of
burying the dead.
Part of the exiled Spaniards went over sea to Turkey. Some of them were thrown into the sea
and drowned, but those who arrived, there the King of Turkey received kindly, as they were
artisans. He lent them money and settled many of them on an island, and gave them fields and
estates. (The Turks needed smiths and makers of munitions for the war against Christian Europe).
A few of the exiles were dispersed in the countries of Italy, in the city of Ferrara, in the
(papal) countries of Romagna, the March, and Patrimonium, and in Rome. . . .
He who said unto His world, Enough, may He also say Enough unto our sufferings, and may
He look down upon our impotence. May He turn again, and have compassion upon us, and hasten
out salvation. Thus may it be Thy will!”

The Royal Decree formalising the Inquisition served to endorse, and even
legalise, the continued persecution of the Jews. But now however, it had the
official backing of Rome and the crown. The New Christians did not
integrate into society, except in the city of Granada. Whilst they now
practised as loyal Christians, attending mass and re-establishing their old
professions, they were still mistrusted and disliked by the Old Christian
community. Those conversos who continued to practise as secret Jews or
Marranos took on great risks, such practices being very dangerous.
Penalties for committing acts of heresy were severe, and ranged from
penance to death, depending on the severity of the crime and the willingness
of the accused to confess. The accused appeared before a tribunal known as
an auto de fe, translating as an ‘act of faith’, where they had the option to
confess their crime before the Inquisitor – usually a senior clergyman – in
exchange for leniency. Sometimes barbaric torture would precede the trial in
order to extract a confession from the defendant. Torture sometimes resulted
in death and could range from extracting finger nails, to stretching the body
on a rack, crushing ribs or exposing hands, feet and genitals to a naked flame.
The most lenient form of punishment was a penance, where the accused
was made to don a garment called a sanbenito, made of yellow sackcloth and
process through the streets to the jeers and cat calls of the public. Sometimes
this would also involve the confiscation of the accused personal possessions.
 Auto de Fe

The death sentence was carried out by burning the accused at the stake,
usually in the presence of the people of the city. Whilst tied to astake the
condemned was given a final opportunity to confess before the fire was
ignited around their ankles, burning upwards resulting in a slow and painful
death. Where a confession was forthcoming, the condemned would submit to
a quicker death by strangulation, before the fire was ignited.
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
HIS CONNECTION WITH THE JEWS OF SPAIN

Christopher Columbus 1451-1506

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. Columbus was

perhaps the most famous explorer of all time and is often credited with the
discovery of present day America. This however was not the case as he
never set foot on the American mainland. He did however reach numerous
islands in the Caribbean as well as touching the coast of Venezuela,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
Columbus was known in Spain as Cristóbal Colón and made four voyages
in all to the West Indies, which he believed were islands off the coast of
China or Japan where he was in search of the Great Khan. His first voyage
departed the port of Palos de la Frontera, close to the southern coastal city of
Huelva on the 3rd August 1492 – a date which exactly coincided with the day
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella had enacted that the Jews must leave
Spain or be baptised. Failure to do so would result in severe punishments.
There is much speculation over the significance of the day Columbus
chose to set sail. It is a fact however that on 2nd August 1492, the day before
Columbus’ sailing, a large number of Jews, perhaps 300,000 or more, left
Spain. He was originally going to sail on 2nd August, a day that happened to
coincide with the Jewish holiday of Tisha B'Av, marking the destruction of
the First and Second Holy Temples of Jerusalem. Columbus postponed this
original sail date by one day to avoid embarking on the Jewish holiday,
which would have been considered by Jews to be an unlucky day to set sail.
It is said that many of the crew boarded the three ships, the Santa María,
Pinta and Niña on that same day and amongst their number of eighty-eight
men there were at least seven Jews and perhaps more. It is known that the
Jews included Luis de Torres, the interpreter, fluent in Hebrew, Chaldee,
Aramaic and Arabic; Alonso de Calle, Rodrigo Sánchez, Maestre Bernal, the
ships’ physician, Marco the surgeon. Several others of the crew were also of
Jewish stock, including the Pinta’s lookout, Rodrigo de Triana, who was
alleged to have been the first to have spotted land, crying ‘Tierra, Tierra.’ –
Land, Land!’

Luis de Torres (Yosef ben HaLevi HaIvri), Christopher Columbus' Jewish converso interpreter on his
first voyage

After undergoing repairs in the Canary Islands, the first land was sighted on
12th October 1492. After briefly calling at several islands and exploring the
north coast of Cuba, Luis de Torres, together with one of Columbus’ sailors,
made an expedition inland in an attempt to meet with the Great Khan
(Columbus believing this was Asia). De Torres met with some local Indians
and was well received and became the first European to become acquainted
with tobacco, which he witnessed being smoked through cane pipes.[7]
Columbus next stopped at the island of Hispaniola, also called Española,
where together with his interpreter, Luis de Torres, they founded the
settlement of La Navidad on the part of the island now known as the
Dominican Republic. Luis de Torres remained on the island when Columbus
returned to Spain and was therefore, the first Jew to settle there. There are
however conflicting versions of what became of de Torres. One version
relates that he was granted land and several slaves (five adults and a child) by
a native chief and married several daughters of local chiefs in order to cement
alliances. Eventually he was granted a yearly pension by the King and Queen
of Spain and named a Royal Agent, finally settling in Cuba where he lived a
long and prosperous life. The other version states that when Columbus set
sail back for Spain on January 4, 1493, de Torres was left behind with 39
other crew members, all of whom were massacred at the hands of the natives,
purportedly as retaliation because the Spaniards had abducted native women.
Regardless of his final outcome, Luis de Torres was without dispute the
first Jew to set foot in the Americas. Luis de Torres was born a Jew with the
name of Yosef ben HaLevi Halvri. Columbus took him on the voyage
because he hoped de Torres’ linguistic skills in Hebrew and Aramaic would
be useful when he reached (what he thought to be) Asia because de Torres
would enable him to communicate with local Jewish traders. It is also
thought that he might find descendants of the Twelve Lost Tribes of Israel.
De Torres is sometimes credited as having discovered the turkey, which he
named after the Hebrew tukki, a parrot of the Bible.
Today there is a synagogue in Freeport, Bahamas named after Luis de
Torres.

On his second voyage to the Indies in 1493, Columbus took an armada of

seventeen ships and up to 1,400 men and the supplies to establish permanent
colonies in the New World. The passengers included priests, farmers, and
soldiers and it is suspected a number of Marranos and New Christians who
would be among the new colonists.
When Columbus was removed from his post as first Governor of
Hispaniola in 1500, he was replaced by Francisco de Bobadilla who served
for just two years until he was replaced by the third Governor, Nicolás
Ovando y Cáceres. He arrived in the Indies with thirty ships carrying 30,500
colonists. These colonists were selected to represent an organized cross-
section of Spanish society and once again there is little doubt that there were
many conversos amongst their number. It was the intention of the Spanish
monarchy to develop the Indies economically, and thereby expand Spanish
political, religious, and administrative influence in the region.
It is Columbus however who must be credited with the initial exploration
and discovery of the region, which opened one of the doors for the
emigration of many Jews from Spain and ultimately Portugal.

Columbus became very unpopular with his crew, whom he often cruelly
abused for not trusting his judgment. He was also known for the brutal
treatment of the Indian peoples of many of the islands, but despite this he
seemed to display a tolerance with the conversos. It is known that he was
sympathetic with their plight, especially since his first voyage was largely
funded by wealthy Jewish merchants directly and indirectly through monies
donated or confiscated through them. These Marranos were Luis de
Santángel, Gabriel Sanchez, and Juan Cabrero. Between them they
persuaded Queen Isabella to allow them help finance Columbus’ voyage. In
his diary Columbus mentions that de Santángel made a substantial loan to
him for the purpose of exploration. Luis de Santángel, along with Cabrero
invested 17,000 ducats, which would be equivalent to over £60,000 in
today’s money. Luis de Santángel was chancellor of the royal household and
controller general of Aragon, an autonomous community located in north-
eastern Spain.

Luis de Santángel, a converso merchant

A significant investor in Columbus’ first voyage

Although many say that Columbus was a dedicated Christian and a confirmed
Catholic, there is much evidence to suggest that he was in fact a Jew. Whilst
he was born in Genoa research shows that he never spoke or wrote Italian,
but spoke fluent Castilian Spanish.
His parents were Susanna Fonterosa and Domingo Pontevedra. Both of
these surnames were characteristically Jewish in medieval Spain. It has been
suggested that his parents were in fact Marranos, historical record validating
this claim. The record indicates that Columbus’ mother, Susanna Fonterosa
was the “daughter of Jacob, granddaughter of Abraham, and a Jewess” and
that his father, Domingo Pontevedra-Colon was a map seller. It is believed
that they had settled in Genoa having escaped from Spain during one of the
pre-Inquisition pogroms.[8]
Simon Wiesenthal, in his book The Nazi Hunter, was also convinced that
Columbus was a Jew and stated that, “the Jews, concerned about their
deterioration in Spain, were looking for a homeland, a place to flee to, where
they could find a protector. And so, in belief that the ten lost tribes had found
refuge in ‘India,’ they financed the expedition of Columbus: a man they
could trust. They trusted him because he was Jewish. Jews are very reserved
about trusting a non-Jew, especially with the future of their posterity.
Wiesenthal also asserts that Columbus was surely a converso and quite likely
a Marrano.”
There also exists other evidence pointing towards Columbus’ Jewish
roots. It is on record that he wrote a great deal about Zion. His signature and
other symbols on his letters have been interpreted as those of a Messianic
Jew. Two of these marks resemble the two marks orthodox Jews still use in
their letters, the abbreviations coming from the Hebrew words besiyata
d’ishmaya, meaning “with God’s help,” in Aramaic.
There is also a belief that a cipher used on some of Columbus’ letters
could be interpreted as being short for Baruch Hashem, meaning “Blessed be
God.”

This sign or cipher appears in the upper left hand corner of many of the letters written by
Columbus. The cipher (accoring to Simon Wiesenthal) consists of two Hebrew characters “bais” and
“hey”, which stand for baruch hashem. The letters bais and hey are intertwined like a monogram.

The fact that Columbus postponed his sailing for one day because 2nd
August 1492 would have coincided with Tisha B'Av could be considered
coincidence, but it is said that he wished to avoid embarking on the Jewish
holiday, which would have been considered by Jews to be an unlucky day to
set sail.
Much of this is speculation, but it is a fact that there are several pointers
that could identify Columbus as having been born a Jew.

Sculpture by Frank Meisler – Columbus and the Jewish Contribution

 Girona Jewish Museum

Columbus’ connection to the Jews was commemorated by Frank Meisler, the

Israeli sculptor by a metal sculpture of Christopher Columbus at the helm of
the Santa María. It is titled Columbus and the Jewish Contribution.
 SURVIVAL THROUGH THE INQUISITION
THE CONVERSOS AND THE CRYPTO-JEWS

Despite the emigration of three hundred thousand Jews from Iberia a large
number remained, most of who were baptised and became New Christians.
However, some of their number continued to secretly practise as crypto-Jews
or Marranos.
It should be remembered that the Inquisition in Spain did not come to an
end until 1834, and in Portugal it continued until 1821. Thus during this
period of up to 350 years, the Marranos continued to live in fear of their
lives. The same could be said of the converso community at large, at least
until they became assimilated.
The Marranos devised devious methods of staying true to their religion in
order that they could pray and observe their customs in secret. The New
Christians continued to live in the Jewish ghettos or juderias, where
previously most of the houses had been identified by mezuzot before the
Inquisition. These Jewish symbols were removed from the right had door
jambs, and in many cases the indentations in the stonework in the well
preserved houses in juderias are still visible today. In many houses the
indentation was made into a cross to indicate the home of a converso and to
show the authorities they were devout Christians, whilst others carved crosses
in the stonework.

Examples of indentaions in medieval stone door jambs left when the mezuzah was removed
 A cross carved in the stonework to identify the home of a ‘devout’ New Christian

However, the mezuzah was not entirely discarded, and many Marranos,
carried them on their person in small velvet or silk bags. On entering their
home, or the home of another Marrano, they would remove the mezuzah
from the bag, touch it and kiss their fingers, thus continuing the old custom of
touching the mezuzah on a doorpost and kissing one’s fingers before entering
a Jewish home. Every family who was under extreme scrutiny would have a
statue of the Virgin Mary in their house. Some families would place their
mezuzah in a small box marked with the words Shema Yisrael - `Hear O
Israel,’ then they would carve out the bottom of the statue and put the box
containing the mezuzah into the statue’s feet. Every time they walked in and
out of the house, they would appear to be touching and kissing the feet of the
statue, but they were actually touching and kissing the mezuzah.
Some Marranos who wished to identify their homes to other like-minded
conversos engraved a fish into the stonework. The fish symbol has always
denoted Christianity and therefore not regarded as suspicious by the
authorities. However, the homes of Marranos sometimes had fish carved
into their stone portals, in such a way so as to differentiate it from the plain
Christian fish symbol. The Marrano fish was given scales and fins, being the
only fish Jews may eat.

A fish with the fins clearly visible carved in a stone lintel

The words on the right read ‘Maroc me feccit (Morocco made me)
Another form of identification used by Marranos was a six pointed sculpted
design in a stone set above the portal of an entrance door. This would be a
substitute for the six pointed Magen David. Indeed there were many designs
that were used as a covert Magen David, some of which formed intricate
pieces of sculpted ornamentation.

Six pointed star carved in stonework from a house in Úbeda

In the east of Portugal close to the Sierra Estrela mountains in a small
town called Trancoso some stones were found with crosses carved into them
at the entrances of some of the old conversos houses, announcing “Here lives
a proud Christian family.” There were also ornamental symbols including
what appear to be three prongs which looked like a cross being held up, but
in reality the three spokes form an inverted Shin, the Hebrew letter that is
often used to denote one of the Divine names. There were also engravings
with twelve pointed symbols, supposedly signifying the twelve tribes of
Israel.

The Marranos became experts at other covert practices. Prayer books, scrolls
and manuscripts were hidden away in homes, perhaps behind trap doors or in
chimneys. Upturned candlesticks became drinking cups, whilst drinking
vessels with lids would reveal a miniature oil filled menorah when the lid
was opened. Candles on Shabbat and High holidays were ignited in alcoves
to hide them from inquisitive passers-by.
The Familiares were prepared to look out for tell-tale signs indicating a
New Christian was not abiding by the edicts of their conversion and thus
committing an act of heresy.
In Portugal particularly, the Marranos often ate sausages made with
chicken, turkey and partridge, heavily seasoned with garlic. These were
called aiheiras. This gave the impression that they ate pork, which was the
main ingredient of Portuguese sausages.
Marranos regularly spoke a language called Ladino, a mixture of Old
Spanish and other Spanish and Portuguese dialects, enriched with Hebrew,
Aramaic and Arabic. It was as much akin to the Sephardim as Yiddish was
to the Ashkenazim. They restricted speaking Ladino to occasions when they
were in private, as this would have immediately identified them as Marrano.
The Familiares also became knowledgeable on other give away signs –
excessive cleanliness being one. Cleanliness and hygiene was poor in the
Middle Ages, but the Jews were fastidious about their personal hygiene. A
man wearing a clean white shirt on a Friday afternoon was a habit almost
solely observed amongst Jews. Thus a clean white shirt, especially on a
Friday was a sure sign of a Marrano household.
Traditionally the Jewish Friday evening meal consisted of chicken, as it
does to this very day, whilst the Catholic population traditionally ate fish on a
Friday. The sight of chicken being roasted or even the smell of it on a Friday
evening would immediately raise suspicion and identify the continuance of
outlawed Jewish traditions.
The New Christians assiduously attended mass to show their devotion to
their new religion. However, when it came to crossing themselves in front of
the altar, the crypto-Jews developed gestures that simulated the sign of the
cross. By quickly touching their forehead, mouth and breast, the sign became
almost indistinguishable from a cross and represented the acts of thought,
word and deed.
Synagogues were of course closed, raised to the ground or sequestrated.
However, the Marranos built fountains as their meeting places, since water
has always been of important religious significance for ritual washings and so
many other customs. These date back to their biblical origins of ‘Living
Water’ and ‘water from the fountain of the water of life.’ There are still
several fine examples in existence today, notably in the Portuguese city of
Coimbra and the town of Castelo de Vide.
The fountain in the juderia at Castelo de Vide (Note the cross carved on the column was probably the
sign of a cryto-Jewish mason)

Even 200 years after the start of the Inquisition some Marranos succeeded in
bravely escaping the shores of Iberia. Perhaps the most famous and
audacious escape was that of Diogo Nuñez Ribeiro, latterly known as Samuel
Nuñez, together with his family in 1726. For many generations the Nuñez
family kept up its Jewish faith in secret. It was headed by Diogo Nuñez, who
was born in Portugal, and became a great physician. He was appointed Court
Physician to the King of Portugal towards the end of the seventeenth
century. In addition to his services to the Royal Family, all the nobility
considered it a privilege if he attended them. Not only professionally was Dr
Nunez in demand, but he was invited to all the important society affairs.
Also, when he arranged a banquet or a ball in his own palatial residence on
the banks of the Tagus River, the elite of Lisbon society would be among his
guests.
Dr Nuñez was still quite a young man when he reached the dizzy heights
of success in professional and social circles. This naturally created jealousy
among his competitors, and the Inquisition gave them an excellent
opportunity of trying to get him into trouble.
Although on the surface Dr Nuñez was as good a Catholic as any
churchgoing Christian, the leaders of the Inquisition took note of the
warnings given them by the doctor's enemies. They managed to smuggle a
Familiar into the household of the Nuñez family, in the guise of a servant, so
they would be informed on what went on within the family circle.
Finally the agent reported that the Nuñez family was definitely practicing
the Jewish religion in secret, for every Saturday, they all retreated to a
synagogue he had constructed in the cellar of his house, where they threw off
their pretence of being Christians, and worshipped in true Jewish fashion.
Despite Dr Nuñez’ eminent position, the Familiar reported the family’s
apostasy to the Inquisitor, who succeeded in getting the whole Nuñez family
arrested and thrown into prison. There they were tortured repeatedly and
soon would have perished except for the intervention of the Grand Inquisitor.
The Catholic Ecclesiastical Council reluctantly agreed to release Dr Nuñez so
that he could treat the Grand Inquisitor who was afflicted with a prostate
obstruction of the bladder.
There was one condition, however, which marred the happiness of the
Nuñez family in their release from prison. Two officials of the Inquisition
were to take up residence with the Nuñez family to make sure they would no
longer practice their Jewish faith. This imposition led Dr Nuñez to contrive a
daring escape plan for himself and his family.
Dr Nuñez hit upon a brilliant and bold idea. He arranged a Banquet and
Ball and invited all the important people of the city. These included many
high-ranking officials who, though they had him under suspicion regarding
his faith, were only too happy to accept the invitation to his Banquet at which
it was considered a privilege to be present.
The banquet was over and the ball in full swing when Dr Nuñez stopped
the orchestra and made the following startling announcement:
"My friends, I have a very pleasant surprise for you! You are all invited
to follow me and board my yacht which has been prepared for your pleasure.
The evening's entertainment will continue there, with the Captain all ready
for you. This way, Ladies and Gentlemen!" Saying which, Dr Nuñez stepped
out, and all his guests followed excitedly, delighted with the unexpected
surprise.
They picked up their cloaks and, chattering animatedly, boarded what they
thought in the darkness to be a large yacht gently rocking at the dock outside
the palace.
What the guests did not know was that a not-so-pleasant surprise awaited
them. For about an hour or so after they had boarded the yacht they suddenly
became aware that they were moving! And judging by the speed, once the
sails were unfurled, was no yacht but a large boat. They were in fact sailing
away from the shores of Portugal at full speed, heading for the friendlier
shores of England. Friendlier, that is, for the Nuñez family. For Dr Nuñez
had every detail arranged with the help of his relatives, the Mendez family.
He had secretly succeeded in selling part of his estates and possessions and
had transferred the money to England through secret couriers. Thus he had
been able to get a British captain to bring his brigantine to the Tagus River on
the night of the banquet, and it was ready and waiting to receive its load of
passengers.
Dr Nuñez quickly reassured his guests that, as soon as they reached the
shores of England, the boat would immediately turn around and take them
back to their homes, together with the Familiares. As for himself, Dr Nuñez,
his guests would have to admit that it was not his fault that he was compelled
by the Inquisition to leave the country which had been so ready to accept his
services and knowledge, but had not allowed him and his family to live
according to their faith and conscience.
This story illustrates that not only did some Jewish families reach
prominence during the Inquisition, but also shows the bravery and tenacity
that some of these people possessed.
 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND ONWARDS
EMERGENCE OF CRYPTO-JEWS, MEDIEVAL JUDERIAS, PRESENT DAY JEWISH
COMMUNITIES

Many Marrano communities remained untroubled and intact for the three
hundred and fifty years that spanned the Inquisition. Those communities
were mainly located in rural mountainous areas not within easy reach of the
towns and cities, many typically along the borders of Spain and Portugal. In
Portugal there were several villages in the Estrela Mountains that became the
homes of Marranos, and just to the east in Spain, the remote region of
Extremadura.
One such community that survived to the present day is the remote village
of Belmonte in Portugal. With a twenty-first population of some 7,500
inhabitants, three hundred are Jewish.
Belmonte now has a synagogue, a Jewish cemetery and a Jewish Museum,
which receives thousands of visitors every year.
Until the arrival of Samuel Schwarz, the crypto-Jews of Belmonte were
discovered in 1917 by Samuel Schwarz, a Jewish engineer, who came to
work in nearby mines. Before meeting him, the Marranos assumed they
were the last Jews remaining on earth and that they had survived solely
because of their disguise. They were not keen to admit they were Jews, even
to Schwarz, before he could demonstrate his own Jewishness to them. It was
not they were satisfied that Schwarz was a Jew no less than themselves, that
they accepted him as a son of The Nation, or Our Family, as they used to
say. Schwarz reported back to the World Jewish Congress and the world at
large about their existence.
The Belmonte Jews celebrated some festivals, such as Passover and Yom
Kippur, according to the Jewish dates. They did not however know of the
availability of Jewish calendars, but they learned to calculate the dates
counting from the new moon. However, in order not to draw suspicion to
themselves they celebrated Yom Kippur one day later, on the eleventh day of
the moon of September, not the tenth day, and Passover on the fourteenth day
of the moon of April, not March. Due to leap years in the Jewish calendar
there was a discrepancy of one month, of which they were unaware.
They baked their own unleavened bread, picked up in the fields a number
of bitter herbs which they considered suitable as maror for Passover. They
used olive oil and linen wicks for Shabbat lamps.
However, the first and most important commandment was the prohibition
to reveal any part of their rituals and their prayers to people from “outside the
family.” Even if somebody declared himself as a Jew, he was suspected of
being a spy. Very seldom would they believe that the interlocutor was really
a Jew.
Their society was dominated by men, typically Portuguese, except in
matters of religion. On the Jewish holy days, when the families gathered to
celebrate, everybody went to the wife’s mother.
The Belmonte community’s change to mainstream Judaism did not take
place until the 1980s. The initiative came when Dov Halevy Milman, then
Israeli Ambassador to Portugal, together with two groups of crypto-Jews
from Belmonte visited Israel. This was a bold move since some had never
even visited Lisbon let alone travelled on an aircraft.
After the visit Belmonte Jews regained their mainstream Judaism. One or
two years later, the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) organized an
international event in Guarda, a city near Belmonte. The participants spent
the Shabbat in the homes of the crypto-Jews which opened a new window of
opportunities for the young men of Belmonte as they discovered the Jewish
world. This provided them with the opportunity to find a bride without being
confined to marrying a cousin, as had been the practice in their closed
society.
The next step was the arrival of a rabbi, sent from Israel, who formed a
Beit Din and converted most of the population to mainstream Judaism –
perhaps more correctly, a return to Judaism. Couples who returned were
immediately married according to the religion of Moses and Israel.
Everybody was now covering their heads, men with yarmulkes, and women
with hats.
When the oldest couple in the village, Carlos and Benvinda Diogo
Henriques, passed away, one shortly after the other, they had a plot of land,
next to the old historical juderia where they lived. Their children decided to
donate the plot for the future construction of a synagogue. The money for the
construction was provided by Mr Azulay, a benefactor from Switzerland, in
memory of his Father, whose name was given to Belmonte’s synagogue, Beit
Eliyahu consecrated in 1996. The community was officially recognized by
State authorities, and a new board was elected, who requested from the local
council the concession of a ground, next to the village’s cemetery, for a
Jewish burial place.

Belmonte synagogue, Beit Eliyahu, Portugal (consecrated 1996)

I was surprised to learn from a senior member of the community, Sr

Mendoza, that not only do they have no trouble in getting a minyan, but have
a regular attendance of around fifty persons on Shabbat. The synagogue also
houses a mikvah and kosher kitchen
As the number of visitors increased, the local council established tourist
attractions. A Jewish museum was erected. Nowadays, it is also a place of
study, and receives visits by high-school students from all over Portugal.
New initiatives include the production of a Kosher wine, Terras de
Belmonte, a kosher version of the famous cheese of the region, kosher meat
and smoked sausages.
****
Some 140 kilometres south of Belmonte lies the medieval town of Castelo de
Vide with its well preserved juderia. The town no longer has a Jewish
community, but boasts a small museum housed in a building that was once
the oldest synagogue in Portugal dating back to the fourteenth century. The
museum is run by the municipality and attended by a most knowledgeable
lady, Ana Cavalho, herself not Jewish, but an expert on the Jewish history of
the town. She explained where to find the indentations in the stone door
jambs where mezuzot were once fixed and the history of the well-preserved
‘Jewish’ fountain, Fonte de Vila, in the town. The granite columns
supporting the pyramidal roof over the fountain are engraved with crosses,
still visible, supposedly left by Marrano masons, to indicate their converso
identity.
 The 14th century synagogue at Castelo de Vide, Portugal
(The building is now a small Jewish museum)

Lying west of Castelo de Vide is the small town of Alpalhão where a number
of mezuzot can be seen attached to the doorposts of several of the mediaeval
houses in the old juderia, some with a cross engraved next to them, as if to
indicate that the owners had recently converted.
Today Lisbon has a small Jewish community of about 200 families, (one
hundred of whom are children) and a large synagogue, where sometimes it is
difficult to raise a minyan. Because Beit Eliyahu, in Belmonte, always has a
minyan it has been known for a pious Jew from Lisbon who wishes to say
Kaddish to travel all the way to Belmonte, a 600 km round trip.
Oporto also has a small Jewish community and a fine synagogue,
supported by visiting Jews from Golders Green.
It is uncertain how many Jews currently live in Portugal, although some
sources say that up to 7,000 people claim to be Jewish, although it is likely
that many of these are people descended from converso families and
therefore difficult to obtain true statistics. Other sources say the Jewish
population numbers 600, although this seems to be an under-estimate since
there are perhaps 300 in Belmonte alone.

Across the border in western Spain there are remnants of Jewish settlements
in a number of towns in Extremadura including, Hervás, Cáceres and Mérida,
although no Jews live there today. Nevertheless the juderias are well
defined, especially in the towns of Hervás and Cáceres.
Today there are many fine examples of pre-Inquisition Spain. Perhaps
among the most famous are to be found in Córdoba, Toledo and Girona.
Córdoba’s Jewish quarter is one of the most famous in Spain. The
majority of the Jewish quarter lies within the streets of Tomas Conde, Judíos
and Plaza Juda Leví. Cordoba is home to the only 14th-century synagogue in
Andalusia and the only synagogue in Spain that was never turned into a
Christian building. A few other things to note in the Jewish Quarter in
Córdoba is the bull museum and a monument dedicated to the Jewish doctor
and philosopher, Maimonides.

Statue of Maimonides in the juderia of Córdoba

Of the two synagogues that existed in Toledo the Sinagoga de Santa

María la Blanca dates back to the twelfth century, but was taken over as a
church at the beginning of the fifteenth century. The other synagogue is the
Sinagoga del Tránsito which has an elaborately decorated interior. It is no
longer functional as a synagogue but today houses a museum of Sephardi
culture.

Sinagoga del Tránsito in Toledo

Now a museum of Sephadi culture

The city of Girona has a fine and long pre-Inquisition Jewish history and a
beautifully preserved juderia with its labrynth of narrow streets and
alleyways. There is today a Museum of Jewish History where the metal
sculpture of Christopher Columbus at the helm of the Santa María by Frank
Meisler can be found.
 The well-preserved juderia of Girona

The most recent estimate for the Jewish population of Spain puts the
number as high as 50,000, with their central body, the Federación de
Comunidades Judías (FDCJ) overseeing most Jewish activities. The strongest
presence of Jewish life in Spain is within the two major cities of Madrid and
Barcelona, each with 3,500 Jewish inhabitants. These cities are followed by
Malaga, together with other Jewish communities in Alicante, Benidorm,
Cádiz, Granada, Marbella, Majorca, Torremolinos and Valencia.[9] In
addition there are Jewish day schools in Barcelona, Madrid and Málaga.

There are many hundreds of thousands of descendants of conversos living

across Spain, the majority being unaware of the true identity of their
ancestors. It is estimated that out of the 8.5 million population of Andalucía,
perhaps 30% are of Jewish blood, although they have been integrated into
society over the six hundred years when conversions became rife. There are
people who, without knowing the reasons why, still light candles at sundown
on a Friday evening. When questioned their reply is typically, ‘It is
something my mother and grandmother always did and it has been handed
down and in our home has become something of a tradition.’
To a lesser extent, it has been known for some men, at the end of a
working week, to return home from work and don a freshly laundered white
shirt. Once again a tradition that in a few families seems to have stood the
test of time.
Circumcision is not a practice normally adopted amongst Catholics, but in
certain families it had become the tradition to carry out the ritual on baby
boys, but with no religious significance.
Many surnames of today’s population were traditionally (albeit not
exclusively) Jewish. Alvarez, Benveniste, Carvallo or Carvalho, Castro,
Chacon, Costa or DaCosta, Fonseca, Leon, Lope or Lopez (adopted by
conversos), Mendez, Mendoza, Oliveira, Nunez, Pereira, Pinto, Ruiz and
many others.
The governments of Spain and Portugal have undertaken enormous
investment in recent years as they wake up to their important Jewish pasts
that were keystones in shaping the countries futures. Millions of euros have
been invested in preserving Iberia’s Jewish legacy. Municipalities are
funding heritage projects for the restoration of many important buildings and
even whole areas that were once occupied by the Jewish community. There
are plaques and information in a number of towns explaining the significance
of buildings and memorials to the Jews of the Inquisition.
A SELECTION OF SOME OF THE JEWISH HERITAGE PROJECTS
BEING FUNDED BY MUNICIPALITIES IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

A plaque in the juderia, Hervás Plaque in the juderia of Porto in

telling of 25 Jewish families memory of five centuries of
who left for Portugal in 1492 Jewish persecution
others converted to Christianity

La Estrella de David (The Star of David)

In Hervás, Spain
 A Magen David in the renovated juderia of Cáceres, Spain

There are also a growing number of Jewish museums being established

across the Iberian Peninsula, the most recent in Granada in January 2014.
The artefacts in the museum, the Palacio de los Olvidados (The Palace of the
Forgotten) were donated by the Crespo Lopez family. Crespo, a property
developer, was excavating for the construction of a block of apartments in
Úbeda in Andalucía when he came across some ruins, which turned out to be
a pre-inquisition Synagogue of major importance. This has now been
carefully reconstructed and opened to the public.

The recently renovated synagogue in Údeba, Andalucía

In addition, Spain and Portugal have recently opened their doors to Jews
who can demonstrate their pre-Inquisition Sephardic ancestry by offering
them automatic citizenship to their country of origin, should they so desire.
 APPENDIX 1
TRANSLATION OF THE FULL TEXT OF THE ALHAMBRA DECREE (THE EDICT OF
EXPULSION OF THE JEWS) DATED 31 MARCH 1492
Translated from the Castilian by Edward Peters

(1) King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, by the grace of God, King and Queen of Castile, Leon,
Aragon, Sicily, Granada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, Seville, Sardinia, Cordoba,
Corsica, Murcia, Jaen, of the Algarve, Algeciras, Gibraltar, and of the Canary Islands, count and
countess of Barcelona and lords of Biscay and Molina, dukes of Athens and Neopatria, counts of
Rousillon and Cerdana, marquises of Oristan and of Gociano, to the prince Lord Juan, our very dear
and muched love son, and to the other royal children, prelates, dukes, marquees, counts, masters of
military orders, priors, grandees, knight commanders, governors of castles and fortified places of our
kingdoms and lordships, and to councils, magistrates, mayors, constables, district judges, knights,
official squires, and all good men of the noble and loyal city of Burgos and other cities, towns, and
villages of its bishopric and of other archbishoprics, bishoprics, dioceses of our kingdom and lordships,
and to the residential quarters of the Jews of the said city of Burgos and of all the aforesaid cities,
towns, and villages of its bishopric and of the other cities, towns, and villages of our aforementioned
kingdoms and lordships, and to all Jews and to all individual Jews of those places, and to barons and
women of whatever age they may be, and to all other persons of whatever law, estate, dignity,
preeminence, and condition they may be, and to all to whom the matter contained in this charter
pertains or may pertain. Salutations and grace.
(2) You know well or ought to know, that whereas we have been informed that in these our
kingdoms there were some wicked Christians who Judaized and apostatized from our holy Catholic
faith, the great cause of which was interaction between the Jews and these Christians, in the cortes
which we held in the city of Toledo in the past year of one thousand, four hundred and eighty, we
ordered the separation of the said Jews in all the cities, towns and villages of our kingdoms and
lordships and [commanded] that they be given Jewish quarters and separated places where they should
live, hoping that by their separation the situation would remedy itself. Furthermore, we procured and
gave orders that inquisition should be made in our aforementioned kingships and lordships, which as
you know has for twelve years been made and is being made, and by many guilty persons have been
discovered, as is very well known, and accordingly we are informed by the inquisitors and by other
devout persons, ecclesiastical and secular, that great injury has resulted and still results, since the
Christians have engaged in and continue to engage in social interaction and communication they have
had means and ways they can to subvert and to steal faithful Christians from our holy Catholic faith and
to separate them from it, and to draw them to themselves and subvert them to their own wicked belief
and conviction, instructing them in the ceremonies and observances of their law, holding meetings at
which they read and teach that which people must hold and believe according to their law, achieving
that the Christians and their children be circumcised, and giving them books from which they may read
their prayers and declaring to them the fasts that they must keep, and joining with them to read and
teach them the history of their law, indicating to them the festivals before they occur, advising them of
what in them they are to hold and observe, carrying to them and giving to them from their houses
unleavened bread and meats ritually slaughtered, instructing them about the things from which they
must refrain, as much in eating as in other things in order to observe their law, and persuading them as
much as they can to hold and observe the law of Moses, convincing them that there is no other law or
truth except for that one. This proved by many statements and confessions, both from these same Jews
and from those who have been perverted and enticed by them, which has redounded to the great injury,
detriment, and opprobrium of our holy Catholic faith.
(3) Notwithstanding that we were informed of the great part of this before now and we knew that
the true remedy for all these injuries and inconveniences was to prohibit all interaction between the said
Jews and Christians and banish them from all our kingdoms, we desired to content ourselves by
commanding them to leave all cities, towns, and villages of Andalusia where it appears that they have
done the greatest injury, believing that that would be sufficient so that those of other cities, towns, and
villages of our kingdoms and lordships would cease to do and commit the aforesaid acts. And since we
are informed that neither that step nor the passing of sentence [of condemnation] against the said Jews
who have been most guilty of the said crimes and delicts against our holy Catholic faith have been
sufficient as a complete remedy to obviate and correct so great an opprobrium and offense to the faith
and the Christian religion, because every day it is found and appears that the said Jews increase in
continuing their evil and wicked purpose wherever they live and congregate, and so that there will not
be any place where they further offend our holy faith, and corrupt those whom God has until now most
desired to preserve, as well as those who had fallen but amended and returned to Holy Mother Church,
the which according to the weakness of our humanity and by diabolical astuteness and suggestion that
continually wages war against us may easily occur unless the principal cause of it be removed, which is
to banish the said Jews from our kingdoms. Because whenever any grave and detestable crime is
committed by members of any organization or corporation, it is reasonable that such an organization or
corporation should be dissolved and annihilated and that the lesser members as well as tile greater and
everyone for the others be punished, and that those who perturb the good and honest life of cities and
towns and by contagion can injure others should be expelled from those places and even if for lighter
causes, that may be injurious to the Republic, how Much more for those greater and most dangerous
and most contagious crimes such as this.
(4) Therefore, we, with the counsel and advice of prelates, great noblemen of our kingdoms, and
other persons of learning and wisdom of our Council, having taken deliberation about this matter,
resolve to order the said Jews and Jewesses of our kingdoms to depart and never to return or come back
to them or to any of them. And concerning this we command this our charter to be given, by which we
order all Jews and Jewesses of whatever age they may be, who live, reside, and exist in our said
kingdoms and lordships, as much those who are natives as those who are not, who by whatever manner
or whatever cause have come to live and reside therein, that by the end of the month of July next of the
present year, they depart from all of these our said realms and lordships, along with their sons and
daughters, menservants and maidservants, Jewish familiars, those who are great as well as the lesser
folk, of whatever age they may be, and they shall not dare to return to those places, nor to reside in
them, nor to live in any part of them, neither temporarily on the way to somewhere else nor in any other
manner, under pain that if they do not perform and comply with this command and should be found in
our said kingdom and lordships and should in any manner live in them, they incur the penalty of death
and the confiscation of all their possessions by our Chamber of Finance, incurring these penalties by
the act itself, without further trial, sentence, or declaration. And we command and forbid that any
person or persons of the said kingdoms, of whatever estate, condition, or dignity that they may be, shall
dare to receive, protect, defend, nor hold publicly or secretly any Jew or Jewess beyond the date of the
end of July and from henceforth forever, in their lands, houses, or in other parts of any of our said
kingdoms and lordships, under pain of losing all their possessions, vassals, fortified places, and other
inheritances, and beyond this of losing whatever financial grants they hold from us by our Chamber of
Finance.
(5) And so that the said Jews and Jewesses during the stated period of time until the end of the said
month of July may be better able to dispose of themselves, and their possession, and their estates, for
the present we take and receive them under our Security, protection, and royal safeguard, and we secure
to them and to their possessions that for the duration of the said time until the said last day of the said
month of July they may travel and be safe, they may enter, sell, trade, and alienate all their movable and
rooted possessions and dispose of them freely and at their will, and that during the said time, no one
shall harm them, nor injure them, no wrong shall be done to them against justice, in their persons or in
their possessions, under the penalty which falls on and is incurred by those who violate the royal
safeguard. And we likewise give license and faculty to those said Jews and Jewesses that they be able
to export their goods and estates out of these our said kingdoms and lordships by sea or land as long as
they do not export gold or silver or coined money or other things prohibited by the laws of our
kingdoms, excepting merchandise and things that are not prohibited.
(6) And we command all councils, justices, magistrates, knights, squires, officials, and all good men
of the said city of Burgos and of the other cities, towns, and villages of our said kingdoms and lordships
and all our new vassals, subjects, and natives that they preserve and comply with and cause to be
preserved and complied with this our charter and all that is contained in it, and to give and to cause to
be given all assistance and favor in its application under penalty of [being at] our mercy and the
confiscation of all their possessions and offices by our Chamber of Finance. And because this must be
brought to the notice of all, so that no one may pretend ignorance, we command that this our charter be
posted in the customary plazas and places of the said city and of the principal cities, towns, and villages
of its bishopric as an announcement and as a public document. And no one shall do any damage to it in
any manner under penalty of being at our mercy and the deprivation of their offices and the
confiscation of their possessions, which will happen to each one who might do this. Moreover, we
command the [man] who shows them this our charter that he summon [those who act against the
charter] to appear before us at our court wherever we may be, on the day that they are summoned
during the fifteen days following the crime under the said penalty, under which we command
whichever public scribe who would be called for the purpose of reading this our charter that the signed
charter with its seal should be shown to you all so that we may know that our command is carried out.
(7) Given in our city of Granada, the XXXI day of the month of March, the year of the birth of our
lord Jesus Christ one thousand four hundred and ninety-two years.
I, the King, I the Queen,
I, Juan de Coloma, secretary of the king and queen our lords, have caused this to be written at their
command.
Registered by Cabrera, Almacan chancellor.
 APPENDIX 2
LIST OF SYNAGOGUES THAT ARE CURRENTLY OPERATIONAL IN SPAIN AND
PORTUGAL

SPAIN
Alicante
Benidorm
Barcelona (2) Orthodox Reform
La Coruña Liberal
Madrid (2) Orthodox Masorti
Majorca Orthodox
Málaga
Marbella Orthodox Sephardi with an Ashkenazi annex
Murcia Orthodox
Oviedo
Torremolinos
Valencia (2) Masorti Masorti/Conservative
PORTUGAL
Belmonte Orthodox
Lisbon (2) Orthodox Masorti
Porto
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PAUL BLAKELEY

Paul Blakeley is Jewish and descended from a Portuguese Sephardi family on

his mother’s side. Paul was born in London in 1943 and is married to Adèle.
Adèle and Paul are retired and currently residing in Spain where Paul has
taken a special interest in the Jewish history of Iberia where he has travelled
extensively. They also have a home near St Albans and are members of St
Albans United Synagogue.

[1] Ten gold maravedís is equivalent to approximately 75 pence, which in 2014 would be worth
around £650
[2] Tax farming refers to any type of tax collection conducted by private individuals rather than
salaried state personnel.

[3] A full translation of the text of the Alhambra Decree is given in Appendix 1 of this book
[4] From the Jewish History Sourcebook – Fordham University, NYC
[5] More recently said to be the island of São Tomé off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa
[6] Some confusion seems to arise between São Tomé and St Thomas which is in fact lies in the
Caribbean Sea
[7] The introduction of tobacco into Europe is often incorrectly attributed to Sir Francis Drake in 1573
[8] Research by Henry L. Golden and Martin Rywell, in their treatise, Jews in American History
[9] A list of currently active synagogues is given in Appendix 2 of this book