History of the Jews in Spain information

13th-century illustration from the *Libro de los juegos* depicting Jews playing chess.

The history of the Jews in the current-day Spanish territory stretches back to Biblical times according to Jewish tradition, but the settlement of organised Jewish communities in the Iberian Peninsula possibly traces back to the times after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.^[1] The earliest archaeological evidence of Hebrew presence in Iberia consists of a 2nd-century gravestone found in Mérida.^[2] From the late 6th century onward, following the Visigothic monarchs' conversion from Arianism to the Nicene Creed, conditions for Jews in Iberia considerably worsened.^[3]

After the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the early 8th century, Jews lived under the Dhimmi system and progressively Arabised.^[4] Jews of Al-Andalus stood out particularly during the 10th and the 11th centuries, in the caliphal and first taifa periods.^[5] Scientific and philological study of the Hebrew Bible began, and secular poetry was written in Hebrew for the first time.^{[citation needed]} After the Almoravid and Almohad invasions, many Jews fled to Northern Africa and the Christian Iberian kingdoms.^[5] Targets of antisemitic mob violence, Jews living in the Christian kingdoms faced persecution throughout the 14th century, leading to the 1391 pogroms.^[6] As a result of the Alhambra Decree of 1492, the remaining practising Jews in Castile and Aragon were forced to convert to Catholicism (thus becoming 'New Christians' who faced discrimination under the limpieza de sangre system) whereas those who continued to practise Judaism (c. 100,000–200,000) were expelled,^[7] creating diaspora communities. Tracing back to a 1924 decree, there have been initiatives to favour the return of Sephardi Jews to Spain by facilitating Spanish citizenship on the basis of demonstrated ancestry.^[2]

An estimated 13,000 to 50,000 Jews live in Spain today.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]

^ Hinojosa Montalvo 2000, p. 25.
^ ^a ^b Prados García 2011, p. 2119.
^ Hinojosa Montalvo 2000, pp. 25–26.
^ Hinojosa Montalvo, José (2000). "Los judíos en la España medieval: de la tolerancia a la expulsión". Los marginados en el mundo medieval y moderno (PDF). p. 26. ISBN 84-8108-206-6.
^ ^a ^b Hinojosa Montalvo 2000, p. 26.
^ Hinojosa Montalvo 2000, p. 28.
^ Prados García, Celia (2011). "La expulsión de los judíos y el retorno de los sefardíes como nacionales españoles. Un análisis histórico-jurídico" (PDF). Actas del I Congreso Internacional sobre Migraciones en Andalucía. pp. 2119–2126. ISBN 978-84-921390-3-3.
^ Europa Press (27 November 2013). "Los 50.000 judíos de España celebran desde hoy la fiesta de Janucá que culminará el día 4 con el encendido de luces". Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ "Unos 50000 judíos residentes en España reciben el nuevo año". 28 September 2011.
^ Calvo, Vera Gutiérrez (6 June 2014). "El Gobierno aprueba la ley que otorga la doble nacionalidad a los sefardíes". El País.
^ Sergio DellaPergola, World Jewish Population (2007) American Jewish Committee, accessed 12 October 2009
^ The Jewish Virtual Library (as well as the president of the Spanish Jewish community) speak of 40,000-50,000 Jews (see "Spain". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 12 October 2009.) of whom half are affiliated with the Federación de Comunidades Judías de España (FCJE).

[FOOTNOTEHinojosa_Montalvo200025-1] Hinojosa Montalvo 2000, p. 25.

[FOOTNOTEPrados_García20112119-2] Prados García 2011, p. 2119.

[FOOTNOTEHinojosa_Montalvo200025–26-3] Hinojosa Montalvo 2000, pp. 25–26.

[4] Hinojosa Montalvo, José (2000). "Los judíos en la España medieval: de la tolerancia a la expulsión". Los marginados en el mundo medieval y moderno (PDF). p. 26. ISBN 84-8108-206-6.

[FOOTNOTEHinojosa_Montalvo200026-5] Hinojosa Montalvo 2000, p. 26.

[FOOTNOTEHinojosa_Montalvo200028-6] Hinojosa Montalvo 2000, p. 28.

[7] Prados García, Celia (2011). "La expulsión de los judíos y el retorno de los sefardíes como nacionales españoles. Un análisis histórico-jurídico" (PDF). Actas del I Congreso Internacional sobre Migraciones en Andalucía. pp. 2119–2126. ISBN 978-84-921390-3-3.

[8] Europa Press (27 November 2013). "Los 50.000 judíos de España celebran desde hoy la fiesta de Janucá que culminará el día 4 con el encendido de luces". Retrieved 12 February 2022.

[9] "Unos 50000 judíos residentes en España reciben el nuevo año". 28 September 2011.

[10] Calvo, Vera Gutiérrez (6 June 2014). "El Gobierno aprueba la ley que otorga la doble nacionalidad a los sefardíes". El País.

[Pergola-11] Sergio DellaPergola, World Jewish Population (2007) American Jewish Committee, accessed 12 October 2009

[12] The Jewish Virtual Library (as well as the president of the Spanish Jewish community) speak of 40,000-50,000 Jews (see "Spain". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 12 October 2009.) of whom half are affiliated with the Federación de Comunidades Judías de España (FCJE).

History of the Jews in Spain information

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