October 13 was a historic day in the history of the Bnei Anousim, the descendants of the Jews of Iberia who were forced to convert to Catholicism up to 600 years ago, and were then subjected to torture and death at the hands of the Inquisition for heresy.
Jack Cohen – Anousim Initiative Pt. I
October 13 was a historic day in the history of the Bnei Anousim, the descendants of the Jews of Iberia who were forced to convert to Catholicism up to 600 years ago, and were then subjected to torture and death at the hands of the Inquisition for heresy. It was the inaugural session of the new Caucus for the Reconnection with the Descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Communities at the Knesset in Jerusalem. The formation of such a Caucus in the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) indicates a serious desire for some of the Members of the Knesset to finally deal with this subject. The session was sponsored by the Institute for Sefardi and Anousim Studies at Netanya Academic College (NAC), the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and Reconnectar, an initiative of the Caucus (see http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/MKs-launch-Knesset-lobby-for-Sefardic-Jews-forcibly-converted-to-Christianity-423854).
The inaugural session at the Knesset was introduced by MK Robert Ilatov, Chairman of the Caucus, followed by Ashley Perry, Caucus Director. A summary of their remarks can be found in a recent article in the Jerusalem Post (http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/A-Knesset-conference-on-reconnecting-with-the-descendants-of-Spanish-and-Portuguese-Jews-421375). Mr. Perry noted that although he is British, his original family name was Perez, and that his family was among those who founded Bevis Marks Sefardi synagogue, and so his involvement in the status of the Sefardim and Bnei Anousim is quite personal.
The Ambassador of Spain, HE Fernando Carderera Soler, announced that the Spanish Government not only passed the unprecedented law returning Spanish citizenship to authentic Sefardim two weeks ago, but had immediately granted citizenship to 4,300 applications that had been submitted before the bill was passed and who had already been approved by the Spanish Jewish Community in Madrid. He emphasized that this was done to right a historic wrong.
Other speakers included Prof Zvi Arad, President of NAC, Marc Geuron, American Sefardi Federation; Leon Edry, Chairman of Cinema City, who estimated that there are 6 million descendants of Jews in Portugal; Schulamith Halevy, Hebrew University, who previously worked in Mexico, and a pioneer in Anousim studies; MK Shai Hermesh, Head of the WJC-Israel; Michael Freund, Head of Shavei Israel, an organization that works with Jewish groups around the world and who also wrote a recent article in the Jerusalem Post that summarizes his views (http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/FUNDAMENTALLY-FREUND-The-Abarbanel-and-the-return-of-the-Bnei-Anusim-423752); Rabbi Haim Amsalem, who has criticized the conversion process in Israel controlled by the Ultra-Orthodox, criticized the Rabbinate for not being present at this meeting, and said that their approach was to sweep it all under the rug and ignore it.
The speaker who had the most emotional response was Hannah Eyal, a delightful young woman, who as a teenager growing up in Portugal found several practices and artifacts of her family to be decidedly un-Catholic and at college realized that these were of Jewish origin. While on a trip to India she met some Israelis and eventually converted, fell in love, married, moved to Israel, and she is now expecting her first child. She tearfully said that she feels as if she is reconnecting the chain of precious Jewish heritage that was broken by cruel persecution. She received a standing ovation.
To illustrate the terrible situation that prevails, with no overall strategy or consideration by the Israeli Government here is an example. A Spanish woman named Emilie Sola approached the Rabbi of the French city of Pau to request conversion because she was convinced that she was of Jewish origin. The Rabbi advised her to go to Israel and convert there and he gave her the name of a Rabbi who could convert her. She moved to Israel expecting to start a new life here. But, when she went to see the Rabbi he demanded a large sum of money and told her that the course would start in 3 months. This was contrary to their agreement, so she refused and instead went to a conversion course in Netanya. But, the conversion course lasts 9 months while her visa was for 3 months. So she was advised to apply for a special conversion visa for 9 months. But, the Ministry of the Interior never responded to several applications. She became an illegal resident, but the Rabbi of the conversion program, in his naivete, told her, don’t worry about that, we’ll sort it out. In order to survive she also worked illegally.
After she finished the course she was examined by a Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem. But, the Rabbi there said “since you are here illegally, we can’t handle your case.” She protested, but he also said that the first Rabbi who she had refused to pay had written on her application that she was not sincere. The Rabbi in Netanya advised her to leave the country and then return on a new visa. She arrived at Ben Gurion Airport, but was then arrested and held in jail for 2 days and then deported. Nevertheless, after arriving back in France she applied to the Israeli Embassy in Paris for a new visa and received a letter in reply telling her that she cannot return to Israel for 10 years. Salomon Buzaglo, Manager of the Inst. for Sefardi and Anousim Studies, personally confirmed the details of this story. (He also knows of 10 cases involving Brazilian and Central American youths, who want to come to Israel and convert, but he could find no authority willing to take them.) I have heard of several other cases with the same pattern from other sources.
Such disgusting treatment of returning or converting Bnei Anusim does no honor to the Israeli Authorities. As Ashley Perry noted, if the Spanish and Portuguese Governments can restore citizenship to former citizens after 500 years, why can’t the State of Israel at least help genuine Bnei Anusim who want to reconnect with the Jewish people?
Born in London, UK, lived in suburban Washington DC area for 30 years, moved to Israel in 1996. He has a web site: Jack’s Blog
