Sephardic Jews
The Latest
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Opinion King Juan Carlos Gone — Can Sephardic Jews Still Return?
Spain’s King Juan Carlos / Getty Images If Juan Carlos didn’t entirely reconcile Spain and the Sephardic Jews, it wasn’t for lack of trying. The Spanish king announced his abdication this morning, 39 years into a reign that stands both as an argument for monarchy and an argument against it. Lionized for shepherding Spain through…
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Culture Bakashot Makes Unlikely Comeback as Sephardic Jews Explore Traditions
(JTA) — The group of young Jewish professionals had gathered to participate in the revival of a Sephardic tradition hearkening back to the days of their grandparents and great-grandparents. Arriving at an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, they greeted each other in French and settled in around a dining table laid out with snacks…
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News Why Kitniyot Passover Fight Is Literally Full of Beans
When is a legume not necessarily a legume? When it’s a min kitniyes, might be the Yiddish answer, which could be translated as, “When it’s a whatchamacallit.” And why is that? The week of Passover is a good time to ask. As the more ritually meticulous among you are aware, legumes — which is to…
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Fast Forward Spain Village May Change ‘Jew Killer’ Name
A Spanish village is considering removing the phrase “kill Jews” from its name. The village of Castrillo Matajudios near Leon in northern Spain will convene its 60 resident families at a town hall meeting next week to discuss and vote on the first formal proposal to change the village’s name, the regional daily Diario de…
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News Onetime Sephardic Towns See Euro Signs in Revival of Lost Jewish Heritage
(JTA) — In the center of the medieval Portuguese town of Medelim, two newlyweds in Sephardic wedding clothes are serenaded by a musical ensemble performing Ladino music. Nearby, several members of the knights Templar march in white capes and chain mail while a harlequin on stilts prances around carrying a pole topped with a Star…
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Opinion Two Moroccan Bangles Bind Generations
Photo by Martyna Starosta Editor’s note: Whether it’s a silver kiddush cup, a siddur that survived the Holocaust, or a wedding ring — heirlooms tell the story of our families. Please share your Jewish heirloom stories with us below by April 25. Several submissions will be featured in the Forward in May. In my family,…
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News Sephardic Jews Won’t Face ‘Strict’ Spanish Citizenship Rules, Justice Minister Says
When Spain finally offers citizenship to Sephardic Jews, will you qualify? According to Spain’s Justice Minister, who spoke at the American Jewish Committee’s offices in New York on March 19, the requirements to prove Sephardic descent will be loose. “The government is not looking to be strict,” said Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, speaking with the Forward after…
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The Schmooze Enrico Macias, Sephardic Superstar
If you’ve grown up as a Sephardic Jew, there’s one singer that you’ve reliably heard at every single wedding, bar/bat-mitzvah, engagement party, Shabbat, or celebration of any kind. His name is Enrico Macias. Born Gaston Ghrenassia in Constantine — then in French Algeria — in 1938, the Jewish “Pied Noir” singer has come to embody…
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