Sephardic Jews
The Latest
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Fast Forward Sephardic ‘Law of Return’ Approved by Spain Cabinet
The Spanish government has approved a draft bill that proposes to grant citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews who were forced into exile 500 years ago. Spain’s Council of Ministers, the Spanish cabinet, on Friday approved the draft law, which proposes to dispense with the need to relinquish foreign nationalities as required for other new…
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Fast Forward Morocco Berbers Build Better Ties With Jews
A group of Moroccan Berbers launched an organization dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism and to strengthening cultural ties with Israel. The Moroccan Observatory for the Fight against Anti-Semitism founded last week is headed by Berber minority rights activist Omar Louzi, according to a report Thursday on the online edition of the Ya Biladi daily. “We are…
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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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Opinion Outrage over Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed on sexual assault of Palestinians is missing the point
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News They texted about Torah and mitzvahs. Feds say they were insider trading
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Opinion I run The Jewish Theological Seminary. Here’s the real story about President Isaac Herzog speaking at our commencement
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News Middlebury College Hillel votes to rebrand, distancing from parent group on Israel
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