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News, November 2003Descendants of Spaniards affected by Istambul bombings16 November. The synagogues bombed in Istambul, Turkey yesterday, were among the places established by the Sefardi Jews, expelled from Spain by the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella in the year 1492, better known as the year Columbus 'discovered' America. To this day there are families among the Jews of Istambul who speak a form of medieval Spanish. The Jews who were expelled from Spain, came notably from the main cities, such as Toledo and Seville, but also from smaller towns such as Hervás, in Extremadura, which conserves to this day its Jewish quarter. They travelled, via Portugal in many cases, to Muslim lands which were under the dominion of the Turks and many settled in Morocco and Turkey. Although regret has been expressed for the suffering of the Jews as a result of their treatment by the 'Catholic Kings' and others of that era, the current rulers of Spain have been invited on occasions to make a full act of reconciliation. Since Spain was involved in so many atrocities over past centuries, it feels that starting on the way of reconciliation could be to open a pandora's box of complaints. Recently, the former synagogue in Toledo, capital of Spain in 1492, was handed back to the Jews after use over the past 500 years as a Roman Catholic church building. |