When it comes to a new Spanish law that allows descendants of Jews expelled during the Inquisition to seek Spanish citizenship, Sephardi Jews in Toronto appear to be less enthusiastic about it than their Montreal counterparts.
According to Simon Keslassy, the president of the Communauté Juive Marocaine de Toronto (CMJT), there don’t seem to be many Sephardim who are eager to take advantage of the opportunity.
“Even people from CJMT, they are not very hot on this, because I heard from people that there are a lot of procedures to do this application, and it’s a long process. It’s not very easy,” Keslassy said, adding that he didn’t see much benefit to applying for Spanish citizenship.
“I’m not interested in having a Spanish passport. There may be some people who want to do it, because Spain belongs to the European Union, and once they have a Spanish passport, they’ll belong to the European community… Otherwise, it’s not advantageous for anything.”
“There are many Jews in Montreal who are interested in the opportunity”
But Raphael Assor, the director of government relations for the Communauté Sépharade Unifiée du Québec (CSUQ), said there are many Jews in Montreal who are interested in the opportunity.
Although it is too soon to know how many people are applying, Assor said he suspects the number could be anywhere from 100 to 300.
He said that after the Spanish citizenship law passed in October, the CSUQ held a meeting with the consul general of Spain in Montreal that was attended by about 150 people.
Currently, fewer than 5,000 Sephardim, out of an estimated 3.5 million worldwide, have sought citizenship since the law was passed two months ago. Spain has one of the smallest Jewish communities in the European Union, with only about 50,000 Jews out of a total population of about 47 million.
According to Soeren Kern, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, a non-profit international policy council and think-tank, there are so many hurdles to obtaining Spanish citizenship that most of those who might qualify would be deterred from following through.
He wrote that among some of the many provisions required to obtain citizenship, applicants must prove their Sephardi background through their ancestry, surname and spoken language – either Ladino, a medieval Jewish-Spanish language, or Haketia, a mixture of Hebrew, Spanish and Judeo-Moroccan Arabic.
For younger hopefuls, most applicants would be disqualified from the start because of the language requirement, since both are dying languages spoken mostly by elderly Latin Americans, Moroccans and Turks.
In addition to the language requirement, applicants living outside Spain must have their heritage verified and certified by Jewish associations or rabbinical authorities in their home countries, and then they must be validated again by the Madrid-based Federation of Jewish Communities.
An applicant is also required to travel to Spain at their own expense to write two exams that demonstrate basic Spanish language proficiency and an understanding of the Spanish Constitution, culture and society.
Late last month, Spain’s King Felipe VI honoured Sephardi Jews at a ceremony recognizing the new law and thanked them for “having kept like a precious treasure your language and your customs that are ours, too. Thank you, too, for making love prevail over rancour and for teaching your children to love this country. How we have missed you.”
The law was passed in an effort to rectify the damage done to Spain’s Jewish community during the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century, when 400,000 Jews were expelled and tens of thousands more were either forced to convert to Catholicism or executed.
But Yehuda Azoulay, founder of the Toronto-based Sephardic Legacy Institute, whose goal is to preserve Sephardi heritage, said the new law elicits more questions rather than provides closure for Sephardim.
“Why all of the sudden is the Spanish government giving citizenship to Sephardi Jews? What are the benefits? What is the real intention behind the scenes in the Spanish government? Do Sephardi Jews need this citizenship?” Azoulay asked.
Jon Iñarritu García, a Spanish congressman, challenged the government’s new law in an address to Spain’s Parliament last June.
“We want to express our disappointment, because this law, which was supposed to restore justice, has become increasingly complicated. If we observe the procedures, the prerequisites, the number of documents to be submitted, the certified translations, the fees, the language and culture exams and the need to travel to Spain, we cannot but wonder about the reason for all of these hurdles,” he said, adding that the cost for each applicant could be up to $6,700 (US).
Azoulay said that he hasn’t heard of anyone who intends to follow through with the process.
“No one really talks or cares about it… I spoke to the Canadian ambassador [to Spain], and he seemed to have very little interest,” Azoulay said.
“It is vague and unclear, therefore, in my humble opinion it is all a waste of time.”
Assor, whose parents come from Spanish-speaking cities in Morocco, said he’ll seek citizenship and suspects many in Montreal will do the same.
While some have expressed dismay and have been deterred by the complicated process, he receives daily calls from people who are eager to begin their applications.
Assor said most have no plan to go back to Spain, “because our lives are here, but we appreciate the recognition. It is very important that after more than five centuries they recognized the expulsion.”
Keslassy, also a Moroccan Jew, agreed that the acknowledgement from the king is important to the community.
“One thing I’m happy about is that the king of Spain had a meeting with the Jewish community in Spain… he asked for forgiveness for what happened in 1492 and he welcomed all the Sephardi, Spanish-speaking Jews to come to Spain. It was a good thing. But for a passport, I’m not interested,” he said.