Spanish deportees – History

The expulsion from Spain is the enforced expulsion of the Jews from the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon that ended on the 9th of Av, 1492. The expulsion followed a decree publicized in 1492 by Fernando II the king of Aragon and his wife, Queen Isabella, by which the residing of Jews in their kingdom was prohibited by law. This decree reflected a fanatic religious policy of the Spanish crown that wanted to create a uniform Christian society, without religious minorities.

קסטיליה ספרדית מתקופת גירוש יהודי ספרד

Following the decree, Jews were given the choice of converting to Christianity or leaving their homeland within four months, which led to the expulsion of the majority of the Jews from Spain. Only a fraction of the Jews chose to convert to Christianity, at least on the surface, and stayed in Spain as marranos. Most of the expelled Jews left Spain for countries located on the Mediterranean coast, for North Africa and the Ottoman Empire, and for Europe: France, Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Bulgaria, and Germany.


New Spanish Law

Now, 522 years after the expulsion, the Spanish government is granting to the descendants of the expelled Jews the right to receive back what is owed to them historically by law – Spanish citizenship. The proof of the historic tie with Spanish Jewry is not simple due to historic and objective reasons.

The Touti law office has prepared itself for the sake of Israeli citizens who are descendants of the Jews expelled from Spain in order to realize their right to receive the citizenship and provides them with full service and guidance opposite the Spanish delegation.