History provides several horrible periods of violence, fear and murder. Such horrible acts against humanity have been committed in the name of religion, colonization, and racial superiority. The Holocaust, was one of the most catastrophic and saddest events in history, where about 11 million people, including Jewish children, families, and political dissenters were mass murdered. However, there exists another mournful and cruel period that marked the lives of many Sephardic Jews with secrecy and fear. One hardly hears about the harassment, rejection and humiliation of Sephardic Jewry in Spain, Portugal, and countries like Mexico, at the hands of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, which began in 1492. Due to these events, Sephardic Jews found themselves facing one of the most complex decisions of their lives and those of future generations; conversion, expulsion or death. The reasons for conversion are complex, as many converted by force and others for social or political reasons. As a result, converts became known as Conversos and “marranos /chuetas, and the latter are derogatory terms, as the names imply “swine” (Hordes 6). Another important term is Anusim, referring to those "whose conversion was prompted by violence and fear not sincerity” (Hordes 6). Marranos, were secretive people often, “keeping their children from their Jewish identity, until they reached an age where discretion could be trusted "(Telushkin 195). All of these events, have led to the complex phenomena, of the crypto-Jews in the new world, including Mexico and the American Southwest. Thus, sparking new areas of interest and research of their practices, customs, authenticity, and identification.
The turbulent times for Sephardic Jews began in 1391 as rio...
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...r practices though altered are present today. Many descendants of Conversos and crypto Jews are making their return to Judaism. Regarding people's identities Kunin says, “All identities are authentic as well constructed by an individual and his or her community. The historical evidence is conclusive in demonstrating a link between crypto- Jews of New Mexico and the Jews of Spain.”
Works Cited
Cardoza, de Sola, Anne. Texas Mexican Secret Spanish Jews Today. Web.
Golden, Gloria. Remnants of Crypto-Jews among Hispanic Americans. Mountain View, California: Floricante Press, 2005. Print.
Hordes, Stanley. To the End of the Earth: a History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. Print.
Kunnin, Seth. Juggling Identities: Identity and Authenticity among the Crypto-Jews. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. Print.
of the hiding of Jews such as the Frank family, the Van Daan family, and Dr.
"Demonological anti-Semitism, of the virulent racial variety, was the common structure of the perpetrators' cognit...
...e Menorah Journal And Shaping American Jewish Identity: Culture And Evolutionary Sociology. Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal Of Jewish Studies, 30(4), 61-79. doi:10.1353/sho.2012.0095
Not only did the citizens of Spain suppress people of the Jewish faith, the authorities of Spain probably had the biggest impact in the decline of the Jewish culture. In particular, a man named Vincent Ferrer was a leader in the Spanish community in forcing the conversion of Jews to Christianity. He was known to be responsible for the creation of the Laws of Valladolid, which was a set of laws created to significantly suppress the people of the Jewish faith. This had caused many of the Jews to lose their homes, careers and cause them to pay much higher taxes than Christians and had caused either the deat...
2) Spanish Inquisition- the Spanish inquisition term is, described as a group of people going around converting people to Christianity, the ones they couldn't convert they tortured or killed. The Spanish inquisition is important because, In Spain the inquisition was held at the request of the king of Spain who used the Inquisition to confiscate property (primarily from wealthy Jewish) to convert to Christianity who were accused of secretly remaining Jews. The Spanish Inquisition in some cases was brutal. Basically, church leaders decided to terrorize the population by torturing, deporting or burning to death anyone they didn't like on the pretext of "heresy”.
Hertzberg, Arthur. (1973). The Jews of the United States. New York: Quadrangle/ The New York Times Book Co.
During the 1930’s the Jewish population had a lot of influence in Europe, consisting of over nine million people. Most Jewish people lived in Nazi Germany and the countries that Nazi Germany had controlled. By 1945, the Nazis had...
The roles of the Jews as outsiders within a larger community are ever present no matter the century. In the prologue of the mystical book called “The Pinch”, the first Jew made his arrival in Memphis in 1541. His name was Rodrigo Da Luna, a Marrano. Stern briefly mentions this Marrano, who is in no part of the story line other than being the first Jew in the area. This simple mention of a Marrano, also represents a part of Jewish history at a time when Jews faced persecution and were practicing their religion in secret in the face of adversity. Class references Rodrigo came to the Americas with the Spanish conquistador Fernando De Soto. As the conquistadores pushed further inside the continent, Rodrigo contemplated setting up shop and practicing his trade along the Chickasaw bluffs. He was a tailor by a trade and judged the bluffs ideal for civilized habitation. He thought like a true businessman and looked at the indigenous Indians as potential future clients. However once the barges were completed that would carry him across the Mississippi river, he conceded to go along with the explorers delving deeper into
...r of the bigotry and the persecution that took place. It is only one of many persecuting acts that are piled on top of Jewish history. Many Christians look back onto the Inquisition with shame and humidity. The Spanish Inquisition has inflicted untold amounts of damage onto the Spanish society and everyone else’s. It was one of the worst religious acts of ignorance and bigotry ever orchestrated by a group of people.
To initiate, Pérez’s thesis began by introducing the creation of the “anti-Semitism” against Jews; as well as discrimination against Muslims who opposed to the Catholic doctrine during the beginnings the Spanish Inquisition. First, Pérez criticized and analyzed the procedures and manipulations that the Inquisitions imposed to Jews and Muslims to convert them to Catholicism; these procedures and manipulations that Pérez criticized were the oppression to converted these two groups to Catholicism or expel them out from Spain if they remained their faith—many chose the exile (35). Also, Pérez admired the resistance that the majority of Jews had to preserve their faith in “secret” and maintained loyal to their faith even though they faced persecution, discrimination, oppression, and expulsion during the Inquisition (51).
The initial response of the inquisition was predetermined by the anti-Jewish judgment increased by the black plague in Spain. The lack of scientific development meant that Jews were blamed for the plague pandemic during 1347 to 1350. At the time the Jewish community was an important part of the Spanish economy, as the only moneylenders the King and Queen attempted to protect them. However, measures to stop the plague continually failed this further fuelled hatred towards the Jewish population. By 1492 King Ferdinand and Isabella created the Alhambra Decree that expelled Jews from their territories. They went into great detail to create a subtle form of propaganda, indoctrinating the public into believing Jews were a form of ‘disease’ that would infect good Christians. The converts that were left in the Iberian Peninsula became the main target of the inquisition. These converts called conve...
The holocaust was the mass murder of about six million Jews during World War II. The hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group is known as antisemitism. Antisemitism was a centuries old phenomenon. Jews in Europe had always been a minority. In some countries , Jews could not own land, attend school, or practice certain professions. The Holocaust, which was between 1933 and 1945, is history’s most extreme example of antisemitism. A German journalist that was named Wilhelm Marr originated the term antisemitism in 1879. Which symbolized the hatred of Jews, and also hatred of a variety of advanced, catholic, and international political trends of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that were often joined with Jews. The tendency under attack included equal civil rights, required equality, free trade, ownership, account free enterprise, and self control from violence. Between the most casual definition of antisemitism all through history were pogroms. Pogroms were violent riots that were begun against Jews and many times supported by government authorities. Pogroms were often encouraged by blood libels, which were false rumors that Jews used the blood of Christian children for ritual purposes. In the modern era, antisemites added a political quality to their ideas of hatred. In the last third of the nineteenth century, antisemitic political groups were formed in France, Germany and Austria. Advertisements such as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion developed or provided support for fake theories of a global Jewish plot. A convincing part of political antisemitism was nationalism, whose supporters often falsely accused Jews as disloyal citizens. The Nazi party, which was established in 19...
The Spanish Inquisition was the longest and most ruthless inquiry of faith of all time. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and all non-Catholic religions were besieged by persecution from the Spanish government. Although it was not intended, thousands of innocent Spaniards were tortured and killed once the king and queen of Spain established the Inquisition. An Inquisition is a very complex process, and at first, seemed innocuous.
The case was that those people were hated by the catholic church, so they were persecuted and killed of the ways you may imagine, even, initially, the "Holy" Inquisition was created with this aim... - and they called it "Holy".. awful...without words!-
"Dehumanization of the Jews." . Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh , n.d. Web. 16 Dec 2013. .