Today In Jewish History

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Sponsored by Aish: In 1492, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain signed a decree expelling all Jews who refused to convert to Christianity. Tomas de Torquemada served as “Grand Inquisitor,” charged with uncovering those who continued to practice Judaism in secret (called Conversos or Marranos — “pigs”). In the ensuing Inquisition, an estimated 32,000 Jews were burned at the stake in elaborate public ceremonies, and another 200,000 were expelled from Spain. At the time, Jews held many prominent posts in Spain; Rabbi Don Yitzhak Abrabanel, who served as finance minister, reportedly offered Queen Isabella the astronomical sum of 600,000

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Islamists planned attacks across Europe

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Reuters likes to call them “Islamist extremists”, but that is duplicitous term, because the word “Islamist” already implies “extremist”. Regardless, this should come as no surprise to anyone, except of course Islamists, their defenders and apologists. From Islamists planned attacks across Europe: Islamist extremists were planning attacks across Europe, especially against public transport, before their arrests in Barcelona last weekend, a Spanish paper reported on Saturday, citing a would-be attacker’s testimony. The Al Qaeda-inspired cell planned to attack the Barcelona metro and other targets in Spain, Germany, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom, said the bomber turned police informant.In testimony

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Today in Jewish History – Cheshvan 4

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Sponsored by Aish.com: In 1483, Tomas de Torquemada was appointed as “Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition.” Jews of Spain had been forced to convert to Christianity, and the Inquisition was designed to uncover those who were continuing to practice their Judaism in secret (called Conversos or Marranos). Those who never confessed were burned at the stake; those who did confess were strangled first. Torquemada believed that as long as the Jews remained in Spain, they might influence the tens of thousands of Jews who had converted to Christianity. It was on his recommendation that the remainder of the Jewish

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Iberia Reconnects with Its Jewish History

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From Iberia Reconnects with Its Jewish History: Now, more than five centuries after Spain violently expelled its Jews, the country is experiencing a revival of interest in Sephardic heritage. Unlike Berlin, Prague, and other European cities where a lost Jewish heritage has been a cultural steppingstone for years – and where old Jewish quarters, synagogues and cemeteries are almost mandatory tourist stops – the curiosity in Spain’s Jewish sites has grown up almost overnight. A growing number of tourists are coming to Segovia, a city in Spain’s Castile region, not only to see its towering Roman aqueduct but also to

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Barcelona restoring Jewish quarter

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Barcelona is restoring its old Jewish quarter, but the local Jewish community says it’s being shut out of the process. In the Middle Ages, Barcelona’s Jewish community of 4,000 people played an integral role in the city. Acting as a bridge to immigrants from throughout the Mediterranean, the local Jews spoke Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, Catalan, Latin and Arabic. But in 1391, anti-Jewish riots moved up the Iberian Peninsula. A large number of Barcelona’s Jews were forced out, killed or converted. Six hundred years later, the city is in the process of restoring its old Jewish quarter, known as the Call,

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