The entrance to Casa Shalom, the country's foremost center for Marrano-Anusim studies, is almost as well concealed as the secret Jews it researches. Located in the pastoral village of Gan Yavne, not far from Ashdod, the humble entrance - down several steps and behind one of the well-kept villas - gives little indication to the treasures it holds.

Gloria and Leslie Mound at Casa Shalom in Gan Yavne.
Photo: Ruth Eglash

"This used to be a car port where I kept my washing machine," admits British-born Gloria Mound, who founded the center with her husband Leslie, when the two made aliya 24 years ago. "My son converted it into an office for us; we had no choice because our library just kept on growing and there were so many people requesting our research."

Mound is referring to the center's more than 2,000 books, 5,000 documents and hundreds of testimonies, artifacts and photographs all telling the story of the Jews who either converted to Christianity or fled from Spain and Portugal during the Inquisition more than 600 years ago. While some stayed in the Mediterranean area, others settled as far afield as Newfoundland, Cuba, Jamaica and the Philippines.

As we walk in through the narrow doorway, Mound, 79, points out some of the institute's highlights. Mainly the very valuable book collection that contains perhaps the best clues to the mysteries behind the world's secret Jews, who are referred to in a wide variety of ways from Marranos, Anusim and Conversos to Islanders, Chuetas and Cryptos, but in essence are the people who kept their Jewish identity so well hidden that even today it is a struggle for some of them to be open about who they really are.

As well as researching their origins, migratory paths, customs and practices for the past 45 years, Mound, who works on a strictly voluntary basis, is also tireless advocate for helping those "lost" Jews find their way back into the fold and navigate through Israel's secular and religious bureaucracy to make aliya.

"I really believe that there is a Jewish soul, though I'm not sure exactly what that it is," says Mound, who became a research fellow in the Department of Hispanics at the University of Glasgow in 1988. "It's something that makes an ordinary, even nonreligious Jew connect straight away with a complete stranger and know instinctively that he is Jewish."

As we sit down in the airy office, Mound points to the shelves at the side of her computer desk: "See down there? Those are the 40 or so files that I am actively working on, trying to help people from around the world who want to reclaim their Jewish heritage and come to Israel. Most of the time, however, it's the Interior Ministry that makes problems for us simply because it has no clue about this subject."

Mound's chagrin at those who know little about the history of Spain's secret Jews does not end with the Interior Ministry. As she begins to share her knowledge of the subject, it also becomes clear that she is angry in general at those who make key decisions but show so much ignorance.

"It really frightens me that we have so many people who know nothing about what they are doing and can cause others so much harm and misery," says Mound, pointing to a box of matza that she is planning to send ahead of Pessah to a man she believes is a Marrano living in the Philippines but who has been refused a visa.

"I've appeared several times before the rabbinic and supreme courts and in many of the cases have been really shocked when the judges turn around and admit they don't know anything about this subject," she says. "I'm happy to tell them everything they want to know, but I believe it's a terrible injustice for someone to pass a judgment when he doesn't know anything about it."

According to Mound, the acceptance of Marrano Jews by Israel is a "vital matter that affects Jews all over the world."

"This country is always complaining that the aliya figures are falling, but there are literally millions of Jews who want to come here," she says. "In fact, coming to Israel should be the easiest thing for them to do but it's so complicated and difficult that they don't even bother trying."

MOUND'S fascination with the Marranos started quite by accident.

"We were on holiday in [the Spanish resort] Benidorm; it was during the mid-1960s, and one Sunday we took a tour of a village in the hills," she begins. "They took us to a factory that made touron [a Spanish sweetmeat] and at the time my husband and I owned a kosher supermarket [in London] and were very interested in the intricacies of food preparation."

While the other British tourists were busy enjoying the free beer and wine, Gloria and Leslie wanted to take a closer look at how the touron, which some say is actually a Marrano delicacy, was made.

"The factory appeared to us to be kosher and we asked the owner to show us how everything worked," recalls Mound, adding that they soon became fast friends and in subsequent years visited him often.

It was not until 1973, however, when the Mound family vacationed on the Spanish island of Ibiza that their interest in Marrano culture and history deepened. Their factory owner friend in Benidorm put them in touch with a colleague on the island and he, in turn, introduced them to some of the Marrano families.

"At first they did not want to talk to us," admits Mound, who later sold the family business and, in 1985, went to live in Ibiza to further her research into the community. "But slowly we got to know them and they started to open up."

Mound's exploration into the Marrano community in Ibiza uncovered some rare treasures that had remained hidden from the outside world for centuries, including a secret synagogue underneath a convent and a 14th-century Megillat Esther that is currently being restored by the Spanish government.

The husband-and-wife team identified many of the community's customs, including the fact that they had continued to marry among themselves, refrained from eating pork at home, did not mix meat and milk in the same dish and followed the Sephardi custom of naming a child after a grandparent.