Sephardim

Reclaiming the Jewish learning tradition that once defined Sephardic Judaism

Across 20 countries, three new institutions are reclaiming the worldly tradition of Jewish learning that once defined Sephardic Judaism, insisting it belongs to every Jew.

SCHOLARS, RABBIS, and communal leaders gather at the second Sephardic Rabbinic Conference in New York in August.
Visitors examine exhibits at the “Jewish Shamash Museum” in Baghdad, Iraq.

Iraq opens first Jewish museum as country's ancient community nears extinction

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) people in Tel Aviv in June.

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community feels misunderstood. Here’s why - opinion

FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group H - Uruguay v Cape Verde - Fans gather in Praia - Praia, Cape Verde - June 21, 2026 Cape Verde fans pose for a photograph during the match screening

Cape Verde, the FIFA World Cup 2026 underdog with unexpected Moroccan Jewish roots


Gafni urges Shas to open Sephardi schools, party responds amid renewed discrimination debate

Shas put out a letter thanking Gafni, thanking him for stressing the need for Shas to remain strong and independent, as no other party properly represents the Sephardic public.

MK Moshe Gafni in the Knesset plenum, in Jerusalem, December 4, 2024

International Sephardi Congress in Zamora deepens knowledge about the Spain-Portugal border

The congress has become a July highlight on Zamora’s calendar of events, attracting locals and visitors to the city.

 PARTICIPANTS IN the 13th International Sephardi Congress in Zamora listen to a presentation.

Fraudsters sold fake Sephardic citizenship for cash, say Spanish police

The immigration scheme allegedly exploited a 2015 law, dubbed the “Law of Return,” that allows the descendants of Jews expelled in the 1492 Spanish Inquisition to obtain Spanish nationality. 

 A ceremony at Spain's Royal Palace in Madrid marked the passing of a law granting citizenship to Sephardic Jews, Nov. 30, 2015.

Hacham Zvi Ashkenazi: Anomaly of a religious scholar

The combination of his highly developed scruples, stubbornness, and independence contributed to the difficulty that he had in holding down official rabbinic positions.

 INTERIOR OF Amsterdam’s Sephardi synagogue, the Esnoga, by Romeyn de Hooghe, 1695.

The forced converts of the Inquisition: Rediscovering Spanish, Portuguese roots - interview

A descendant of forced converts persecuted by the Inquisition has a suggestion for the Jewish state.

 CASTLE OF CALATRAVA. Garcia discovered that his Judaizing family lived under the protection of the Knights of Calatrava, near Almagro in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real, for 500 years, thus avoiding discovery by the Inquisition.

The Crypto-Jews of Ecuador: Exploring Loja’s Jewish past and future

Diaspora Affairs | While their ancestors may have been forced to hide or abandon their Judaism following the Alhambra Decree of 1492, these Bnei Anusim are returning to their Jewish roots

 GABRIEL GUALÁN MALDONADO (left), president of Ecuador’s Sephardi History Cultural Center, seen here with his family, spoke to the ‘Post’ about the lives of Ecuador’s Bnei Anusim and their rediscovery of their Jewish faith.

It's our responsibility as Jews to revisit, educate ourselves on our own history - opinion

"A generation without history is a generation that not only loses a nation’s memory but loses a sense of what it’s like to be inside a human skin.”

 IN ‘THE STORY of the Jews: Belonging,’ Simon Schama shows us that in order to understand history – and those figures we revere or despise – we must constantly dig deeper into what we do not know as well as what we already believe we know.

'The 2,000 Kidnapped Spanish Jewish Children’ film honors families of October 7 hostages

The documentary outlines how 2,000 Jewish children were sent to the hostile island of São Tomé after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492.

 Stills from the film 'The 2,000 Kidnapped Spanish Jewish Children.'

Jewish museum of Porto hosts 1,000 students on historic anniversary

Students explored Portugal’s Jewish heritage at the Jewish Museum of Porto, marking the 1496 Expulsion Edict.

Teenagers visiting the wall of names of victims of the Inquisition from Oporto.

'Throw them in the toilet': Yitzhak Yosef urges students to 'tear up' draft orders

"What do we have without our Torah? Why did we come here—to become secular? If a draft notice arrives, tear it up. Do you have a toilet at home? Flush it down,” Yosef said.

 Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef during a shaharit prayer in the northern Israeli city of Tzfat, September 17, 2024.