The Legacy of Sepharad: New and Old Encounters between Spain and the Jews

Sepharad—the world of Spanish Jewry before the mass expulsion of 1492—possesses an ongoing allure among both Jews and Spaniards, as a long-lost golden age of rich cosmopolitanism, cultural prominence, and convivencia. Since the abolition of the Inquisition in the nineteenth century, Spain has made increasing efforts to recover and lay claim to the Sephardi legacy, through commemoration of historical figures, restoration of synagogues, and support of academic research in Sephardi studies. Most recently, in 2014, the Spanish government extended citizenship to descendants of expelled Sephardi Jews. This lecture will discuss the complexities of the modern reencounter between Jews and Spaniards after centuries of separation.