On this week’s explainer, we’re unpacking the story of the Crypto Jews or Conversos and explaining why a surprising number of Latin Americans and people of Latin American descent have Jewish ancestry.
To understand why, we’re going back in time. Way back. To 1492.
That’s the year in which two huge historical events took place; events that shook up the Jewish community of Spain and changed the trajectory of their history forever.
This week’s explainer unpacks those events, explains why some Latin American families have traditions that are markedly different to those of their neighbors, and looks at why the numbers of people taking up an offer of citizenship from the Spanish government has been bigger than anyone could have imagined.
Video Sources
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reveals Jewish ancestry at Hanukkah celebration
- Latin Americans show wide-spread Converso ancestry and imprint of local Native ancestry on physical appearance – Nature
- Spain gets 127,000 citizenship applications from Sephardi Jews – BBC
- THE LONG JOURNEY OF GRACIA MENDES – Marianna D. Birnbaum
- Ask! – Ohr Somayach International
- A surprising number of Latin Americans have Jewish roots, study finds – Ha’aretz
- Shalom on the Range – Harpers Magazine
- Mistaken Identity? The Case of New Mexico’s “Hidden Jews” – The Atlantic
- Hispanics Uncovering Roots as Inquisition’s ‘Hidden’ Jews – New York Times
- Diaspora Ministry: Millions with ties to Judaism are ‘strategic asset’ – Jerusalem Post
You can find this video on our YouTube channel Unpacked.
