Spain's 'Jewish Problem'

Pajamas Media ^ | December 30 | Soeren Kern

[AJKauf]

just as Spaniards get smug about their perceived racial superiority, along comes a new study which implies that many Spanish anti-Semites actually have Jewish blood. An examination of the genetic signatures of the Spanish population shows that 20 percent of contemporary Spaniards have Jewish origins. As it turns out, far more Jews than previously thought did not comply with the order to leave Spain back in 1492 and simply converted to Catholicism instead.

Many of those conversos tried to blend in by adopting surnames that indicated trades or professions...

[dfwgator]

I didn’t expect some kind of Spanish Inquisition.

[RedDogzRule]

NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!

[Niuhuru]

A lot of conversos were treated better by the Catholic Church and Spanish Royal society because they converted. They married into a lot of prominent Spanish families.

[DManA]

I was in Denver recently and a waitress had an unplaceable accent. I asked her if I could be so bold as to ask where she was from. She put us through a guessing game. We guessed all the eastern European countries we could think of and gave up. She told us she was from Spain. Never would have guessed. We asked her if the Mexicans thought she had a peculiar accent. She looked around carefully and whispered to us “Mexicans don’t speak Spanish. It’s a mongrel mixture of Spanish and Indian.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

if you travel in rural Mexico, say down around Oaxaca, you'll find its mostly Indian dialect, not Spanish.

[livius]

Jews have been on the Spanish peninsula for millenia. There were Jewish merchants who arrived with the Phoenicians and established Jewish communities in the trading centers developed by the Phoenicians, not only in Southern Spain, but in places as far north as Galicia, on the Atlantic Coast of Spain. (And also in Britain, but that’s another story.)

When the Greeks and the Romans came to Spain later on, the Jewish colonies were already there, although there were also new Jewish settlements as the Romans expanded throughout Spain. There has long been a legend that Santiago, St. James the Apostle, preached in Spain around the year 47 A.D. This is because early Christians regarded themselves as Jews and preached only to other Jews, until the Council of Jerusalem in 50 A.D., and St. James would have gone to Spain to preach to the Jews scattered about the territory. Supposedly he went to Merida, Zaragoza and Galicia, all places known to have Jewish communities.

The Jews lived semi-separately under the various rulers of Spain, whether Phoenician, Greek or Roman, so that they could maintain their own religious practices and their own law. But they often held important posts and there was some intermarriage, although it was not encouraged by either side.

[ScottinVA]

King Juan Carlostein?

[marron]

“Mexicans don’t speak Spanish.

And, of course, thats only true in the same sense that you might say that Americans don't speak english.

[robomatik]

Toledo is still seeking Jewish inhabitants.

[Vendome]

Help, Help! We’re being repressed!

[Tijeras_Slim]

If you want to read some interesting stuff, do a search on New Mexican Crypto Jews.

[CTrent1564]

dfwgatpr:

One of the best studies on the subject is by Henry Kamen, Professor of History who has taught at numerous U.S. Universities, including UCLA and the Univ. of Chicago. He is a Jewish-British citizen and is currently a research fellow in Spain and his analysis supports the fact that the Spanish Inquisition, as understood by most today, is based on urban legends. I suggest folks here at a minimum go to amazon.com and examine his work on the Spanish Inquisition. I am surprised by the lack of intellectual honesty with some individuals on this board with respect to this subject. It seems deconstructionisism, which at its core is a Marxist and relativistic ideology, is rampant. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1480 in the context of the Spanish Reconquest of their homeland from the Muslim invaders, who had overrun their country in the late 7th century resulting in the longest war in history. The Spanish inquisition was designed to confront Catholic heresy, which was seen as being a threat to the state. Specifically, it was targeting conversos, i.e. persons who had converted from Islam and/or Judaism for political gain. There is a growing consensus among scholars that indeed many of the conversos lived double lives and conspired with the Moslems during the Spanish Catholics war of reconquest. It is true that torture as used and some were put to death by the state, if convicted twice which Catholic Historian Warren Carroll, in his Volume 3 of History of Christianity: The Glory of CHristendom notes can’t be defended.

However, he notes that torture and being put to death were not unique to Spain. Most sources today document that some 15,000 persons were found guilty by the Inquisition and about 2,000 were put to death during Isabella’s reign. Many Catholic Saints were in fact charged in the inquisition and cleared, including St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and ST. THeresa of Avila. As Carroll notes (p. 608) in Volume 3 of his work, “The Glory of Christendom”, the Inquisition had no jurisdiction over practicing Moslems or Jews, only over professed Christians who were still living as Jews or Moslems.

Shortly after the Spanish Inquisition was commenced in 1480, the war of reconquest of Spain began again as on December 26, 1481, the Moslems attacked Granada. Isabella responded with and all out military effort which finally ended what was a 759 year struggle!!! to to drive the Moslems out. In addition, shortly after the reconquest, Isabella in March 1492 issued a decree to expel all Jews from Spain. Warren Carroll (p. 681 fn) writes “Much has been made of in recent years of Isabel’s decree in March 1492 expelling all Jews from Castille as showing that she was not always good and just. None but God is always good and just. This was the one definitely unjust act in Isabel’s thirty-three year reign; though some Jewish subjects had been proved to be, or could reasonably be expected to be traitors, and some had been proved by the inquisition to have enticed conversos to betray and blaspheme the Christian Faith, the edict of expulsion covered all without exception, the innocent majority along with guilty minority. Those exiled were not otherwise harshly treated; they were given four months to wind up their affairs and take all they wished with them except precious metal, an their persons were under royal protection throughout that time. Yet, the expulsion was still unjust (See Carrolls Isabel of Spain, pp. 207-210 for more detail).

It seems, based on the scientific evidence, that many Jews of the times adopted Catholicism and married Spanish Catholics, rather than leave Spain. In summary, the Spanish Inquisition should be seen in the context of the 15th century and in the context of Spain’s 759 year conflict to retake their Land from the Moslem invaders. All other attempts, IMO, are nothing more than Marxist Deconstuctionism. Further, the Spanish Inquisition was no different from any other courts during its time, and in fact, the criteria for evidence was among the best in the era. Also, non-Catholic never were tried under the inquisition, so this nonsense that all non-Catholics, which you seem to imply in your post, were wound up and tried in the Inquisition is a fairy tale.

Happy New Years to you and all

[onedoug]

Judeo-Christian values over blood.

[Yollopoliuhqui]

With more posters like Trent, this forum could generate the smarts needed to keep this political demographic from disappearing into the rear view mirror of history.

[SolidWood]

The finding is neither surprising nor relevant to the historical context. The author superimposes the 19th century (and Nazi) biological/racial antisemitism on medieval Spain. Their anti-Judaism was however not racially but religously framed. For the racists/Nazis a Jew could be practicing Catholcism, Islam, be an Atheist or anything else... he would still remain a Jew, defined by blood. Thus they considered elimination by expulsion and ultimately extermination as the "final solution".

15th century Spain was only concerned about the issue of their religion.

[sionnsar]

We asked her if the Mexicans thought she had a peculiar accent.

Our previous rector spoke Spanish (Spain) -- it definitely sounds quite different from Mexican Spanish.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

Here’s some Spanish to Venezuelan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Kzbo7tNLg

(¿Por qué no te callas?)

[Sherman Logan]

15th century Spain was only concerned about the issue of their religion.

That is, of course, why Spain was so obsessed with "purity of blood," ancestry untainted by Jews or Muslims.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpieza_de_sangre