Descendants of the Sephardic Jewish community which lived in Spain 500 years ago are being asked to return and take up dual citizenship.
Spain's government has approved a draft bill that will allow them citizenship. When approved, the new law could embrace up to 3.5 million people worldwide from a broad range of countries, including Israel, the Netherlands, Mexico, France, the US, Turkey, Argentina and Chile.
The ‘Reyes Católicos’, or Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, instigated the Inquisition which in 1492 forced the Jews of Spain to flee or convert to Catholicism on pain of torture and execution without trial.
The Catholic Monarchs swiftly turned on the Jews as victory over the Moslem rulers in Spain drew near. Both groups were commanded to become Catholic or swiftly leave Spain for good.
At the time, some 300,000 Jews were believed to live in Spain.
The plan is said to be attracting a great amount of attention from the descendants of those forced out or killed.
An earlier plan two years ago to grant automatic citizenship to Sephardic descendants failed to stir much interest as it required them to renounce their existing citizenship.
The current new plan allows dual citizenship.
The word Sephardic comes from the Hebrew word for Spain, Sefarad. Applicants must prove their Sephardic background and have a deadline of just two years to apply for citizenship once the law comes into force.
In the wake of exile from Spain and the Holocaust in Europe, some families will find it difficult to prove their ancestral ties to Spain
Tens of thousands of Israelis have used their family backgrounds to obtain EU passports in recent years. Many have taken up citizenship of Germany and Poland, despite previous intolerance.
Spanish Muslim groups have been campaigning for some time to obtain nationality rights for the descendants of Muslims who suffered the same fate as the Jews, but no legislation in their favour has been proposed.
