In June 2015, the Spanish government approved legislation granting citizenship to the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. This political development, described by Spain’s Justice Minister as a “historic reparation of … the greatest mistake in Spanish history,” has sparked a flurry of interest from Jews of Iberian origin across the globe—from Latin America and the U.S. to Israel and Turkey. Based on the assumption of Sephardi Jews’ continued cultural identification with their one-time homeland, the law promises to reward their “fidelity and special ties to Spain.” Yet, the precise nature of this historic relationship, explains historian Julia Phillips Cohen, is more complex than such characterizations suggest. Using the present debates as a point of departure, her talk probes the evolution of Sephardi Jews’ ties to Spain in the centuries following their expulsion.

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Photo Citation: “Map of Sephardic Diaspora Alternative ,” DSS Exhibits, accessed September 13, 2018, https://exhibits.lafayette.edu/omeka/items/show/2706.