The Expulsion Of Iberian Jews

The history of the Jews of Spain and Portugal in 1497 with the edicts of expulsion

issued by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella for Castile and Aragon and by King Manuel I of Portugal. This occured after a tumultuous century of radical changes in Jewish life. The existence of Jews in the Iberian Peninsula is verified by the fourth century of the Common Era as evidenced by anti-Jewish legislation enacted under the Christian Council of Elvira.

Archeological evidence and Jewish literature arguably date the presence of a Jewish community far earlier. The latter not withstanding, the presence of Jews in Iberia represents more than a thousand years of continual habitation which far exceeds the continued presence of Jewish communities in other regions and even rivals communities of the Land of Israel.

The history of Spanish Jewry is often characterized as having engendered a Golden Age. The circumstances created under Moorish rule beginning the 8th century CE have been termed Convivencia. The Spanish historian Americo Castro is credited with coining this term implying he peaceful coexistence that prevailed among the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The former term has led many scholars to envision a utopian society in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived and worked alongside each other in almost idyllic symbiosis.

This environment of Convivencia is argued to have initiated the Golden Age of Sephardic Jewry. Yet as has been suggested, the Golden Age may have been golden for only a few hundred well placed individuals. There is no doubt that Spanish Jewry experienced a period of relative tranquility and success during periods of Moorish rule at least when compared to Jews living in Christian society, but the extent of that success beyond the ranks of the great Jewish poets and philosophers of the two hundred year period is likely exaggerated. Nonetheless, the individuals who thrived during this period is impressive.

Initiated through Hasdai ibn Shaprut in the 10th century, the works of various Sephardic writers was encouraged. Through Hasdai's efforts, a number of prominent individuals were brought to Crdoba, including Dunash ben Labrat and Menahem ben Saruq. Eventually various poets, philosophers, and biblical commentators rose during this era including Solomon ibn Gabirol, Yehuda Halevi, Samuel Ha-Nagid ibn Nagrela, and Abraham and Moses ibn Ezra. The rise of the Islamic Almoravids and Almohades sects violently ended the complicated relationships which had previously existed.

by: Jacob Lumbroso

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