Facing the pain and trauma of history
 

I write this with some trepidation as I imagine it might be somewhat controversial, but here goes. (taking a break from the greater travelogue: Steve and Laura's Spanish adventure) When we were in Portugal a few years ago we were disturbed by the failure to take responsibility for historical wrongs committed and the invisibility of the victims of these wrongs (genocide and enslavement of native peoples in the New World, and the genocide and trauma inflicted on their Jewish citizens at the hands of the inquisition). For example, in the main square of Lisboa there is no monument or plaque to the victims of the Inquisition even though hundreds or maybe thousands were murdered there.

I know the United States is not perfect in this regard, but there is a serious effort to honor the victims of European conquest and to keep the history alive (for example the memorial to the Navajo people killed on the long walk at the Bosque Redondo in New Mexico).

So as we prepared for this trip to Spain, and read up on Spanish history, I did so with some trepidation. I am Jewish, and Spain is a country that was both one of the most celebrated centers of Jewish culture and learning, and also the site of much trauma and death.

When we arrived in Cordoba, where I knew that there had been a strong Jewish community until the expulsion in 1492, but also where Isabella and Ferdinand (authors of the expulsion) had resided I wondered what I would find.
I was very pleasantly surprised. Maimonades, one of the greatest Jewish teachers of all time, is honored everywhere - it is as though the city has adopted him as their own. Even more impressive is the museum of Sephardic culture across from the synagoga (one of the three remaining synagogues in Spain that date from the middle ages). The museum is a powerful statement against intolerance in all forms, and a beautiful honoring of Cordoba's Jewish history. I was touched when the young man in the gift shop told me that another young man had learned he had Jewish ancestors and had gone to England to convert and become a Rabbi. Sadly he told me that he would have to go elsewhere to serve however as there are no Jews left in Cordova. The most emotionally powerful part of the museum was an exhibition about the dangers of book burning and intellectual repression and honoring those who died in the interest of freedom of thought. It was deeply touching.

I don't know what we will find in the rest of Spain but just wanted to say - way to go Cordoba - well done!

When I visited Spain for the first time ( 80s),
a couple asked the tour guide a question about Jewish history in Spain
...the guide's repose : "Spain is a Catholic country".

glad to know things have opened up a bit. When my former husband lived in Spain as a boy under Franco they had to hide the synagogue (this was in Catalonia)

glad to know things have opened up a bit. When my former husband lived in Spain as a boy under Franco they had to hide the synagogue (this was in Catalonia)

Nowadays Spain is, for the most part, not a relious country.

not religious

I am in Portugal right now, and while I have not looked for any plaques here in Lisbon, I can tell you that there is a plaque on a wall in the old Jewish quarter of Porto that does commemorate/apologize for the Inquisition.

That is good to know Socaltraveler. We got pretty lost in Porto so perhaps we missed it

Indeed. If either for earlier pogroms or for the Holocaust, there are too, too many areas of Europe with unfilled centuries-old synagogues. Most sad.
One interesting effort to memorialize some of heroism associated with such trauma is the French National Monument to the Righteous in Thonon-les-Baines
http://www.thononlesbains.com/en/cut...righteous.html
The monument pays homage to those non-Jews who saved human lives during the genocide.

You do know, don't you, that Spain has been welcoming Sephardic Jews back for a couple of years now.

BILL GRANTING THE SPANISH CITIZENSHIP TO SEPHARDIC JEWS WITH SPANISH ORIGINS (Spanish Sephardic Passport) - On June 11th 2015 the Spanish Parliament approved an Act concerning the granting of the Spanish citizenship to Sephardic Jews with Spanish origins. The Law enables Sephardic Jews who are descendents of those expelled from Spain in the 15th century to obtain the Spanish citizenship without renouncing their current citizenship and without requiring residency in Spain.

http://www.immigrationspain.es/2016/...rdic-passport/

There is in fact a memorial in Lisboa, in Largo de São Domingos, just off Rossio. There is also a Jewish Museum in the works. Additionally Portugal has a law of return that grants citizenship for descendants of those expelled in the 1500s.

Great something different trip report - good job and so well written.

I do not even know where to start this posting.

Robert posted the 2015 Spanish bill regarding Jews.

I am Jewish and have spent considerable time in Spain, as my father-in-law was born in Galicia. I first started visiting in 1972 and I am the first Jew many knowingly met. I can barely represent myself, let alone an entire religion. I felt uncomfortable at that time as Franco was still alive and his Fascist regime was still in place, even though it was dying.

We went to the first kosher restaurant in Madrid since the Inquisition in 1973, which has since closed.

The largest flamenco dress and accessory store is or was owned by Jews. We went there to purchase something and the young woman running the place was reading a biography of Ben Gurion, naturally a conversation ensued.

For some reason Torquemada, did not extend the Inquisition to Galicia. Although there are few Jews there as they converted, there are names that could be Jewish. There is a small street in Santiago de Compostela called Rua of Xerusalén, which is Jerusalem Street in the language of the region called Gallego which is a reminder of the past.

Besides the many shuls that are used for something else throughout Spain including Toledo.

The Gold Age of Spain which lasted approximately 300 years was under the Muslims, where Muslims, Catholics, and Jews thrived together.

Girona was the center of the Kaballah from the early 13th century until the Inquisition.

One of the peaks in Barcelona is called Montjuic in Catalan or Jewish Mountain where the Fundació Joan Miró is located and was the center of the summer Olympics in 1992.

There are all sorts of Jewish buildings and reminders throughout the country. I did not list many, many of them.

I have thought of your post for several hours. There is courage in opening up your vulnerability, and opening up possible controversy. By now, I hope you see others understand and that there is more at work than what a tourist sees.
I am not Jewish, Muslim, or even Catholic, but I know at times I will be angry at history's inhumanity of man....it happens everywhere and those with relevant heritage, or those with sensitive hearts will see the iniquities and feel them.
As a North American, one wants to remember our history is short and relatively uncomplicated. It has records and a limited number of societies we have wronged. Please do not compare it to cultures going back millennia with more power overthrows and injustices than we can ever imagine. Where do they even start to apologize for wrongs when parts of countries have changed hands more often than we can imagine?
A plaque can be just a bandaid solution if change doesn't really happen and society does not practice forgiveness or tolerance.
I am not sure whether you will be going to Granada this trip, but if so, I hope you will go to the Mirador San Nicolas and search out the active mosque. There is one. It has a beautiful garden one can visit, and though not amplified, supposedly calls to prayer are still done by the imam in the tower. Sunset calls to prayer were the most meaningful for me. It gave me peace, as well as hope. Perhaps seeing Muslim faith being practiced again after more than 5 centuries will give you hope that once again, the rabbi can retun to practice in Cordoba and that synagogues in Spain will not remain empty. That to me, is a truer testament of accepting past wrongdoings than a plaque, or even a law.

I rather agree with quiltingmama. If the US was as progressive in that regard as we'd like to think, New Orleans would not have had to remove their Confederate commemorative statues in the middle of the night. Reservations would not have the number of issues they do have with their neighbors and the government in general. The Tea Party would not have any traction politically. Trump's wall would not be seen as a plausible solution by a frightening number of Americans.

I rather liked the lack of religious fervor I encountered in Europe. And I was impressed in particular about the discourse Germany is willing to engage in about Hitler and the Holocaust. I'm interested in Jewish history, and the way many communities, even in London and Rome, have chosen to remember the Holocaust's victims was immensely touching and interesting.

Thank you for the trip report, by the way. Definitely adding Córdoba and the Sephardic museum to my Spain bucket list:)

The typical Semana Santa/Holy Week saetas are said to come from synagogue chants, 14th- and 15th-century versions of the Kol Kol Nidrei prayer.

Here a satea from wonderful Diana Navarro during Semana Santa in Málaga a couple of years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0HHdxt5_kY

I just wanted to add my voice to this discussion, Laura, to thank you for starting it. I can well understand your wanting to find some acknowledgement for the presence of your ancestors in Spain and Portugal and I'm glad that in some small measure you succeeded.

Really hope as the world looks upon 50 years of immoral, brutal and disgraceful occupation of the people of Palenstine, which is ongoing and something people could actually do something about now and today, this thread will inspire greater willingness to criticize the policies of both Israel and the United States and Britain that foment the suffering and degradation and deaths of Palestinians who have been robbed of their homes and liberty. A genuine injustice that put a moral obligation on everyone alive today to address.

As so apropos of how victims of religious prejudice can just be "disappeared" when history is rewritten by the victors, here is a truly eye-opening article in this week's New Yorker magazine about one of the world's most famous photos of the Six-Day-War which cropped out of the photo the houses of people who lived near the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. This article makes those people & their homes visible again.

It's a great lesson in how to restore memories of victims who were bulldozed away.

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-d...g-the-1967-war