Beit Aghion ( Hebrew : בית אגיון , Aghion House ), also known as Beit Rosh HaMemshala ( Hebrew : בית ראש הממשלה , lit. House of the Head of Government ) or metonymously as Balfour is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Israel . It is located at 9 Smolenskin Street, on the corner of Balfour Street in the upscale central Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia .
135-541: The house was built between 1936 and 1938 for Greek-Jewish merchant Edward Aghion, an affluent resident of Alexandria in Egypt . It was designed by German architect Richard Kauffmann . In 1941, Peter II, King of Yugoslavia resided in the house. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War it served as a hospital for the Irgun fighters. In 1952, the Israeli government purchased the house for
270-718: A functioning synagogue on Crete , while very few remain in Kavala and Rhodes . Greek Jews today largely "live side by side in harmony" with Christian Greeks, according to Giorgo Romaio, president of the Greek Committee for the Jewish Museum of Greece, while nevertheless continuing to work with other Greeks, and Jews worldwide, to combat any rise of anti-Semitism in Greece. Currently the Jewish community of Greece makes great efforts to establish
405-717: A 65-year-old doctor is believed to be the first Jew elected mayor in Greece. He was elected in June 2019. Most Jews in Greece are Sephardic, but Greece is also the home of the unique Romaniote culture. Besides the Sephardim and the Romaniotes, some Northern-Italian, Sicilian, Apulian, Provençal, Mizrahi and small Ashkenazi communities have existed as well, in Thessaloniki and elsewhere. All these communities had not only their own custom ( minhag ), they also had their own siddurim printed for
540-562: A Biblical location. The location of the Biblical Sepharad points to the Iberian peninsula, then the westernmost outpost of Phoenician maritime trade. Jewish presence in Iberia is believed to have started during the reign of King Solomon , whose excise imposed taxes on Iberian exiles. Although the first date of arrival of Jews in Iberia is the subject of ongoing archaeological research, there
675-570: A Holocaust museum in the country. A permanent pavilion about the Holocaust of Greek Jews in KZ Auschwitz shall be installed. A delegation and the president of the Jewish communities of Greece met in November 2016 with Greek politicians and asked them for support in their demand to get back the community archives of the Jewish community of Thessaloniki from Moscow . Independent candidate Moses Elisaf ,
810-495: A Jewish population of 2,000, the largest Jewish community in any Byzantine city of the 12th century, after Constantinople, the empire's capital. The first settlement of Ashkenazi Jews in Greece occurred in 1376, heralding an Ashkenazi immigration from Hungary and Germany to avoid the persecution of Jews throughout the 15th century. Jewish immigrants from France and Venice also arrived in Greece, and created new Jewish communities in Thessaloniki. The Fourth Crusade degraded
945-575: A diversion from the landing in Normandy, the Gestapo rounded up the Jews of the city, temporarily incarcerated them at the old fort ( Palaio Frourio ) and on the 10th of June sent them to Auschwitz where very few survived. However, approximately two hundred out of a total population of 1,900 managed to flee. Many among the local populace at the time provided shelter and refuge to those 200 Jews that managed to escape
1080-642: A few years. The Jewish community in Portugal was perhaps then some 15% of that country's population. They were declared Christians by Royal decree unless they left, but the King hindered their departure, needing their artisanship and working population for Portugal's overseas enterprises and territories. Later Sephardic Jews settled in many trade areas controlled by the Empire of Philip II and others. With various countries in Europe also
1215-517: A large number of Jews from Thessaloniki made aliyah to Mandatory Palestine , settling in Tel Aviv and Haifa . Those who could not get past British immigration restrictions simply came on tourist visas and disappeared into Tel Aviv's Greek community. Among them were some 500 dockworkers and their families, who settled in Haifa to work at its newly constructed port . Later, with the establishment in 1936 of
1350-607: A misunderstanding of the initials ס"ט "Samekh Tet" traditionally used with some proper names (which stand for sofo tov , "may his end be good" or "sin v'tin", "mire and mud" has in recent times been used in some quarters to distinguish Sephardim proper, "who trace their lineage back to the Iberian/Spanish population", from Sephardim in the broader religious sense. This distinction has also been made in reference to 21st-century genetic findings in research on 'Pure Sephardim', in contrast to other communities of Jews today who are part of
1485-717: A new Jewish colony in the 1st century AD. The Jews of Thessaloniki "enjoyed wide autonomy" in Roman times. Originally a persecutor of the early Jewish Christians until his conversion on the Road to Damascus , Paul of Tarsus , himself a Hellenized Jew from Tarsus , part of the post- Alexander the Great Greek Seleucid Empire , was instrumental in the founding of many Christian churches throughout Rome, including Asia Minor and Greece. Paul's second missionary journey included proselytizing at Thessaloniki's synagogue until driven out of
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#17328555184081620-616: A notary public in Spain. In the case of Portugal, the nationality law was modified in 2022 with very stringent requirements for new Sephardic applicants, effectively ending the possibility of successful applications without evidence of a personal travel history to Portugal —which is tantamount to prior permanent residence— or ownership of inherited property or concerns on Portuguese soil. The name Sephardi means "Spanish" or "Hispanic", derived from Sepharad ( Hebrew : סְפָרַד , Modern : Sfarád , Tiberian : Səp̄āráḏ ),
1755-680: A segment of Balfour Street was closed to traffic. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resided in Beit Aghion until July 2021, more than a month after he was ousted from office by a coalition headed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. Since then, renovations have been underway at Beit Aghion. During their terms as Prime Minister, Bennett remained in his family residence in Ra’anana and Lapid largely lived in Tel Aviv during his tenure as prime minister. The building
1890-468: A similar edict for Jews and Muslims. These actions led to migrations, mass conversions, and executions. By the late 15th century, Sephardic Jews had been largely expelled and dispersed across North Africa , Western Asia , Southern and Southeastern Europe , settling in established Jewish communities or pioneering new ones along trade routes like the Silk Road . Historically, the vernacular languages of
2025-600: A small decrease since the Greek government-debt crisis . As of 2020, about 5,000 Jews live in Greece, mostly in Athens (2500), with less than 1,000 in Thessaloniki. The Greek Jewish community has traditionally been pro-European . Today the Jews of Greece are integrated and are working in all fields of the Greek state and the Greek society, such in the fields of economy, science and politics. The community of Thessaloniki accused Germany to pay
2160-496: A stifling effect, the disintegration of the caliphate expanded the opportunities to Jewish and other professionals. The services of Jewish scientists, doctors, traders, poets, and scholars were generally valued by Christian and Muslim rulers of regional centers, especially as order was restored in recently conquered towns. Rabbi Samuel ha-Nagid (ibn Naghrela) was the Vizier of Granada . He was succeeded by his son Joseph ibn Naghrela who
2295-409: A strong impression on the author. He noted: "Despite their low numbers their contribution to the overall appearance of the camp and the international jargon spoken is of prime importance." He described a strong patriotic sense among them, writing that their ability to survive in the camps was partly explained by the fact that "they are among the cohesive of the national groups, and from this point of view
2430-655: A synagogue, a mikveh and a yeshiva as well. However, during the time he was a rabbi in Pernambuco, the Portuguese re-occupied the place again in 1654, after a struggle of nine years. Aboab da Fonseca managed to return to Amsterdam after the occupation of the Portuguese. Members of his community immigrated to North America and were among the founders of New York City , but some Jews took refuge in Seridó . The Sephardic kehilla in Zamość in
2565-455: A tradition passed down by Rabbi Berekiah and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai , quoting second-century tanna Rabbi Meir , states: "Do not fear, O Israel, for I help you from remote lands, and your seed from the land of their captivity, from Gaul , from Spain, and from their neighbors." Medieval legends often traced the arrival of Jews in Spain to the First Temple period , with some associating
2700-546: Is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish that was spoken by the eastern Sephardic Jews who settled in the Eastern Mediterranean after their expulsion from Spain in 1492; Haketia (also known as " Tetuani Ladino " in Algeria), an Arabic -influenced variety of Judaeo-Spanish, was spoken by North African Sephardic Jews who settled in the region after the 1492 Spanish expulsion. In 2015, more than five centuries after
2835-487: Is composed of several square blocks connected to one another and in the center of the building there is a stairway, decorated with a row of windows in the front. The front of the building also includes a section molded in a circular way, and in a boat-like fashion typical of the International Style . The house is coated with Jerusalem stone . The premises include an inner courtyard ( patio )—an element that differs from
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#17328555184082970-703: Is considerable as Samuel Abravanel (or "Abrabanel"—financial councilor to the viceroy of Naples ) or Moses Curiel (or "Jeromino Nunes da Costa"-serving as Agent to the Crown of Portugal in the United Provinces ). Among other names mentioned are those of Belmonte, Nasi , Francisco Pacheco , Blas, Pedro de Herrera , Palache , Pimentel , Azevedo , Sagaste, Salvador , Sasportas , Costa , Curiel , Cansino , Schönenberg , Sapoznik (Zapatero), Toledo , Miranda, Toledano , Pereira , and Teixeira . The Sephardim distinguished themselves as physicians and statesmen, and won
3105-511: Is defined by a liturgical tradition's choice of prayers, order of prayers, text of prayers and melodies used in the singing of prayers. Sephardim traditionally pray using Minhag Sefarad. The term Nusach Sefard or Nusach Sfarad does not refer to the liturgy generally recited by Sephardim proper or even Sephardi in a broader sense, but rather to an alternative Eastern European liturgy used by many Hasidim , who are Ashkenazi . Additionally, Ethiopian Jews , whose branch of practiced Judaism
3240-648: Is derived from the Hebrew Sepharad ( lit. ' Spain ' ), can also refer to the Jews of the Middle East and North Africa , who were also heavily influenced by Sephardic law and customs . Many Iberian Jewish exiled families also later sought refuge in those Jewish communities, resulting in ethnic and cultural integration with those communities over the span of many centuries. The majority of Sephardim live in Israel . The earliest documented Jewish presence in
3375-943: Is evidence of established Jewish communities as early as the 1st century CE . Modern transliteration of Hebrew romanizes the consonant פ ( pe without a dagesh dot placed in its center) as the digraph ph , in order to represent fe or the single phoneme /f/ , the English sound that is voiceless labiodental fricative. In other languages and scripts, "Sephardi" may be translated as plural Hebrew : סְפָרַדִּים , Modern : Sfaraddim , Tiberian : Səp̄āraddîm ; Spanish : Sefardíes ; Portuguese : Sefarditas ; Catalan : Sefardites ; Aragonese : Safardís ; Basque : Sefardiak ; French : Séfarades ; Galician : Sefardís ; Italian : Sefarditi ; Greek : Σεφαρδίτες , Sephardites ; Serbo-Croatian : Сефарди, Sefardi ; Judaeo-Spanish : Sefaradies/Sefaradim ; and Arabic : سفارديون , Safārdiyyūn . In
3510-560: Is known as Haymanot , have been included under the oversight of Israel's already broad Sephardic Chief Rabbinate . The earliest significant Jewish presence in the Iberian Peninsula is typically traced back to the Roman period , during the first centuries CE. Evidence includes an amphora discovered in Ibiza , stamped with two Hebrew letters in relief, indicating possible trade between Judaea and
3645-507: Is most often used in this wider sense. It encompasses most non-Ashkenazi Jews who are not ethnically Sephardi, but are in most instances of West Asian or North African origin. They are classified as Sephardi because they commonly use a Sephardic style of liturgy; this constitutes a majority of Mizrahi Jews in the 21st century. The term Sephardi in the broad sense, describes the nusach ( Hebrew language , "liturgical tradition") used by Sephardi Jews in their Siddur (prayer book). A nusach
3780-533: Is predominantly used for any Jew that lives in or originates from the modern region of Greece. Aside from the Romaniotes , a distinct Jewish population that historically lived in communities throughout Greece and neighboring areas with large Greek populations, Greece had a large population of Sephardi Jews , and is a historical center of Sephardic life; the city of Salonica or Thessaloniki, in Greek Macedonia ,
3915-561: Is used in modern Hebrew to refer to Spain. This has caused a long misunderstanding, since traditionally the entire Iberian Diaspora has been included in a single group. But the historiographical research reveals that that word, seen as homogeneous, was actually divided into distinct groups: the Sephardim, coming from the countries of the Castilian crown , Castilian language speakers, and the Katalanim [ ca ] / Katalaní, originally from
4050-698: Is usually called amongst Spanish and Portuguese Jews, is the Amsterdam Esnoga —usually considered the "mother synagogue", and the historical center of the Amsterdam minhag . A sizable Sephardic community had settled in Morocco and other Northern African countries, which were colonized by France in the 19th century. Jews in Algeria were given French citizenship in 1870 by the décret Crémieux (previously Jews and Muslims could apply for French citizenship, but had to renounce
4185-628: The Balearics in the first century. Additionally, the Epistle to the Romans records Paul 's intent to visit Spain, hinting at a Jewish community in the region during the mid-first century CE. Josephus writes that Herod Antipas was deposed and exiled to Spain, possibly to Lugdunum Convenarum , in 39 CE. Rabbinic literature from the Amoraic era references Spain as a distant land with a Jewish presence. For example,
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4320-473: The Crown of Aragon , Judeo-Catalan speakers. The modern Israeli Hebrew definition of Sephardi is a much broader , religious based, definition that generally excludes ethnic considerations. In its most basic form, this broad religious definition of a Sephardi refers to any Jew, of any ethnic background, who follows the customs and traditions of Sepharad. For religious purposes, and in modern Israel, "Sephardim"
4455-637: The First Balkan War in 1913. During this period, the centre of Jewish life in the Balkans was Salonica or Thessaloniki. The Sephardim of Thessaloniki were the exclusive tailors for the Ottoman Janissaries , and enjoyed economic prosperity through commercial trading in the Balkans. After their expulsion from Spain , between fifteen and twenty thousand more Sephardim settled in Thessaloniki. According to
4590-721: The Florentine, Tel Aviv and the area around Jaffa Harbor . Some also emigrated to the United States , Canada , and Australia . Greece was the first country in Europe after the war to give back to its Jewish community possessions of Jews, that were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust and the war as resistance fighters, so that the communities had the possibility for consolidation. A Jewish minority continues to live in Greece. There are communities in Athens and Thessaloniki . The community has had
4725-629: The Greek War of Independence ; so often they became also targets by the revolutionaries. The Ottoman rule in Thessaloniki ended much later, in 1912, as Greek soldiers entered the city in the last days of the First Balkan War. Thessaloniki's status had not been decided by the Balkan Alliance before the war, and Glenny writes that some amongst the city's majority Jewish population at first hoped that
4860-650: The Italian Army , but was later overwhelmed by German forces. The Germans had been gathering intelligence on Salonica's Jewish community since 1937. Some 60,000-70,000 Greek Jews, or at least 81% of the country's Jewish population, were murdered; especially in jurisdictions occupied by Nazi Germany and Bulgaria . Although the Germans deported a great number of Greek Jews, some were successfully hidden by their Greek neighbours. The losses were significant in places like Thessaloniki , Ioannina , Corfu or Rhodes , where most of
4995-586: The Metaxas regime , which was not typically hostile to Jews in general despite its fascist character, the stance of the Greek State towards the Jewish community was further improved. During World War II, Greece was conquered by Nazi Germany and occupied by the Axis powers . 12,898 Greek Jews fought in the Greek army, one of the best-known amongst them being Colonel Mordechai Frizis , in a force which first successfully repelled
5130-587: The Roman Empire in 146 BC. The Jews living in Roman Greece had a different experience than those of Judaea Province . The New Testament describes Greek Jews as a separate community from the Jews of Judaea, and the Jews of Greece did not participate in the First Jewish-Roman War or later conflicts. The Jews of Thessaloniki, speaking a dialect of Greek, and living a Hellenized existence, were joined by
5265-467: The Strait of Gibraltar from North Africa and launched a successful military campaign in the Iberian Peninsula. This conquest resulted in the establishment of Muslim rule over much of the region, which they referred to as " Al-Andalus ". The territory would remain under varying degrees of Muslim control for several centuries. The Jewish community, having faced persecution under Visigothic rule, largely welcomed
5400-621: The Visigothic Kingdom , following a period of significant instability caused by Barbarian invasions that led to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire . Initially, the Christian Visigoths practiced Arianism and, while they generally did not engage in the persecution of Jews, they did not extend particular favor to them either. It was not until the reign of Alaric II (484–507) that a Visigothic king concerned himself with
5535-648: The Wars of the Diadochi led to the territory changing rulership rapidly as Alexander's successors fought over control over the Persian territories. The region eventually came to be controlled by the Ptolemaic dynasty , and the area became increasingly Hellenistic . The Jews of Alexandria created a "unique fusion of Greek and Jewish culture", while the Jews of Jerusalem were divided between conservative and pro-Hellene factions. Along with
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5670-744: The "Shira" project. Additionally, it was recommended that until a new building is constructed, the Prime Minister's Office should rectify and repair safety and protection deficiencies in the Beit Aghion. Nevertheless, Beit Aghion has not been renovated since Netanyahu vacated in July 2021. Nor has building of a new residence been initiated. Since Netanyahu returned to office in 2023, he has resided in his homes in Caesarea and on Gaza Road in Jerusalem. On June 30, 2024, Netanyahu's government approved NIS 37.5 million to build
5805-470: The 17th century on account of their number, wealth, education, and influence, they established poetical academies after Spanish models; two of these were the Academia de Los Sitibundos and the Academia de Los Floridos . In the same city they also organized the first Jewish educational institution, with graduate classes in which, in addition to Talmudic studies, the instruction was given in the Hebrew language . The most important synagogue, or Esnoga , as it
5940-526: The 17th century. However, following the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1715, Jews returned and lived there in relative peace. The middle of the 19th century, however, brought a change to Greek Jewish life. The Janissaries had been destroyed in 1826, and traditional commercial routes were being encroached upon by the Great Powers of Europe. The Sephardic population of Thessaloniki had risen to between twenty-five and thirty thousand members, leading to scarcity of resources, fires and hygiene problems. The end of
6075-437: The Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture calls Thessaloniki's Sephardic community "indisputably one of the most important ones in the world." The first recorded mention of Judaism in Greece dates from 300 to 250 BCE on the island of Rhodes . In the 2nd century BCE, Hyrcanus, a leader in the Jewish community of Athens, was honoured by the raising of a statue in the agora . According to Edmund Veckenstedt , Ganymede
6210-414: The Bible published in Constantinople in 1547 has the Hebrew text in the middle of the page, with a Judaeo-Spanish translation on one side and a Yevanic translation on the other. Joseph Nasi a Portuguese Marrano Jew was appointed as the Duke of Archipelago for the years 1566–1579. The Jewish community in Patras , which had existed since antiquity, left the city during the Ottoman–Venetian wars of
6345-456: The Bulgarian occupation zone to the Treblinka extermination camp. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, a large percentage of the surviving community emigrated to Israel or the United States . As of 2019 the Jewish community in Greece amounts to about 6,000 people out of a population of 10.8 million, concentrated mainly in Athens , Thessaloniki (or Salonika in Judeo-Spanish ), Larissa , Volos , Chalkis , Ioannina , Trikala , Corfu and
6480-407: The Deutsche Bahn, which is the successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , reimbursement for the heirs of Holocaust victims of Thessaloniki for the train fares that they were forced to pay for their deportation from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz and Treblinka between March and August 1943. According to the significant Jewish past and present of Thessaloniki the Aristotle University planned together with
6615-408: The Dutch and South America. They contributed to the establishment of the Dutch West Indies Company in 1621, and some were members of the directorate. The ambitious schemes of the Dutch for the conquest of Brazil were carried into effect through Francisco Ribeiro, a Portuguese captain, who is said to have had Jewish relations in the Netherlands . Some years afterward, when the Dutch in Brazil appealed to
6750-406: The Germans, insurgents sang a song of the Greek partisan movement and the Greek national anthem . In his book If This Is a Man , one of the most famous works of literature of the Holocaust, Primo Levi describes the group thus: "those Greeks, motionless and silent as the Sphinx, crouched on the ground behind their thick pot of soup." Those members of the community still alive during 1944 made
6885-525: The Golden Age. Among the Sephardim were many who were the descendants, or heads, of wealthy families and who, as Marranos , had occupied prominent positions in the countries they had left. Some had been stated officials, others had held positions of dignity within the Church; many had been the heads of large banking-houses and mercantile establishments, and some were physicians or scholars who had officiated as teachers in high schools. Their Spanish or Portuguese
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#17328555184087020-406: The Greek army and local Greeks. As a result of the intense coverage of these pressures in the world press, the Venizelos government took a series of measures against antisemitic actions. After liberation, however, the Greek government won the support of the city's Jewish community, and Greece under Eleftherios Venizelos was one of the first countries to accept the Balfour Declaration . In 1934,
7155-440: The Holocaust. When the island's mayor, Loukas Karrer , was presented with the German order to hand over a list of Jews, Metropolitan Bishop Chrysostomos of Zakynthos returned to the Germans with a list of two names; his own and the mayor's. The island's population hid every member of the Jewish community. In 1947, a large number of the Jews of Zakynthos made aliyah to Palestine (later Israel), while others moved to Athens. When
7290-481: The Iberian Peninsula is often traced to the Roman period , during the first centuries CE. After enduring hardship under the Visigoths , Jewish communities thrived for centuries under Muslim rule in Al-Andalus following the Umayyad conquest , which ushered in a golden age . However, their fortunes declined with the Christian Reconquista . In 1492, the Alhambra Decree by the Catholic Monarchs expelled Jews from Spain, and in 1496, King Manuel I of Portugal issued
7425-404: The Jewish Virtual Library: "Greece became a haven of religious tolerance for Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition and other persecution in Europe. The Ottomans welcomed the Jews because they improved the economy. Jews occupied administrative posts and played an important role in intellectual and commercial life throughout the empire." These immigrants established the city's first printing press, and
7560-423: The Jewish community of Thessaloniki in 2014, the reopening of the Faculty of Jewish Studies. A former Jewish faculty was abolished 80 years before by the Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas . This new faculty took in October 2015, her work on with leading professor Georgios Antoniou in the faculty of Philosophy. On the university campus a monument commemorating the old Jewish cemetery was unveiled also in 2014. The campus
7695-409: The Jewish population closed their doors to traders from the Greek and Slav populations and physically intimidated their rivals. With the importation of modern anti-Semitism with immigrants from the West later in the century, moreover, some of Thessaloniki's Jews soon became the target of Greek and Armenian pogroms . Thessaloniki's Jewish community comprised more than half of the city's population until
7830-412: The Jewish population of Thessaloniki numbers roughly 1,000, and maintains two synagogues. In Corfu, after the fall of Italian fascism in 1943, the Nazis took control of the island. Corfu's mayor at the time, Kollas, was a known collaborator and various anti-Semitic laws were passed by the Nazis that now formed the occupation government of the island. In early June 1944, while the Allies bombed Corfu as
7965-439: The Jewish population were deported and killed. In contrast, larger percentages of Jews were able to survive, where the local population was helpful and hid the persecuted Jews, such as Athens , Larissa or Volos . Perhaps the most important rescue efforts took place in Athens, where some 1,200 Jews were given false identity cards following the efforts of Archbishop Damaskinos and police chief Angelos Ebert . On July 11, 1942,
8100-421: The Jews as dhimmis , life under Muslim rule was one of great opportunity and Jews flourished as they did not under the Christian Visigoths. Many Jews came to Iberia, seen as a land of tolerance and opportunity, from the Christian and Muslim worlds. Following initial Arab victories, and especially with the establishment of Umayyad rule by Abd al-Rahman I in 755, the native Jewish community was joined by Jews from
8235-513: The Jews from the Muslim south were not entirely secure in their northward migrations. Old prejudices were compounded by newer ones. Suspicions of complicity with the Muslims were alive and well as Jews immigrated, speaking Arabic. However, many of the newly arrived Jews of the north prospered during the late 11th and early 12th centuries. The majority of Latin documentation regarding Jews during this period refers to their landed property, fields, and vineyards. In many ways life had come full circle for
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#17328555184088370-448: The Jews in Greece are Sephardim whose ancestors had left Spain , Portugal and Italy . They largely settled in cities such as Thessaloniki , the city which was to be named "Mother of Israel" in the years to come. The traditional language of Greek Sephardim was Judeo-Spanish , and, until the Holocaust, the community "was a unique blend of Ottoman, Balkan and Hispanic influences", well known for its level of education. The Foundation for
8505-403: The Jews of Thessaloniki were rounded up in preparation for slave labour. The community paid a fee of 2 billion drachmas for their freedom. Yet 50,000 people were sent to Auschwitz , and most of their 60 synagogues and schools were destroyed, along with the old Jewish cemetery in the center of the city. Only 1,950 survived. Many survivors later emigrated to Israel and the United States . Today
8640-448: The Jews under Byzantine rule, attesting to the fair treatment of the Christians of al-Andalus , and perhaps indicating that such was contingent on the treatment of Jews abroad. One notable contribution to Christian intellectualism is Ibn Gabirol 's neo-Platonic Fons Vitae ("The Source of Life;" "Mekor Hayyim"). Thought by many to have been written by a Christian, this work was admired by Christians and studied in monasteries throughout
8775-503: The Jews, as evidenced by the publication of the Breviary of Alaric in 506, which incorporated Roman legal precedents into Visigothic law. The situation for Jews in Spain shifted dramatically after the conversion of the Visigothic monarchs to Catholicism under King Reccared in 587. As the Visigoths sought to unify the realm under their new religion, their policies towards Jews evolved from initial marginalization to increasingly aggressive measures aimed at their complete eradication from
8910-417: The Karageorge passenger boat, massacred them and sank the boat. The Bulgarians confiscated all of the Jewish properties and possessions. At Thessaloniki individual police officers rescued their Jewish friends and occasionally even their families, while in Athens the chief of police, Angelos Evert , and his men actively supported and rescued Jews. The 275 Jews of the island of Zakynthos , however, survived
9045-426: The Middle Ages, though the work of Solomon Munk in the 19th century proved that the author of Fons Vitae was the Jewish ibn Gabirol. In addition to contributions of original work, the Sephardim were active as translators. Mainly in Toledo , texts were translated between Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin. In translating the great works of Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek into Latin, Iberian Jews were instrumental in bringing
9180-456: The Nazis took over, head rabbi Moses Pesach worked with Archbishop Ioakeim and the EAM resistance movement to find sanctuary for the Jews in Mount Pelion . Due to their efforts, 74% of the city's Jews were saved. Of the more than 1,000 Jews, only 130 were deported to Auschwitz. The Jewish community remained in Volos after the war, but a series of earthquakes in 1955-57 forced many of the remaining Jews to leave, with most immigrating to Israel or
9315-411: The Nazis. As well, a prominent section of the old town is to this day called Evraiki (Εβραική) meaning Jewish suburb in recognition of the Jewish contribution and continued presence in Corfu city. An active Synagogue (Συναγωγή) is an integral part of Evraiki today with about 65 members. On March 4, 1943, Bulgarian soldiers with help from German soldiers took the Jews from Komotini and Kavala off
9450-455: The Netherlands for craftsmen of all kinds, many Jews went to Brazil. About 600 Jews left Amsterdam in 1642, accompanied by two distinguished scholars— Isaac Aboab da Fonseca and Moses Raphael de Aguilar . Jews supported the Dutch in the struggle between the Netherlands and Portugal for possession of Brazil. In 1642, Aboab da Fonseca was appointed rabbi at Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue in the Dutch colony of Pernambuco ( Recife ), Brazil. Most of
9585-502: The Ottoman Empire were mostly resettled in and around Thessalonica and to some extent in Constantinople and İzmir . This was followed by a great massacre of Jews in the city of Lisbon in 1506 and the establishment of the Portuguese Inquisition in 1536. This caused the flight of the Portuguese Jewish community, which continued until the extinction of the Courts of Inquisition in 1821; by then there were very few Jews in Portugal. In Amsterdam , where Jews were especially prominent in
9720-567: The Sephardi Jews established commercial relations. In a letter dated 25 November 1622, King Christian IV of Denmark invites Jews of Amsterdam to settle in Glückstadt , where, among other privileges, the free exercise of their religion would be assured to them. Álvaro Caminha , in Cape Verde islands, who received the land as a grant from the crown, established a colony with Jews forced to stay on
9855-470: The Sephardic Jews and their descendants have been variants of either Spanish, Portuguese , or Catalan , though they have also adopted and adapted other languages. The historical forms of Spanish that differing Sephardic communities spoke communally were related to the date of their departure from Iberia and their status at that time as either New Christians or Jews. Judaeo-Spanish , also called Ladino ,
9990-596: The Sephardic families also made them extremely well educated for the times , even well into the European Enlightenment . For a long time, the Sephardim took an active part in Spanish literature ; they wrote in prose and in rhyme, and were the authors of theological, philosophical, belletristic (aesthetic rather than content-based writing), pedagogic (teaching), and mathematical works. The rabbis, who, in common with all
10125-464: The Sephardim of al-Andalus . As conditions became more oppressive during the 12th and 13th centuries, Jews again looked to an outside culture for relief. Christian leaders of reconquered cities granted them extensive autonomy, and Jewish scholarship recovered somewhat and developed as communities grew in size and importance. However, the Reconquista Jews never reached the same heights as had those of
10260-556: The Sephardim, emphasized a pure and euphonious pronunciation of Hebrew, delivered their sermons in Spanish or in Portuguese. Several of these sermons have appeared in print. Their thirst for knowledge, together with the fact that they associated freely with the outer world, led the Sephardim to establish new educational systems. Wherever they settled, they founded schools that used Spanish as the medium of instruction. Theatre in Constantinople
10395-630: The United States. Only 50 to 60 Jews remain in Volos today. Many Jews from Salonika were put on death-camp work detail, the Sonderkommandos . On 7 October 1944, during the uprising in Auschwitz, they attacked German forces with other Greek Jews, storming the crematoria and killing about twenty guards. A bomb was thrown into the furnace of the crematorium III, destroying the building. Before being massacred by
10530-490: The anti- Rabbanite polemics of Karaites . The cultural and intellectual achievements of the Arabs, and much of the scientific and philosophical speculation of Ancient Greek culture , which had been best preserved by Arab scholars, was made available to the educated Jew. The meticulous regard the Arabs had for grammar and style also had the effect of stimulating an interest in philological matters in general among Jews. Arabic became
10665-554: The biblical Tarshish with Tartessus and suggesting Jewish traders were active in Spain during the Phoenician and Carthaginian eras. One such legend from the 16th century claimed that a funeral inscription in Murviedro belonged to Adoniram , a commander of King Solomon , who had supposedly died in Spain while collecting tribute. Another legend spoke of a letter allegedly sent by the Jews of Toledo to Judaea in 30 CE, asking to prevent
10800-554: The breakdown of authority under the Umayyads, the services of Jews were employed by the victorious Christian leaders. Sephardic knowledge of the language and culture of the enemy, their skills as diplomats and professionals, as well as their desire for relief from intolerable conditions — the very same reasons that they had proved useful to the Arabs in the early stages of the Muslim invasion — made their services very valuable. However,
10935-581: The broad classification of Sephardi. Ethnic Sephardic Jews have had a presence in North Africa and various parts of the Mediterranean and Western Asia due to their expulsion from Spain. There have also been Sephardic communities in South America and India. Originally the Jews spoke of Sefarad referring to Al-Andalus and not the entire peninsula, nor as it is understood today, in which the term Sefarad
11070-530: The century saw great improvements, as the mercantile leadership of the Sephardic community, particularly the Allatini family, took advantage of new trade opportunities with the rest of Europe. According to historian Misha Glenny , Thessaloniki was the only city in the Empire where some Jews "employed violence against the Christian population as a means of consolidating their political and economic power", as traders from
11205-640: The city became known as a centre for commerce and learning. The exile of other Jewish communities swelled the city's Jewish population, until Jews were the majority population in 1519. Ottoman Jews were obliged to pay special " Jewish taxes " to the Ottoman authorities. These taxes included the Cizye , the İspençe , the Haraç , and the Rav akçesi ("rabbi tax"). Sometimes, local rulers would also levy taxes for themselves, in addition to
11340-668: The city by its Jewish community. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, elements of Roman civilisation continued on in the Byzantine Empire. The Jews of Greece began to come under increasing attention from Byzantium's leadership in Constantinople . Some Byzantine emperors were anxious to exploit the wealth of the Jews of Greece, and imposed special taxes on them, while others attempted forced conversions to Christianity. The latter pressure met with little success, as it
11475-560: The city might be controlled by Bulgaria . Bulgarian control would keep the city at the forefront of a national trade network, while Greek control might affect, for those of certain social classes and across ethnic groups, Thessaloniki's position as the destination of Balkan village trading. After the city was conquered by the Greeks in 1913, Thessaloniki Jews were accused of cooperating with the Turks and being traitors, and were subjected to pressure from
11610-654: The city of Kastoria . He is the author of the Lekach Tov, a midrashic commentary on the Pentateuch and the Five Megillot and also of some poems. Spanish Jewish explorer Benjamin of Tudela visited Greece during his travels around 1161/1162 CE. After leaving southern Italy and sailing through the Adriatic Sea , he visited Corfu , Thebes , Almyros , and Thessaloniki , before moving on to Constantinople. In Thebes, he reported
11745-510: The common International Style, but is common among Islamic-style buildings . The patio was most probably added by request from the Aghion family. On 8 February 2009, the Israeli government approved the Almog Project, which provided that the official residence of the Prime Minister be united with his office within the government complex , thus replacing Beit Aghion. The cost of that planned project
11880-695: The completion of the Christian Reconquista , with the penetration and influence of the Almoravides , and then the Almohads , from North Africa. These more intolerant sects abhorred the liberality of the Islamic culture of al-Andalus , including the position of authority some dhimmis held over Muslims. When the Almohads gave the Jews a choice of either death or conversion to Islam, many Jews emigrated. Some, such as
12015-487: The congregations in Greece. The large variety of Jewish customs in Greece was unique. Romaniote Jews have lived in the territory of today's Greece for more than 2000 years. Their historic language was Yevanic , a dialect of the Greek language , but Yevanic has no surviving speakers recorded; today's Greek Romaniotes speak Greek. Large communities were located in Ioannina , Thebes , Chalcis , Corfu, Arta , Corinth and on
12150-519: The country. In many conquered towns the garrison was left in the hands of the Jews before the Muslims proceeded further north. Both Muslim and Christian sources claim that Jews provided valuable aid to the Muslim conquerors. Once captured, the defense of Cordoba was left in the hands of Jews, and Granada , Malaga , Seville , and Toledo were left to a mixed army of Jews and Moors. Although in some towns Jews may have been helpful to Muslim success, because of
12285-403: The crucifixion of Jesus. These legends aimed to establish that Jews had settled in Spain well before the Roman period and to absolve them of any responsibility for the death of Jesus, a charge often leveled at them in later centuries. Rabbi and scholar Abraham ibn Daud wrote in 1161: "A tradition exists with the [Jewish] community of Granada that they are from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, of
12420-405: The descendants of Judah and Benjamin , rather than from the villages, the towns in the outlying districts [of Israel]." Elsewhere, he writes about his maternal grandfather's family and how they came to Spain after Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE: "When Titus prevailed over Jerusalem , his officer who was appointed over Hispania appeased him, requesting that he send to him captives made-up of
12555-582: The early History of Christianity , through the Byzantine Empire and Ottoman Greece , until the tragic near-destruction of the community after Greece fell to Nazi Germany in World War II . The Macedonian empire under Alexander the Great conquered the former Kingdom of Judah in 332 BC, defeating the Persian empire which had held the territory since Cyrus ' conquest of the Babylonians . After Alexander's death,
12690-570: The early 1900s. As a result of the Jewish influence on the city, many non-Jewish inhabitants of Thessaloniki spoke Judeo-Spanish , the language of the Sephardic Jews, and the city virtually shut down on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath , given it sometimes the name of 'Little Jerusalem." In general loyal to the Ottoman Empire, the Jews of southern Greece did not have a positive stance towards
12825-477: The expulsion, both Spain and Portugal enacted laws allowing Sephardic Jews who could prove their ancestral origins in those countries to apply for citizenship. The Spanish law that offered citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews expired in 2019, although subsequent extensions were granted by the Spanish government —due to the COVID-19 pandemic — in order to file pending documents and sign delayed declarations before
12960-542: The family of Maimonides , fled south and east to the more tolerant Muslim lands, while others went northward to settle in the growing Christian kingdoms. Meanwhile, the Reconquista continued in the north throughout the 12th century. As various Arab lands fell to the Christians, conditions for some Jews in the emerging Christian kingdoms became increasingly favorable. As had happened during the reconstruction of towns following
13095-400: The favor of rulers and princes, in both the Christian and the Islamic world. That the Sephardim were selected for prominent positions in every country where they settled was only in part due to the fact that Spanish had become a world-language through the expansion of Spain into the world-spanning Spanish Empire—the cosmopolitan cultural background after long associations with Islamic scholars of
13230-464: The fields of science and philosophy, which formed much of the basis of Renaissance learning, into the rest of Europe. In the early 11th century, centralized authority based at Cordoba broke down following the Berber invasion and the ousting of the Umayyads. In its stead arose the independent taifa principalities under the rule of local Muwallad , Arab, Berber, or Slavonic leaders. Rather than having
13365-560: The first independent Caliph of Cordoba , and in particular with the career of his Jewish councilor, Hasdai ibn Shaprut (882–942). Within this context of cultural patronage , studies in Hebrew, literature, and linguistics flourished. Hasdai benefitted world Jewry not only indirectly by creating a favorable environment for scholarly pursuits within Iberia, but also by using his influence to intervene on behalf of foreign Jews: in his letter to Byzantine Princess Helena , he requested protection for
13500-485: The heated correspondences sent between Bodo Eleazar , a former Christian deacon who had converted to Judaism in 838, and the Bishop of Córdoba Paulus Albarus , who had converted from Judaism to Christianity. Each man, using such epithets as "wretched compiler", tried to convince the other to return to his former faith, to no avail. The Golden Age is most closely identified with the reign of Abd al-Rahman III (882–942),
13635-464: The influence of this Hellenistic fusion on the Jews who had found themselves part of a Greek empire, Karen Armstrong argues that the turbulence of the period between the death of Alexander and the 2nd century BCE led to a resurgence of Jewish messianism , which would inspire revolutionary sentiment when Jerusalem became part of the Roman Empire. Macedonia and the rest of Hellenistic Greece fell to
13770-592: The island of São Tomé . Príncipe island was settled in 1500 under a similar arrangement. Attracting settlers proved difficult, however, the Jewish settlement was a success and their descendants settled many parts of Brazil. In 1579 Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva a Portuguese-born Converso , Spanish-Crown officer, was awarded a large swath of territory in New Spain, known as Nuevo Reino de León . He founded settlements with other conversos that would later become Monterrey . In particular, Jews established relations between
13905-525: The island was almost levelled by the great earthquake of 1953 , the first relief came from Israel, with a message that read "The Jews of Zakynthos have never forgotten their Mayor or their beloved Bishop and what they did for us." The city of Volos , which was in the Italian zone of occupation, had a Jewish population of 882, and many Thessaloniki Jews fleeing the Nazis sought sanctuary there. By March 1944, more than 1,000 Jews lived there. In September 1943, when
14040-447: The islands of Lesbos , Chios , Samos , Rhodes , and Cyprus , among others. The Romaniotes are historically distinct from the Sephardim, some of whom settled in Greece after the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain. All but a small number of the Romaniotes of Ioannina, the largest remaining Romaniote community not assimilated into Sephardic culture, were killed in the Holocaust. Ioannina today has 35 living Romaniotes. The majority of
14175-509: The kingdom. Under successive Visigothic kings and under ecclesiastical authority, many orders of expulsion, forced conversion, isolation, enslavement, execution, and other punitive measures were made. By 612–621, the situation for Jews became intolerable and many left Spain for nearby northern Africa. In 711, thousands of Jews from North Africa accompanied the Muslims who invaded Spain, subsuming Catholic Spain and turning much of it into an Arab state, Al-Andalus. In 711 CE, Muslim forces crossed
14310-557: The main language of Sephardic science, philosophy, and everyday business, as had been the case with Babylonian geonim . This thorough adoption of the Arabic language also greatly facilitated the assimilation of Jews into Moorish culture, and Jewish activity in a variety of professions, including medicine, commerce, finance, and agriculture increased. By the ninth century, some members of the Sephardic community felt confident enough to take part in proselytizing amongst Christians. This included
14445-472: The manumission payments back, that the Jews of Greece paid to rescue their family members, after the Nazis asked for this money, but the Nazis hadn't freed the family members anyway. The European Court of Justice dismissed this petition. In World War II the Deutsche Reichsbahn helped the Nazis to deport the Jews from Greece. In 2014, representatives of the Jewish community of Thessaloniki demanded from
14580-411: The measures were prohibitions on intermarriage between Jews and Christians, communal dining, and the participation of Jews in blessing fields. Despite these efforts, aimed to diminish Jewish influence on Christian communities, evidence indicates that everyday social relations between Jews and Christians continued to be prevalent in various locales. By the mid-5th century, Spain came under the control of
14715-538: The more Romanized regions of the south and east, such as Toledo , Mérida , Seville , and Tarragona . Additionally, these inscriptions suggest a Jewish presence in other locations, including Elche , Tortosa , Adra , and the Balearic Islands. Around 300 CE, the Synod of Elvira , an ecclesiastical council convened in southern Spain, and enacted several decrees to restrict interactions between Christians and Jews. Among
14850-488: The most advanced." Recognised for his contributions to the Greek cause early on in the war, Mordechai Frizis became one of the most honoured Greek officers of World War II in the postwar years, with a monument outside the national military academy in Athens. Of the 55,000 Thessaloniki Jews deported to extermination camps in 1943, fewer than 5,000 survived. Many of those who returned found their former homes occupied by Greek families. The Greek government did little to assist
14985-657: The narrower ethnic definition, a Sephardi Jew is one descended from the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula in the late 15th century, immediately prior to the issuance of the Alhambra Decree of 1492 by order of the Catholic Monarchs in Spain, and the decree of 1496 in Portugal by order of King Manuel I . In Hebrew, the term "Sephardim Tehorim" ( ספרדים טהורים , literally "Pure Sephardim"), derived from
15120-441: The new Muslim rulers who offered greater religious tolerance. Under Islamic rule, Jews, like Christians, were designated as dhimmis —protected but second-class monotheists—permitted to practice their religion with relative autonomy in exchange for paying a special tax . To the Jews, Moors was perceived as, and indeed were, a liberating force. Wherever they went, the Muslims were greeted by Jews eager to aid them in administering
15255-478: The new compound. 31°46′24″N 35°13′04″E / 31.7734505°N 35.2177691°E / 31.7734505; 35.2177691 History of the Jews in Greece The history of the Jews in Greece can be traced back to at least the fourth century BCE. The oldest and the most characteristic Jewish group that has inhabited Greece are the Romaniotes , also known as "Greek Jews." The term "Greek Jew"
15390-491: The nobles of Jerusalem, and so he sent a few of them to him, and there were amongst them those who made curtains and who were knowledgeable in the work of silk, and [one] whose name was Baruch, and they remained in Mérida ." Archaeological evidence of a Jewish presence in Spain prior to the third century CE is limited. However, from the third to sixth centuries, inscriptions confirm the existence of Jewish communities, particularly in
15525-459: The number of Jews in Portugal grew with those running from Spain. This changed with the marriage of D. Manuel I of Portugal with the daughter of the Catholic Monarchs of the newly born Spain. In 1497 the Decree ordering the expulsion or forced conversion of all the Jews was passed, and the Sephardim either fled or went into secrecy under the guise of "Cristãos Novos", i.e. New Christians (this Decree
15660-448: The position of the Jews in the new Frankish lands on Greek ground which were formerly parts of the Byzantine Empire. The Jews were at that time economically powerful though small in number, comprised a community of their own, separately from the Christians, and dealt in money lending. Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from the mid-15th century, until the conclusion of first the Greek War of Independence ending in 1832, and then
15795-454: The powerful vizier was plotting to kill the weak-minded and drunk King Badis ibn Habus . According to the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, "More than 1,500 Jewish families, numbering 4,000 persons, fell in one day, a number contested by some historians who deem it to be an example of "the usual hyperbole in numerical estimates, with which history abounds." The decline of the Golden Age began before
15930-586: The purpose of turning it to an official residence for the Foreign Minister . In 1974, the Israeli Government decided to transfer the official residence of the Prime Minister from Julius Jacobs House ( com ), which had served as the official residence of the Israeli Prime Minister between 1950 and 1974, to Beit Aghion. During the 1990s, a wall was erected around the house for security reasons and
16065-426: The rest of Europe, as well as from Arab lands, from Morocco to Babylon . Jewish communities were enriched culturally, intellectually, and religiously by the commingling of these diverse Jewish traditions. Arabic culture, of course, also made a lasting impact on Sephardic cultural development. General re-evaluation of scripture was prompted by Muslim anti-Jewish polemics and the spread of rationalism , as well as
16200-614: The same places as I did, and came to converse with me and some other scholars, to test our learning. But as one who had been intimate with many cultivated persons, it was rather he who imparted to us something of his own.'" Archaeologists have discovered ancient synagogues in Greece, including the Synagogue in the Agora of Athens and the Delos Synagogue , dating to the 2nd century BCE. Greek Jews played an important role in Greek history, from
16335-481: The small numbers they were of limited impact. The Golden Age of Sephardic Jewry flourished during this period, particularly in cities like Cordoba, Granada and Toledo. Jewish scholars, poets, philosophers and scientists thrived, contributing to the broader intellectual life of Al-Andalus. Jews in Muslim Spain played significant roles in trade, finance, diplomacy, and medicine. In spite of the restrictions placed upon
16470-458: The surviving Jewish community with property restoration. Following the war, many Greek Jews emigrated to Israel . In August 1949, the Greek government announced that Jews of military age would be allowed to leave for Israel on condition that they renounced their Greek nationality, promise to never return, and take their families with them. The Greek Jews that moved to Israel established several villages, including Tsur Moshe , and many settled in
16605-646: The taxes sent to the central authorities in Constantinople . In 1519, the Jews represented 56% of the population of Thessaloniki, and in 1613, their share was 68%. In the year 1523 the first printed edition of the Mahzor Romania was published in Venice, by Constantinopolitan Jews which contains the Minhag of the Jews from the Byzantine empire. This Minhag represents probably the oldest European Prayer rite. A polyglot edition of
16740-459: The use of traditional religious courts and laws, which many did not want to do). When France withdrew from Algeria in 1962, the local Jewish communities largely relocated to France. There are some tensions between some of those communities and the earlier French Jewish population (who were mostly Ashkenazi Jews ), and with Arabic-Muslim communities. The largest part of Spanish Jews expelled in 1492 fled to Portugal, where they eluded persecution for
16875-633: The white inhabitants of the town were Sephardic Jews from Portugal who had been banned by the Portuguese Inquisition to this town at the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1624, the colony had been occupied by the Dutch. By becoming the rabbi of the community, Aboab da Fonseca was the first appointed rabbi of the Americas. The name of his congregation was Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue and the community had
17010-460: Was a Semite , as his brothers Ilus and Assarakos were no doubt. According to Josephus (Contra Apionem, I, 176–183), an even earlier mention of a Hellenized Jew by a Greek writer was to be found in the work "De Somno" (not extant) by the Greek historian Clearchus of Soli . Here Clearchus describes the meeting between Aristotle (who lived in the 4th century BCE) and a Jew in Asia Minor , who
17145-537: Was a lingua franca that enabled Sephardim from different countries to engage in commerce and diplomacy. With their social equals they associated freely, without regard to religion and more likely with regard to equivalent or comparative education, for they were generally well read, which became a tradition and expectation. They were received at the courts of sultans, kings, and princes, and often were employed as ambassadors, envoys, or agents. The number of Sephardim who have rendered important services to different countries
17280-593: Was around 650 million shekels ($ 162 million USD ), and thus was criticized as overly extravagant. On 5 April, the decision to move the official residence of the Prime Minister of Israel was canceled. In 2014, the Almog plan was reinitiated. However, in October 2018, its advancement was halted. In 2019, the Prime Minister's Office began developing an alternative plan, in another location on the Government Campus in Jerusalem −
17415-456: Was built partially on this old cemetery. Sephardi Jews Sephardic Jews ( Hebrew : יְהוּדֵי סְפָרַד , romanized : Yehudei Sfarad , transl. 'Jews of Spain ' ; Ladino : Djudios Sefaradis ), also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim , and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews , are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the Iberian Peninsula ( Spain and Portugal ). The term, which
17550-533: Was called the "Mother of Israel ." Greek Jews played an important role in the early development of Christianity , and became a source of education and commerce for the Byzantine Empire and throughout the period of Ottoman Greece , until suffering devastation in the Holocaust after Greece was conquered and occupied by the Axis powers . Despite efforts by Greeks to protect them, some 4,000 Jews were deported from
17685-567: Was fluent in Greek language and thought: "'Well', said Aristotle, [...] 'the man was a Jew of Coele Syria (modern Lebanon). These Jews were derived from the Indian philosophers , and were called by the Indians Kalani. Now this man, who entertained a large circle of friends and was on his way from the interior to the coast, not only spoke Greek but had the soul of a Greek. During my stay in Asia, he visited
17820-581: Was in Judæo-Spanish since it was forbidden to Muslims. In Portugal, the Sephardim were given important roles in the sociopolitical sphere and enjoyed a certain amount of protection from the Crown (e.g. Yahia Ben Yahia , first "Rabino Maior" of Portugal and supervisor of the public revenue of the first King of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques ). Even with the increasing pressure from the Catholic Church, this state of affairs remained more or less constant and
17955-613: Was resisted by both the Jewish community and by the Greek Christian synods . The Sefer Yosippon was written down in the 10th century in the Byzantine south Italy by the Greek-speaking Jewish community there. Judah Leon ben Moses Mosconi , a Romaniote Jew from Achrida edited and expanded the Sefer Josippon later. Tobiah ben Eliezer (טוביה בן אליעזר), a Talmudist and poet of the 11th century, worked and lived in
18090-416: Was slain by an incited mob along with most of the Jewish community. The remnant fled to Lucena . The first major and most violent persecution in Islamic Spain was the 1066 Granada massacre , which occurred on 30 December, when a Muslim mob stormed the royal palace in Granada , crucified Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacred most of the Jewish population of the city after rumors spread that
18225-426: Was symbolically revoked in 1996 by the Portuguese Parliament ). Those who fled to Genoa were only allowed to land provided they received baptism. Those who were fortunate enough to reach the Ottoman Empire had a better fate: the Sultan Bayezid II sarcastically sent his thanks to Ferdinand for sending him some of his best subjects, thus "impoverishing his own lands while enriching his (Bayezid's)". Jews arriving in
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