Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies (SCJS)

 

 Over the last few days I attended the 2023 Conference of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies (SCJS), held this year in El Paso, Texas. The society studies everything about our Crpto-Jewish families. Also known as conversos, these are the descendants of those Jews, who in the 14th and 15th centuries, while living in Spain and Portugal, faced forced conversion to the Catholic church, and expulsion from their homes.  

Those who were able to flee the persecutions, fled to lands far away. They became the "hidden" or "secret" Jews. They lived in secret in the American Southwest as well as all of Latin America. In many cases their secret Jewish lifes continues to this day. The SCJS is trying to help bring those families together and to help people rebuild their heritage. More info can be found at cryptojews.com.

For those who think their families may be the descendants of Crypto Jews, would be will served to join the SCJS. The next conference is in 2025 in Los Angeles, I hope to see you there.

 

The Jews of Istanbul

The history of the Jewish community of Istanbul has traces back to the Spanish Inquisition in 1492. As the Sephardic (Spanish) Jews were forced to flee their homes in Spain in order to avoid forced conversion or even death, they needed somewhere with more safe to take their families.  They found that safety in Istanbul, where the Ottoman Sultan Beyazid II granted them refuge in the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan saw the great benefit of 

having the great knowledge, of science and business, that the Jewish community would bring with them. This support caused the Jewish population of Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire to grow to over 500,000.
Turkey also became a home for Ashkenazic Jews who were fleeing Russia during the 1800 and 1900's. As with previous leaders, Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, also welcomed famous scientists who were under threat in Germany and Austria to the Nazi regime, to find safety in Istanbul.
That once great community of a half of a million is today just a small piece of what it was.  In the early 1940's a wealth tax was put on the people. Even though it was intended for the wealthy Turks, it had severe effects upon the Jewish population. Many people estimate that between 25-35K Jews were forced to flee the country when they became unable to pay their debts. Later the Istanbul pogrom of September 1955 against the Greek, Jewish and Armenian communities caused another 10,000 Jews to flee the country.
Today, the population is about 25,000, with most Turkish Jews living in Istanbul. Even though the numbers are smaller there are still more than 25 synagogues throughout the country. 

Ahrida Synagogue (Tripadvisor.com)

One of these, the Ahrida Synagogue, was built in 1453, before the Muslim conquest, and still is in use today.
For those interested in researching the Jewish family from Istanbul, one of the best ways to start is at the Sephardicgen website. Compiled by Dr. Jeffrey Malka, this site is a must for anyone researching Sephardic roots. Below is just a part of the sources he has for research in Istanbul.

The Jews of Tire, Turkey

Tire, is a town in Izmir province, which is located in the western part of the Anatolian Peninsula, on the eastern side of the Aegean Sea. With its climate, location and large seaport it has long been an important city, dating back at least 5,000 years.  
The Jewish community in the area is also long established, dating back to sometime in the early 1400's when 2 Ottoman sultans invited the Jews who had been persecuted in Spain and Portugal to settle in the Ottoman cities. The community truly became a melting pot as not only did the Jews come from Spain and Portugal, but also  Greece, and in the 17th century, places such as Italy and Holland. It was in the early 1600's, when the Jewish people truly

insme.org

became a community and built their first synagogue. In 1609, Rabbi Isaac HaLevi Dayan, arrived from Istanbul, becoming the first Rabbi of Izmir.
Even with the long history of this area, this post is not about that, but is about the incredible work being done to document the Jews who lived in Tire.
Under the leadership of Murat Sanus, the people of Tire will never be forgotten.  His website, www.jewsoftire.com, is a wonderful example of a project that brings family history to life.

The site is very friendly to  researchers and includes incredible amounts of information. In addition to the records we are familiar with this project includes a treasure trove of pictures documenting the families of Tire. In addition to the website, a book of the community, Jewish Citizens Lived in Tire,  has been published and they are hopefully of producing a film about Tire. I would encourage everyone to search through the databases and see what an incredible resource this is. 

Thanks to everyone involved, they will never be forgotten.

The Jews of Peru

The Jewish history of Peru is not as easy to document as other countries in South America. As with the other countries there were probably Jews in Peru as early as the first part of the 16th century with the arrival of Columbus in the New World. Others fleeing the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal would also find their way to places such as Peru, but still in fear kept their Jewish blood a secret. The need to keep their Jewish heritage secret began to change at the end of the 18th century. 

Between the end of the 1700's and the middle of the 1800's, South America began to undergo a change of attitude. They began to be more accepting of the Jewish people and their way of life. This allowed those Jews who were still in hiding to come out of hiding. This they did, and established La Sociedad de Beneficencia, the Jewish community that still exists today. At the time this community was formed there were very few Jews left and those that were left either married out of the faith or continued to practice in secret.
The second wave of immigrants to Peru began to strengthen the Jewish community. These Jews who were mostly merchants, came in the 1870's from many locations throughout Central Europe. Some of these made their money then left to return to Europe.
The third group to come to Peru where also merchants, only this time they came from their homes in North Africa. When they arrived in the late 1800's they became a part of the community but still established their own Synagogues and schools. They like the previous group had many who just wanted to make money then return home, which they did. It wasn't until right before and after World War I, that the immigrants who arrived did so with the intent of staying. These Jews, who were for the most part from places like Syria and Turkey, left to escape countries that were being torn apart by war. Their desire was not to get rich but rather to be safe. They established small communities all over Peru.
After World War II, most of the Jewish community moved backed into Lima, where they built an Ashkenazic synagogue and two Sephardi synagogues. The population of the community reached over 5,000 people by the 1970's. At that time, a new government was elected which brought many restrictions upon all the people of Peru. Many took the opportunity to leave at that time. However, those that stayed continued to have success in their businesses and in government service.

The Jews of Columbia

Like many countries, the first Jews to arrive in Columbia came from Spain. These Jews, who arrived in the 1500's practiced Christianity but were really "Secret Jews" having been forced to convert during the Inquisition. In the year 1636, many of these secret Jews were caught and massacred. This massacre led the rest of the community to eventually fade away, and Columbia was left without a Jewish presence.
Beginning in the late 1700's Jews who openly practiced started arriving from the Caribbean countries of Jamaica and Curacao, two countries with long established Jewish communities.

Later the government made it legal to be a practicing Jew and even granted the Jewish community a plot of land for a cemetery.
Even with the arrivals from the Caribbean countries the Jewish community was not very large. That did not change until the beginning of the 20th century. After the end of World War I, Jews came in large numbers from all over Europe. First were the Sephardic Jews who came from places such as Greece, North Africa, Syria and Turkey. Right behind them were the Ashkenazic Jews from all over Eastern Europe. By the time of World War II, the Jewish population was a little under 7000 people. Most of the Jews were centered in Bogota but there were also smaller groups in Cali, Barranquilla, and Medellin. The Askenazic and Sephardic communities are about equal in size.
As with the earliest Jews in Columbia, today most are involved as merchants and businessmen. The number of Jews in Columbia has declined because of violence toward the community. Today the population is closer to 4000.

Spain, Province of Córdoba, Municipal Records, 1509-1947

Many of us have been looking for years for those lost Jewish ancestors. What may have began with a simple search to find everyone with our own surname, soon becomes an obsession, controlling our time and wallets. It is why we are so fortunate to be living in a time when so many records containing the records of our families are becoming available on the Internet. A great example are the records of Spain.

Over the last few months FamilySearch has been increasing their collection of the Municipal Records of the provinces of Spain. Millions of records have been added, some date to the middle of the thirteenth century. The list below shows the records as of July 1st. Those with the camera in front also have the images attached.

The records themselves can be quite helpful for the genealogist. They can include, Civil Registration, censuses, military records, and any other miscellaneous records. The collections will continue to grow as they are published. A great example of using these records to build family ties are the records from the Province of Córdoba.

A search of this database for the information for  Juda Cohen yields three records. The first is from the 1920 census of Córdoba. The record shows:

 By clicking on the "View Image" tab, the original record can be viewed (below). It shows Juda Cohen and his wife Rafaela Caballero Prado living together with their 7 children.

The second record, the 1908 Census adds the name of Toledano to Juda's name (see below). It shows the family of he and his wife and their two oldest children.

The third record is actually a record for his wife. In the 1904 census (below), she is show as a single person.

Again, by clicking on the "view Image" icon we can see the original record. In it, Rafaela is shown as living with her mother, Antonia Prados Torres.

 

Interestingly, by going back to the 1908 Census, the next record, which appears at the top of the following page, shows Antonia Prados Torres, living next door.

These databases as well as those from the other countries of Europe can be found in the Continental Europe section of the Historical Record Collections, at Familysearch.org. As with many of the records at Familysearch, it is the incredible work of thousands of people indexing them, that makes it possible for all to use them. A big thanks to all who have helped. Happy hunting.

The Jews of Valencia and Tortosa and the Spanish Inquisition

For over 30 years the Ventura family has been researching the history of their family, which was driven out of Spain during the inquisition. Their journey has taken them to archives throughout Spain and Italy. The completion of that search has yielded a remarkable treasure for Jewish researchers.

Their history, is now an incredible book, "The Jews of Valencia and Tortosa and the Spanish Inquisition" (FHL book #946.7 K3v). The book, which has been compiled mostly from the trial notes, documents the Jewish families of the area from the late 1300's through the early 1500's. It is the desire of the family to share this history with everyone, so it has now been donated to, and is now part of the collection of the Family History Library. It is available for all researchers to search.

The records of these families can be found in The Jews of Europe.