An historic act of redemption will take place in 1992 in Spain when the Jewish people will symbolically return to the land from which they had been banished 500 years earlier by its sovereign rulers, the despots King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Their decree of expulsion was issued on March 31, 1492, and the Jews of Spain were given just three months to leave their homeland.
Although it may seem a long way off, historians and Jewish leaders in Madrid, Barcelona and Cordoba are beginning discussions on an agenda for the nationwide observances in 1992, half a millennium later, of that year of infamy in Jewish history. It is expected that delegations from Israel and the diaspora will convene in Spain five years from now at the invitation of the national Jewish community and the government.
There already have been approaches to the World Jewish Congress and other bodies, but as yet there is no authoritative group within the country to plan and coordinate the historic event. It was learned from a number of historians and Jewish officials interviewed recently by this reporter that the government may be asked to appoint a commission of prominent Jews and non-Jews early in 1987.
The aim of the body would be to devise a program of observances to take place during the week of March 31, 1992, in former great centers of Jewish life: Toledo, Cordoba, Barcelona, Girona, Zaragossa, and others.
A corollary objective would be the invitation and coordination of Jewish groups and delegations from Israel and nations around the globe, to convene in Spain at the end of March 1992. It is assumed that heads of state and other world Jewish leaders will be on hand to participate in what is viewed by many Spanish Jews as an act of “justice and absolution.”
Some even expect that there may also take place a symbolic annulment of the expulsion decree. It is heartening to note that Jews have not waited for such an official act, and have indeed “returned” over the past century, to the land of their ancient glory.
The year 1992 will indeed be a turbulent one for Spaniards, with two other major events making it a hot ticket. Barcelona will be hosting the Olympics. And Seville, the Pearl of Andalusia, will stage mammoth celebrations commemorating Christopher Columbus and his three-ship fleet gliding down the Guadalquivir, the river that bisects the city, and out to sea in search of a new world. That legendary voyage began just a few weeks prior to the forced exile of the Jews of that city and every other in Spain.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
