Spanish Consuls abroad have been instructed by the Government here to issue visas to Sephardic Jews of Spanish origin wishing to settle in Spain, it was revealed here today by Dr. Solomon Gaon, Chief Rabbi of the Sephardic Jews in Britain and the Commonwealth, who met here with dignitaries of the Catholic Church in Spain fostering Catholic-Jewish relations in this country.
Dr. Gaon said that some of the Sephardic Jews of Morocco have recently migrated to Spain. He said that there are now about 1, 000 Jews in Madrid who have their own small synagogue accommodating about 220 worshippers. The synagogue is located on the second floor of a building in the old part of Madrid. It was opened in October of 1959 for the first Jewish religious service in the Spanish capital since the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492.
Describing the progress being made between Jews and Catholics in Spain, Dr. Gaon said there is an institute in Madrid, with a Sephardic library which plans soon to publish a dictionary in the old Spanish tongue which the Sephardic Jews have preserved in exile since their expulsion from Spain. The Madrid Jews publish a periodical, called “Sefarad.”
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