Two members of a Marrano community on a Spanish island returned to Judaism yesterday in a unique double ritual circumcision ceremony at Ramat Gan Hospital, the first father and son circumcision in Israel.
The participants were Daniel Belshazar Crispi, 52, and Raphael Crispi, 18, who came to Israel from Palma de Majorca to study Judaism. They promised to return to the island and bring all other members of the community back to the Jewish people. They are now studying at Bnai Hadarom Yeshiva.
“We are happy to return to Jewishness after many generations during which our fathers and forefathers lived as Marranos, ” they said after the ritual circumcision.
Passover may be over, but your chance to support independent Jewish journalism isn't. Help JTA keep reporting the stories that define our era.
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.