The tears of banishment THE expulsion of Spain’s Jews in 1492 was a black mark in a sad history. The land known as Sefarad had once been a refuge for them. Many who refused to convert to Christianity were mugged, murdered or raped as they fled to north Africa or Italy. Some went to Portugal, only to be forcibly converted or expelled again. Converts who stayed became a target of the Spanish Inquisition.Small Sephardic groups remain in the Ottoman empire, where the exiles were welcomed. But most descendants are in Israel, France, Latin America or the United States. Folklore tells of keys to houses in Toledo or Segovia guarded by descendants for centuries. Spanish ancestry survives in such surnames as Toledano, as well as in Ladino, a Spanish-based language spoken by some 100,000. Istanbul has a monthly Ladino newspaper, El Amaneser (the dawn). Folk songs and festivals keep Sephardic culture alive.Five centuries on, Spain’s government is offering the descendants a deal to let them become Spaniards without leaving home or giving up their present nationality. Nobody knows how many will apply. Leon Amiras, a lawyer…
