Why jews expelled

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Most of these Jews moved to Paris, where, even though they were subjected to restrictions, they were welcomed by the king. In , Philip changed his mind and ordered the Jews to leave his realm. With no other choice, the Jews fled northeast to Flanders, east to Provence, or southwest to the Iberian peninsula. Nine years later, King Louis X readmitted the Jews to France subject to certain conditions: the Jews had to purchase their readmission; they were not allowed to lend money although pawnbroking was permissible ; and they were forced to wear badges identifying them as Jews.

But by , Charles IV was unhappy with the revenue he received from the Jewish communities, and they were expelled once again. Over the next 73 years, the Jews slowly moved back to southern France and re-established their businesses, until they were expelled for good by Charles VI in The most famous Jewish expulsion occurred in Spain in Spanish Jewry dates back to the late days of the Roman Empire. The community experienced an intellectual and cultural flourishing under Muslim rule.

With the Christian reconquista reconquest of Spain, the Sephardim found themselves subject to the same animosity and pressures as their Ashkenazic brethren.

The decline of the Sephardim began in the middle of the 14th century. Higher taxes, a closer Church-state alliance, and popular anti-Jewish sentiment all contributed to this decline. The turning point came in when riots broke out in Seville. The violence quickly spread throughout Castile and Aragon, where the Jews endured over a year of attacks. Some Jews were forcibly converted; others felt that conversion was their only option.

These Jews, known as conversos , were shunned by Jews and not fully accepted by Christians. In the s, Spanish authorities realized that some of these conversos were returning to their Jewish heritage. For instance, they were not allowed to own land, and after death their money went, not to their children, but directly to the Crown. In King Edward I passed a law forbidding the Jews from usury. They were entitled to earn a living as tradesmen or farmers, but were not allowed to be part of guilds or to own farmland.

The Jews became poor and the king could no longer collect taxes from them. Many hundreds were arrested, hanged or imprisoned. And then finally in , they were banished from England altogether. When Spain offered citizenship to the Sephardim almost 20 years later, I, along with my two sons and other members of my family, decided to apply. This law says much about who we were in the past, who we are today, and what we want to be in the future: a Spain that is open, diverse, and tolerant.

I could not imagine wanting to apply for citizenship during the rule of the dictator Francisco Franco. Hopes were high when the citizenship law was enacted. Members of the Spanish government and representatives of Jewish organizations in Spain predicted that , to , Sephardic Jews would apply. Around the same time, Portugal enacted its own law welcoming the Sephardim to become citizens.

The actual number approved for citizenship by the Spanish Ministry of Justice under the law has been surprisingly small—only 5, as of this month, according to the ministry.

The total is still climbing as thousands of applications, including ours, are in the pipeline. But even optimistic predictions suggest the approval figure is unlikely to exceed 20, One reason is that Sephardic Jews around the world have recreated Sepharad in their own communities.

Following Arabic, for example, when something good happens, Sephardim say mashallah instead of mazel tov. Today, there is a worldwide revival of Sephardic culture and studies. Ladino—so often declared a dead language—is being taught.

Read: Trump is driving some American Jews to reclaim citizenship in Europe. But there is also a more prosaic reason so few Sephardim have applied for citizenship. A yawning gap exists between the spirit of the Spanish citizenship law and its bureaucratic and civil administration. The application process is daunting and difficult. The law does not require the Sephardim to give up their existing citizenship or reside in Spain.

However, requirements include proof of Sephardic lineage one need not be a practicing Jew ; a rigorous, four-hour Spanish-language test; and a citizenship test. Every document—from birth certificates to criminal-background checks—must be translated, notarized, and certified with an apostille seal. Applicants are required to travel to Spain to sign with a Spanish notary, and many people, including our family, hire a Spanish lawyer to help navigate the citizenship process.