Dear Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Congressman Jon Iñarritu, and Justice Minister Juan Carlos Campo:
The Sephardic Community is writing the Spanish government on an urgent matter. We are Spanish by blood. We are descended from Spanish Jews who were stripped of their citizenship due to their faith in 1492. We were grateful that Spain and Portugal recognize the expulsion of Sephardim from the Iberian Peninsula was unjust, and we were elated with both nations offered us the opportunity to return home.
We´re writing to you in regards to the Sephardic nationality law. In particular, the Sephardic nationality law allowed people of Sephardic heritage to apply for Spanish citizenship provided they started their applications by October 1, 2019. Lately, there have apparently been no new citizenship concessions. A prominent lawyer has said that there are 44,000 solicitudes, and only 6 people processing them. He said it will take three years to get Spanish citizenship under the Sephardic law. This is not what we were originally promised by these lawyers, who told us it would take only a year. Many of us had planned to return to our homeland, Spain, which we love long before then.
There´s a problem with this. Spanish lawyers came to the United States, to American Jewish organizations and promised us we would get citizenship within a year. Most Sephardim who apply for Spanish citizenship under this law would not have applied had Spanish lawyers not advertised this as a way of restitution for the past persecution of Jews. Over 100,000 people started this process, which costs 6000 or so per person. Meaning Sephardim have spent millions of dollars on this, and there are few government employees processing our applications. Plus, we all have older relatives who may die before they get citizenship. We ask the Spanish government to rapidly grant citizenship to Sephardim, and we also ask that the Spanish government take extra care in speeding up the process for the elderly and for the seriously ill.
Please keep in mind that people who immigrate to Spain did not have to spend such large amounts of money on Spanish citizenship, and most regular immigrants to Spain were never persecuted by the Spanish state. Additionally, many Jewish families after expulsion from Spain faced other forms of persecution such as the Holocaust during WW2, and other tragedies. We respectfully request that the Spanish government expedite Sephardic applications via royal decree and devote the proper resources to solving the cases already submitted.
Updates
February 19, 2020
I have been reading through the stories you all are sharing about the uncertainty surrounding your applications and the heartbreak of being stuck in this bureaucratic limbo. It is clear that many of us were given promises that are currently being ignored while we wait for news about our heritage and our future. I am working to connect with others who can help us demand transparency from the government because we deserve the home we were finally offered.
February 19, 2020
Seeing this momentum grow brings back the hope I felt when I first heard about the possibility of returning to my ancestral home. My family has carried the memory of our expulsion for centuries and it is overwhelming to see so many people acknowledge that our wait in this bureaucratic limbo is fundamentally wrong.
21 Comments
Truly there are many who wish to return who could be hired by Spain to help with the sorting of these documents. My two daughters who have Turned in their applications would very much like to help the government expedite these Sephardic applications quickly. It is terribly sad that so many elderly may not be able to return.
I urge the Spanish government to assign adequate resources to process applications in a timely manner.
I spent 9 months of hard work to pass all the hurdles, and over $6000. I was told by my attorney, Luis Portero, that I can expect to be granted Spanish citizenship in 18-22 months. Now it looks like much longer than that. To be honest, this makes me very sad. After my ancestors were expelled from Spain, they went to Greece, where my father was born. He was the sole survivor of his entire family in Auschwitz. The persecution never ends. Spain, please do the right thing and expedite our applications! I hope to be living in Spain by the end of 2020- will you make it happen, please?
The intent of King Juan Carlos I to welcome back Sephardi Jews and offer them citizenship has been thwarted by the Spanish Parliament through the placement of virtually insurmountable hurdles. Shame on the Parliamentarians to have distorted the King’s noble intentions of amending an historical injustice.
As a Jewish person with partially Sepharadic heritage, who has long been interested in this subject, I find it unconscionable that after all this time and suffering, our people should have to go through more waiting and misery before being welcomed back to Spain where so much of our illustrious history took place, especially after Spain promised that it would grant this to us. No further obstacles should be put in our way. I did not personally apply as I realized I would have a hard time proving my assertion, but I identify very strongly with my brothers and sisters who did and I implore all Spanish authorities to expedite these applications and do their utmost to treat our people with the utmost kindness and compassion after all we have been through...
Es un proceso largo y costoso , no todos tenemos ese dinero ni ese tiempo . que se queden con la inquisición .
So sorry i wanted to apply to Spain but not if it takes years....so disappointing!
Sign Petition
We never post to your account. Social sign-in is used only to verify your signature.
Add a comment?
Your signature will be added via . Tell others why you're signing — it's optional.
By signing, you accept our Terms and Privacy Policy and agree to occasional emails about petitions. Unsubscribe anytime.
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
Dear Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Congressman Jon Iñarritu, and Justice Minister Juan Carlos Campo:
The Sephardic Community is writing the Spanish government on an urgent matter. We are Spanish by blood. We are descended from Spanish Jews who were stripped of their citizenship due to their faith in 1492. We were grateful that Spain and Portugal recognize the expulsion of Sephardim from the Iberian Peninsula was unjust, and we were elated with both nations offered us the opportunity to return home.
We´re writing to you in regards to the Sephardic nationality law. In particular, the Sephardic nationality law allowed people of Sephardic heritage to apply for Spanish citizenship provided they started their applications by October 1, 2019. Lately, there have apparently been no new citizenship concessions. A prominent lawyer has said that there are 44,000 solicitudes, and only 6 people processing them. He said it will take three years to get Spanish citizenship under the Sephardic law. This is not what we were originally promised by these lawyers, who told us it would take only a year. Many of us had planned to return to our homeland, Spain, which we love long before then.
There´s a problem with this. Spanish lawyers came to the United States, to American Jewish organizations and promised us we would get citizenship within a year. Most Sephardim who apply for Spanish citizenship under this law would not have applied had Spanish lawyers not advertised this as a way of restitution for the past persecution of Jews. Over 100,000 people started this process, which costs 6000 or so per person. Meaning Sephardim have spent millions of dollars on this, and there are few government employees processing our applications. Plus, we all have older relatives who may die before they get citizenship. We ask the Spanish government to rapidly grant citizenship to Sephardim, and we also ask that the Spanish government take extra care in speeding up the process for the elderly and for the seriously ill.
Please keep in mind that people who immigrate to Spain did not have to spend such large amounts of money on Spanish citizenship, and most regular immigrants to Spain were never persecuted by the Spanish state. Additionally, many Jewish families after expulsion from Spain faced other forms of persecution such as the Holocaust during WW2, and other tragedies. We respectfully request that the Spanish government expedite Sephardic applications via royal decree and devote the proper resources to solving the cases already submitted.
Updates
February 19, 2020
I have been reading through the stories you all are sharing about the uncertainty surrounding your applications and the heartbreak of being stuck in this bureaucratic limbo. It is clear that many of us were given promises that are currently being ignored while we wait for news about our heritage and our future. I am working to connect with others who can help us demand transparency from the government because we deserve the home we were finally offered.
February 19, 2020
Seeing this momentum grow brings back the hope I felt when I first heard about the possibility of returning to my ancestral home. My family has carried the memory of our expulsion for centuries and it is overwhelming to see so many people acknowledge that our wait in this bureaucratic limbo is fundamentally wrong.
21 Comments
My family too are refugees of the Spanish Inquisition, this must be taken care of, the government of Spain owes this to the jewish population.
Truly there are many who wish to return who could be hired by Spain to help with the sorting of these documents. My two daughters who have Turned in their applications would very much like to help the government expedite these Sephardic applications quickly. It is terribly sad that so many elderly may not be able to return.
I urge the Spanish government to assign adequate resources to process applications in a timely manner.
I spent 9 months of hard work to pass all the hurdles, and over $6000. I was told by my attorney, Luis Portero, that I can expect to be granted Spanish citizenship in 18-22 months. Now it looks like much longer than that. To be honest, this makes me very sad. After my ancestors were expelled from Spain, they went to Greece, where my father was born. He was the sole survivor of his entire family in Auschwitz. The persecution never ends. Spain, please do the right thing and expedite our applications! I hope to be living in Spain by the end of 2020- will you make it happen, please?
The intent of King Juan Carlos I to welcome back Sephardi Jews and offer them citizenship has been thwarted by the Spanish Parliament through the placement of virtually insurmountable hurdles. Shame on the Parliamentarians to have distorted the King’s noble intentions of amending an historical injustice.
As a Jewish person with partially Sepharadic heritage, who has long been interested in this subject, I find it unconscionable that after all this time and suffering, our people should have to go through more waiting and misery before being welcomed back to Spain where so much of our illustrious history took place, especially after Spain promised that it would grant this to us. No further obstacles should be put in our way. I did not personally apply as I realized I would have a hard time proving my assertion, but I identify very strongly with my brothers and sisters who did and I implore all Spanish authorities to expedite these applications and do their utmost to treat our people with the utmost kindness and compassion after all we have been through...
Es un proceso largo y costoso , no todos tenemos ese dinero ni ese tiempo . que se queden con la inquisición .
So sorry i wanted to apply to Spain but not if it takes years....so disappointing!
Help this petition grow
Share it with friends to help reach 100 signatures.
Sign Petition
We never post to your account. Social sign-in is used only to verify your signature.
Add a comment?
Your signature will be added via .
Tell others why you're signing — it's optional.
Signing with Google or Facebook verifies your signature instantly — no email needed.
By signing, you accept our Terms and Privacy Policy and agree to occasional emails about petitions. Unsubscribe anytime.
Share this petition
Share this petition to help it reach more people.
Your share link
Petitions like this
Other petitions you might want to support
Scan to share
Anyone who scans this can sign the petition.
My family too are refugees of the Spanish Inquisition, this must be taken care of, the government of Spain owes this to the jewish population.