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This Shavuot, you can help three brave women rejoin the Jewish people      

Gila Arditi aloneGila Arditi's family always kept separate sets of dishes for dairy and meat, washed their hands before eating, and circumcised their infant boys back in Colombia. But Gila never realized she was Jewish until she was a young adult.  

Miriam SangiorgioItalian concert pianist Miriam Sangiorgio only learned of her Jewish roots in a dramatic revelation in her father's dying days. 

Miriam Pena in long dressMiriam Pena of Peru dreamed of seeing the desert. But when she arrived in Israel, her heart told her she was part of the Jewish people. 

What all three of these brave women have in common is that they are Bnei Anousim (people whose ancestors were compelled to convert to Catholicism more than five centuries ago at the time of the Spanish Inquisition) and that they are studying to re-engage the heritage they nearly lost at Shavei Israel's Spanish-language Machon Miriam Jewish Institute for Return and Conversion in Jerusalem. 

Each week, more than 100 men and women from around the world gather to study at Machon Miriam. They come from such far-flung places as Spain, Portugal, Mexico and Costa Rica. At Machon Miriam, they find a warm and loving environment where they are able to deepen their knowledge and faith as they make the long journey home to Zion and the Jewish people. 

Students at Machon Miriam do not pay tuition for the year-long program, as many of them come to Israel with very limited financial resources. The cost to Shavei Israel, however, is significant. We need your help to continue our life-changing programs for the Bnei Anousim in Israel.

  • For only $50, you can sponsor a class at Machon Miriam.
  • For $250, you can make it possible for us to provide a full day of learning.
  • For $2,500, you can support an entire month of study.

Next week, we celebrate the Shavuot festival, which marks the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Shavuot represents the paradigm of Jewish learning; indeed, it is the defining moment for the Jewish people. Our students at Machon Miriam are studying passionately so they can accept the Torah today...here in Jerusalem. With your help, they will join our people - in the joyful spirit of this pivotal holiday. Please visit our support page to make your contribution.


Shavei representatives in Palma

Shavei representatives in Palma de Mallorca

 

From Jerusalem to
Palma de Mallorca

 

An historic condemnation of the atrocities perpetrated against Bnei Anousim

 

It's taken over 300 years but, for the first time in history, a Spanish regional government  has condemned the atrocities perpetrated by the Inquisition against Bnei Anousim (Jews who were compelled to convert to Catholicism and whom historians refer to by the derogatory term Marranos).  


This unprecedented event, which took place in the Spanish city of Palma de Mallorca last month, came as the result of a meeting earlier this year between Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund and a top aide to Frances Antich Oliver,
president of Spain's Balearic Islands. At the meeting, which was also attended by Rabbi Yossi Wallis, head of the Arachim organization, Freund asked Oliver to hold a public ceremony and express regret for the dark chapters of the past; the president acceded to the request.

 

It was agreed to hold the event on May 6 to mark the 320th anniversary of the Auto-da-Fe in 1691, when 37 Chuetas, as the Bnei Anousim of Mallorca are known, were put to death for secretly practicing Judaism.  

 

The ceremony was held at the baroque Consolat de lar Mar in Palma before a packed audience of locals and journalists. In his remarks, President Oliver denounced the crimes of the Inquisition and called them "our worst sin. It horrifies us, but we must always remember it so that it never occurs again."   

 

Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund told those present, "The Chuetas are part of the extended Jewish family, and the bonds of family can never be broken. We cannot turn the clock back on the past. We cannot change what happened centuries ago. But we can change the present. And I believe that we have a historical responsibility to do so - to reach out to the Chuetas and other descendants of the victims of the Inquisition, and to facilitate their return."  

 

Read the full story

See our photo album with pictures of the event.  

Read more press coverage from Palma de Mallorca.

Through sustained lobbying, Shavei Israel aims to push other Spanish regional authorities, as well as the national government, to hold similar ceremonies. We need your help to continue our important work in Spain. Please consider a contribution earmarked for our activities in Palma de Mallorca and beyond, to support our emissaries and facilitate new discussions with the governments there, by visiting the Support page.

Facebook LogoThis month in social media 


Here's some of what we posted to the Shavei Israel Facebook page this month:

  • Christine Darg interviews Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund on Revelation TV.
  • The Donmeh community numbers several thousand in Turkey. Michael Freund profiles the community which is descended from followers of the false Messiah Shabtai Zvi.
  • There are more articles about the historic apology in Palma de Mallorca. You can find them here, here and here.
  • We have pictures from "Judaism Day" in Krakow, Poland, organized by Shavei Israel emissary Rabbi Boaz Pash.
  • Also in Poland: Megillah reading on the holiday of Purim in Wroclaw with Shavei Israel emissary Rabbi Yitzhak Rapoport
  • You can also view pictures of Subbotnik Jews in Russia enjoying learning time with Shavei Israel emissary Rabbi Shlomo Zelig Avrasin. 
  • Finally - who can resist pictures from a wedding - this one from Batya and Yosef, two Bnei Anousim whose marriage in Israel was facilitated by Shavei Israel.

Roots - Issue #16 - May 2011

  

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We are an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. 

Shavei Israel reaches out and assists "lost Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people.  

These include the Bnei Menashe of India, the Bnei Anousim of Spain, Portugal & South America,  

the "Hidden Jews" of Poland and others. We welcome your support.  

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