Institute for Sefardi and

Anousim Studies
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITY ‒ 2018

This past year we have made great strides in our twin goals of significant academic scholarship and
practical assistance to bourgeoning Anousim communities. Our outreach and support efforts were mainly
concentrated in Brazil, while our academic work has focused primarily on the Inquisition. Below are some
of the highlights of 2018.

 Academic Research
Creation of a Database of Spanish Inquisition Victims in the 18th Century

This year, the ISAS initiated an important project of transcribing

data from the Inquisition relaciones, the list which summarizes
judgments against heretics, especially Judaizers, by the Holy Office.
This database will focus on information from the 18th century. The
project is being coordinated by Professor Avraham Gross, with the
assistance of Uri Blankfeld, our Administrative Coordinator for Brazil.
The actual work consists of reading the relaciones and transcribing
the data into a customized data base that includes the names of
the convicted, ages, occupations, family relations, and the sentences
that were handed down. Prof. Gross hopes to accumulate supplementary material on future trips to Spain.

Reflecting on the data processed thus far, Prof. Gross noted, “During the course of the work, you become
aware of complex family ties and patterns of demographic movement of crypto-Jewish families and
individuals within Spain, between Spain and Portugal,
and between Iberia and France as late as the 18th
century. Mapping Spanish locations of New Christians
who remained loyal to their ancestors’ heritage is one
of the aims of this database.”

The database will include a specially developed

program that in the future will allow a quick and
efficient search and allow statistical searches of all
kinds. While it will be open to everyone, genealogists
and historians are expected to be the main users of
the final product.
Uri Blankfeld transcribes data from a relacion

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Application to Israel Science Foundation for a Competitive Research Grant
Prof. Abraham Gross has submitted a proposal to the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) for a competitive
research grant for the years 2019-2021. Basically, it is a "prestigious" grant which competes with other
proposals for a limited pool of funds, subjected to a very rigorous refereeing process.

The research project, The Inquisition and the Judaizers in 18th Century Spain ‒ the ”Final Solution,“ will
entail collecting all data regarding trials and sentences of over 1,400 individuals for all crimes, and includes
all printed and manuscript material from Inquisitorial sources. The main objective of this research is to
reassess Marrano society in Spain in the 18th century. Much can be concluded from the sources described
above and affect historiography on the topic. Such a data-base would provide us a way to a fuller
examination of the common characteristics of the victims, their genealogies, relative numbers of men and
of women, their range of ages, their professions, places of birth and residence. Some of this research will
require trips to Spain. Both historians and genealogists will benefit from this project.

UPDATE: Centro de Estudios Judaicos de Trás-os-Montes in Portugal

In last year’s Summary, we reported on the establishment of the participation of the ISAS in the
establishment of the Centro de Estudios in Chaves, Portugal. The center will be partially funded by
government funds earmarked for tourism. The Centro’s activity will not only benefit local (Jewish) tourism,
but also help fund publication of the Anousim Prayer Book manuscript (see page 8).

 Genealogical Research
The ISAS conducts genealogical research throughout the year. The ISAS offers two types of research
reports:

 Basic Genealogical Research Report: For applicants who wish to

determine if they have Anousim/Sefardi ancestors.

 Report of Sefardi Origin: The Federation of the Jewish

Communities in Spain (Madrid) and the Jewish Community in Lisbon,
Portugal have authorized the ISAS to prepare reports certifying
Sefardi origin in order to qualify for their respective Certificates of
Sefardi origin to satisfy requirements for citizenship stipulated by the
new laws enacted in both countries. Applicants for either report may
sign a waiver allowing their genealogical information to be added to
our genealogical database for research purposes.

We are proud to say that along with the Reports of Sefardi Origin that we prepared for descendants of
Sefardim expelled from Spain, we have also succeeded in assisting Bnei Anousim to meet the rigorous
requirements for the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain’s Certificate of Sefardi Origin, culminating
in attainment of Spanish citizenship.

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  Personal and Communal Identity
Launching of Brazilian Sefardic Tree Project with MyHeritage

It is with great pleasure that in August, 2018, we launched the long-awaited Brazilian Sephardic Tree, XN
BRASIL (XN = Cristãos Novos), or “New Christians in Brazil,” and hundreds of people have already
uploaded genealogical information into it.

This project was conceived by the ISAS in partnership with ISAS activist and
representative in Brazil, Dan Andrade, and became a reality through the
technological magic of MyHeritage. The Brazilian facebook group Genealogia
Paulistana was chosen for the first phase of uploading data into XN BRASIL
because they have very well-documented information. Many of the first families
that populated São Paulo were composed of New Christians, whose
descendants spread out and populated the other regions of Brazil. The goal of
XN BRASIL is to connect these families and rescue the lost links in history.

We invite everyone who has identified Brazilian New Christian ancestors to join this tree. If you have not
yet identified your New Christian ancestors and would like to do so, just start a family tree in MyHeritage,
and you will be notified of the option to connect with XN Brasil: click https://www.myheritage.com.br/ to
start your tree. [Note: MyHeritage allows free family tree accounts of up to 250 members].

XN BRASIL has enormous potential. We are counting on

everyone’s participation. Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any
questions: dambortolotto@uol.com.br. Welcome to our family
tree!

ISAS Welcomes Dan Andrade, Our New

Representative in Brazil

We are very pleased to announce that Mrs. Damaris Andrade of

São Paulo is the new ISAS representative in Brazil. “Dan,” as she
is called, will assist people seeking genealogical research as well
as those who wish to sign into the XN Brasil site. Dan visited
Israel with her family in January, so we were very fortunate to be From left: Shlomo Buzaglo, Uri Blankfeld,
Dan Andrade, Adina Moryosef in the ISAS
able to meet her in person. Welcome aboard, Dan! Library

ISAS Provides Academic Advice to Jewish Heritage Alliance

The ISAS’s Prof. Abraham Gross is an academic consultant for Jewish Heritage Alliance (JHA), a tourist
organization based in Miami, USA that promotes heritage tours of historical sites of Sefardi Jewry and the
Diaspora of Marranos. JHA offers “discovery tours” of Spain, Portugal, and Israel, and has developed an
information-packed Saga of Sepharad page in its website, as well as a Conversos page and a section
detailing “Exile history.” There are other similar types of travel groups, but to our knowledge this is the first
one to offer trips that encompass a wider history of Sefardi Jewry.

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The ISAS Acknowledges Two Special Anousim Communities

The Institute would like to highlight two Bnei Anousim communities which are making a difference in the
lives of their members:

Beer Sheba, Israel: Tov Lehodot L’Hashem

This very special community in the northern Negev city of Beer Sheba, Tov
Lehodot L’Hashem (“It is good to thank God,” from the first line of Psalm
92) is comprised mainly of Brazilians, with some Spanish-speakers. The
primary purpose of this community was the integration of new immigrants
from Latin American countries. The leaders and rabbi of the community
work with the Bnei Anousim to use official channels to formally recover their
Jewish identities and qualify for Aliyah,
while helping them learn how to
integrate into Israeli society.

The community’s ability to deal with

such an extended phenomenon is
limited. We are exploring ways to
expand this platform and enable other
communities in Israel to fulfil that
fundamental role. In the meantime, the
community is thriving and offers an array
of communal services to its members.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Congregação Judaica P'nei Or

In March 2017, leaders of 18 Bnei Anousim communities in Brazil
attended a two-week "Connection Seminar" in Israel organized by the
ISAS. This ground-breaking and very successful event was the first
seminar in Israel for lay leaders of Bnei Anousim. This first "Connection
Seminar" had four main objectives: to create a leadership core; to
strengthen Jewish identity; to create networking/
infrastructure; and to legitimize Bnei Anousim in
the eyes of “official” Israel and the Federation of
Jewish communities in Brazil.

One of those communities, Pnei Or

(“countenance of light”), chaired by Dr. Elisa
Guimarães and located in a suburb of Rio de
Janeiro, was officially recognised by the
Federation of Jewish Community in Rio de Janeiro (FIERJ) on July 17, 2018. This is the first Anousim

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community to be formally acknowledged by the FIERJ and it represents a significant breakthrough. We
hope it only the first case in a new dynamic within Bnei Anousim communities for recognition by the
Council of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Brazil (CONIB) and Jewish institutions in Israel.
UPDATE:
Mapping Project ‒ Bnei Anousim Communities in Brazil
In our 2017 Summary, we reported that the ISAS is working in conjunction with communal entities in Brazil
and public entities in Israel to create a mapping project of Bnei Anousim communities in Brazil. This project
is crucial to knowing the locations, sizes, and needs of the many Anousim communities in Brazil. Israel’s
Ministry of the Diaspora and Jewish Agency, as well as with the CONIB (Federation of Jewish Communities
in Brazil), had all expressed great interest in the project.

Sadly, however, the situation today has changed. The CONIB in Brazil has withdrawn its interest, but Israel’s
Jewish Agency is once more showing signs of interest in the Bnei Anousim community. We are still working
with Diaspora Ministry and the recommendations of their Commission on Emergent Groups, but the
project is at a standstill. The ISAS continues to believe that a public institution should partner in this
endeavor as it so deeply touches the Jewish people as a whole. We will not abandon a project that is so
crucial to the future of the Anousim communities in Brazil, and continue to work on making alliances that
will help it come to fruition.

 Conferences/Events
February 19 – Netanya Academic College, Israel
Roundtable Conference: “Bnei Anousim in Mexico and New Mexico” [Hebrew]

Ambassador Vega of Panama

This conference, organized jointly by the ISAS and Rabbi Dr.

Moshe Pinchuk, head of Netanya Academic College’s Jewish
Heritage Center, was held in Senate Hall. Prof. Seth Ward
(University of Wyoming, USA) was the main speaker. Other
presenters included Dr. Schulamith Halevy and Rabbi Haim
Amsalem. We were honored by the presence of the
Ambassador of Panama, Mrs. Adis Urieta Vega, who
acknowledged the importance of the Anousim phenomenon
From left: Rabbi Dr. Moshe Pinchuk, Prof. Avi
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 in Panama. The moving personal testimony of Israeli citizen
Mrs. Ruth Ramirez concluded the event.
June 27-28 ‒ Portugal
Conference: “Jews of Portugal and the
Spanish-Portuguese Diaspora”
Prof. Avi Gross was a featured speaker at the international
conference, “Jews of Portugal and the Spanish-Portuguese
Jewish Diaspora,” held jointly at the University of Lisbon and
the University of Porto, Portugal. Avi spoke about the
publication of the Rebordelo manuscript and the new Centro
de Estudos Judaicos in Chaves. Academics also presenting at
this high-powered conference included Myriam Silvera,
Prof. Gross delivering his paper
Claude Stuczynski, Susanna Bastos Mateus, and Yosef Kaplan.

July 4 ‒ Israel
Lecture at Kalaniot Seniors Club [Hebrew]

Shlomo Buzaglo spoke about “The Contemporary Revival of the Marranos and the Mission of the ISAS,” at
the Kalaniot Seniors Club in Netanya, sponsored by the Municipality of Netanya’s Department of Seniors.

October 8 – Israel
Israel’s Ladino Authority Speaks Out on the Anousim [Hebrew]

The Institute of Sefardi and Anousim Studies hosted an event organized jointly
by the ISAS and AVLADINO, Israel’s National Ladino Authority, and the Council
of the Sephardi and Eastern Communities of Jerusalem, focusing on the issue
of Bnei Anousim and addressed to members of the National Authority of
Ladino. Most of the 70 attendees were descendants of Sephardic Jewish
communities of the Balkans.

Professor Tamar Alexander, president of the National Authority of Ladino,

delivered a presentation, followed by Dr. Schulamith Halevy, who related
stories regarding her experiences researching Bnei Anousim communities. The
event concluded with a screening of "Jerusalem of Spain," a documentary
about the Inquistion based on the book by Mr. Itzhak Navon z”l. Professor
Abraham Gross moderated the event. Prof. Tamar Alexander

President of the Council of the Sephardi and Eastern Communities of Jerusalem, Dr. Abraham Hayim,
awarded the Council’s Medallion to the ISAS in recognition of our work concerning Bnei Anousim. ISAS
manager Shlomo Buzaglo and head Prof. Avi Gross accepted the award on behalf of the ISAS with Netanya
Academic College president Prof. Yaacov Hart.

Immediately afterward, the ISAS hosted a reception in our library, displaying some of our collection of
museum-quality facsimiles of historic documents, navigational objects, and art objects donated by Elie z”l
and Ana Schalit.

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 November 21 – Israel
Lecture at CASIFAN (Comité d’Action Socialé in Israël) [French]

Shlomo Buzaglo spoke on “The Contemporary Revival of the Marranos and the Institute for Sefardi and
Anousim Studies” following a lecture by Albert and Madeleine Guenon, “The History of the Jews of
Portugal and the Last Marranos.”

November 28-30 ‒ Brazil

Conference: The First “Encontro Brasileiro de Estudos Cryptojudaicos”

ISAS Manager Shlomo Buzaglo took part in the

concluding session of the first Encontro Brasileiro de
Estudos Cryptojudaicos (I°EBEC) (Brazilian Encounter on
Crypto-Judaism), which was held in Recife on 28-30
November, 2018. This was the first conference of its kind
in Brazil, and it attracted many important participants,
including researchers, historians, writers, anthropologists, representatives from local and international
organizations, the Consul General of Israel in São Paulo, Dori Goren, and
representatives from Anousim communities from the northeast and other areas of
Brazil. Also in attendance were the director of the Brazilian media conglomerate
Menorah, Ronaldo Gomlevsky (who is a member of the board of the (the
Federation of Jewish Com-
munities of Brazil, which was not
represented at this conference),
Danny Limor, representing the
Israeli Diaspora Ministry, and
French historian Nathan Wachtel.

The conference culminated in a

Odmar Braga and Nathan Wachtel
moving reading of the “Recife
Declaration”, a document written at the conference asking
the communal authorities to be more receptive to the From left: Ronaldo Gomlevksy, Danny Limor,
situation of these emerging Anousim communities in Brazil. Shlomo Buzaglo, and Dori Goren

The I°EBEC concluded with a reading of a “Declaration of Rights”. The entire conference was filmed by a
private individual who intends to create a communication platform
in Brazil on the country’s crypto-Jewish communities. Our
Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking friends can view two interviews
conducted after the conference by the Raymundo Campos Institute:
with Salomon Buzaglo (in Spanish) and Israeli Consulate to São
Paulo, Dori Goren (in Portuguese).

The ISAS would like to express our gratitude to

Dr. Bruce Francis and Yehudit Francis, who sponsored
Shlomo Buzaglo’s participation in the conference.

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  Publications
The ISAS is very pleased to announce that we have signed the contract for publication of our book:

IBERIAN CONVERSOS, CRYPTO-JEWS, AND DESCENDANTS:

HISTORY AND CONTEMPORARY IDENTITIES
This volume, based on papers given at our “Reconnecting 2016: Reinvigorating Latino-Jewish
Relationships Conference” held in Miami (September 2016), is intended to present a state of research,
especially regarding scholarship in the relatively new field of the study of contemporary Bnei Anousim.
Historically, this volume focuses on the eighteenth century, a period of ferocious attacks by the Spanish
Inquisition against the New Christian “heresy,” and of a massive exodus of New Christians from Portugal
to Brazil. This period also represents the far end of the genealogical “bridge” to which contemporary Bnei
Anousim attempt to connect in their search for New Christian roots.

As stated on the cover text, “Among a population that has retained almost no memory of their origins,
one must ask, how authentic are their Jewish roots? After the passage of hundreds of years, how much of
what they perceive as “Jewish” is truly a lost Sefardi heritage? As it bridges past and present, this field
demands interdisciplinary research. This volume addresses history, demography, genealogy, anthropology,
genetics, and related fields with contributors from five continents, all leading scholars in their fields.” We
will publicize purchasing information as it becomes available.

Annotated edition of a manuscript of an

Anousim prayer book
Prof. Gross is currently involved in the transcribing,
translating, and analyzing of an Anousim manuscript that
has been handed down in the same family in Rebordelo-
Chaves, Portugal, over the last two centuries. This is a
significant recovered manuscript (originally discovered one
hundred years ago by A. Barros Basto), and will shed
important light on how Bnei Anousim in Portugal were
able to hand down traditions and prayers in remote areas.
Pages from the manuscript

Articles by Prof. Abraham Gross accepted for publication:

 "Self-Perception of Portuguese Jewry in the 15th Century Before the Mass-
Conversion." Proceedings of the “International Conference on Sephardic Identity and Memory:
History and Present Day” (June 2017 - Bragança, Portugal)

 "Dona Gracia Nasi: Biography of a Former Marrana." Proceedings of the Coloquio Internacional:
Gracia Mendas Nasi (October 2017 - Lisbon, Portugal)

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  Awards
President of the Council of the Sephardi
and Eastern Communities of Jerusalem, Dr.
Abraham Hayim, awarded the Council’s
Medallion to the ISAS in recognition of our
work concerning Bnei Anousim. ISAS
manager Shlomo Buzaglo and head Prof.
Avi Gross accepted the award on behalf of
the ISAS with Netanya Academic College
president Prof. Yaacov Hart.

From left: Prof. Avi Gross, Abraham Hayim, Prof. Yaakov Hart, and Shlomo Buzaglo.

 Publicity
ISAS in the news... Israel’s Spanish-language magazine AURORA published the ISAS’s article about the
Anousim in their issue commemorating Israel's 70th Independence Day, enabling thousands of Spanish-
speaking Jews in Israel to learn more about the phenomenon.

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Manager Shlomo Buzaglo was a featured guest in an I-24 News interview with Sarah Gaudron, presenter
for the “Haute Définition” cultural program. I-24 is a TV channel located in Jaffa, Israel, which broadcasts

programming in English, Arabic, and French. He spoke about the worldwide Bnei Anusim phenomenon.

 Visitors
Guatemalan dignitaries visit Netanya Academic College and the ISAS

On Friday, October 19, several Guatemalan dignitaries visited the ISAS as a part of an official tour
organized by the City of Netanya and the Netanya Foundation.

The Ambassador of Guatemala, Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores, was accompanied by the mayors of five major
cities in Guatemala. They were very impressed with the treasures of books and artifacts we hold, and the
scope of our mission.

We hope that knowledge of our work and mission will be disseminated throughout Guatemala via the
Ambassador’s offices and by the five mayors accompanying him on this groundbreaking visit.

Ambassador Búcaro Flores, center, flanked by Prof. Avi Gross (left), Shlomo Buzaglo
(right) and Shmuel Saba (far right) of the Netanya Foundation, along with the five
mayors.

The ISAS also received visits in 2018 from:

 Ronaldo Gomlevsky, CEO of the Brazilian communications company

Menorah. Mr. Gomlevsky produced a video about the Bnei Anousim
phenomenon during his visit to Israel (Shlomo Buzaglo is interviewed
in it).

 "Brazilian / Canadian" Esther Goldberger, who has popular facebook

page and blog, Vida Pratica Judaica.
Esther Goldberger in the ISAS
offices.
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  Laurie Cardozo Moore, founder of “Proclaiming Justice to the Nations,” an organization that seeks
to educate Christians about their Biblical responsibility to defend Israel and the Jewish people.

 Israel anthropologist Dr. Malka Shabtai, who recently conducted field research in Brazil on the
basis of the guidance provided by the ISAS.

 Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum, Founding Director of Ohr Torah Stone’s Beren-Amiel and Straus-Amiel
Programs, former Chief Rabbi of Uruguay, is also a dayan (judge) on the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s
conversion courts.

 Oren Bar-El, Israel’s former ambassador to El Salvador.

 Fundación Hispanojudía president David Hatchwell Altaras.

 Acquisitions
Library Acquisitions
During 2018, the ISAS expanded our Gloria and Leslie Mound Memorial Library with book purchases and
quite a few book donations by the authors.

In addition to our purchases of scholarly works, we received a number of volumes from the library of
Mordechai Arbell z”l, donated by his widow, Rina Arbell. Mr. Arbell enjoyed a long career as ambassador
from Israel to many of the Caribbean nations. A historian by nature, he amassed quite a collection of works
about the Jewish history of the region and Sefardi history and culture in general. The gift includes volumes
on the Jewish presence in Cape Verde, Santo Domingo, Jamaica, Curaçao, Tobago, Panama, St. Eustatius,
Mexico, Central America, Brazil, and Turkey, as well as books on Ladino / Sefardi culture and heritage. Our
sincere thanks to Mrs. Rina Arbell for the gift.

We also received books donated by authors who visited us in the office, or sent them to us in Israel
through various travelers. The titles include:

O Caminho dos Judeus by António José de Olivera e Chunha

Mémoires marranes: itinéraires dans le sertão du Nordeste brésilien by Nathan

Wachtel

Mistério: Na história dos povodores do Brasil Colonia by Elias Jose Lourenço

El Norte de Sefarad by Anun Barriuso and José Manuel Laureiro

Sabores Judaicos, Trás-os-Montes by Graça Sá-

Fernandes and Naomi Calvão

We are also honored to receive a donation by Rabbi Abraham Yeret of a beautiful

edition of the book Albuquerque from the "Borges da Fonseca" collection. With
artwork produced by Cândido Pinheiro Koren De Lima, it is a volume of in-depth
studies on several familial branches in the Brazilian northeast, showing the

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influence of the indigenous peoples, Africans, Muslims, and Jews who gave color to the initial Iberian
matrix.

Additionally, we are continually expanding our historical fiction section. We are

grateful to have received the followed novels, donated by their authors:

The Iris Park]‫ [שמורת האירוסים‬by Alek Serour

Esther de Tolède by Mickey Mandelbaum

Marrana! Amor e intolerância em tempos de Inquisição by Katia Pessanha (this

volume includes a Spotify code for music chosen specially by Katia to
accompany reading the book)

Marranos: El Sueño del Alborayque: ¡El Año Venidero en Jerusalén! by Luis de

los Llanos Álverez

Pyre to Fire by Genie Milgrom

Tanger, Tanger by Leopolo Ceballos

Vasijas Reparadas: Historia del Proceso de Retorno de una Familia Bne Anusim
a sis raíces Judías by Sarah Israel

All 2018 book purchases

were funded by a generous donation
from the
Davis Family Charitable Fund

 “Friend” Raising
On September 6, the ISAS launched our GoFundMe page, “Welcoming our Anousim Brothers.” As we put it
in the page, “The Institute is embarking on a worldwide endeavor to assist Anousim, located in all areas of
the Sefardi diaspora, to recover their ancestral identity and reconnect with the Jewish people, if they
desire.” Our sincere thanks to all of our friends who have shown their support by donating to the ISAS by
way of this easy (and tax deductible in the US) site.

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  Contact Us
The ISAS is located in Netanya Academic College, Netanya, Israel. We invite you to visit the Institute for
Sefardi and Anousim Studies website, available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese versions, and our
Facebook page.

ISAS staff members can be contacted directly:

Manager: Shlomo Buzaglo | salomonb@netanya.ac.il | +972-544564555

Administrative Coordinator: Adina Moryosef | adinamor@netanya.ac.il | +972-98607837
Public Relations – Brazil: Uri Blankfeld | urib@netanya.ac.il | +972-542946494

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 SAVE THE DATE

Four-fold event on Bnei Anousim

Evènement en 4 volets sur le Marranisme
Presentación en 4 etapas sobre el Marranismo
‫הצגת נושא בני האנוסים בארבעה פעימות‬
March 17 ‒ 19

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