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World Jewish News
Chanukah lights on the streets of Madrid
28.12.2008
In 2008. residents of Madrid celebrated Hanukkah publicly for the first time. Around 1000 people gathered for the ceremony of lighting Chanukah candles, as reported by EJP.
On Monday, December 22, 2008, on the second day of the holiday, the khanukiyah was lit on the central square of Madrid, near the main synagogue of the Spanish capital.
The deputies of the city council, the staff of Institute of Jewish Sephardic culture (Casa Sefarad-Israel), representatives of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain and the Jewish community of Madrid, including the Chief Rabbi of Spain Moshe Bendagan and Chabad Envoy rabbi Itshok Goldstein visited the ceremony. The ceremony was also attended by Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar and Israeli Ambassador Rafael Shuts. Diego de Ojeda, director of Casa Sefarad-Israel, opened the program with a welcoming statement. Once the candles were lit, Rabbi Amar recited the blessings, and Rabbi Bendahan led the singing of Ma'oz Tzur Yeshuati.
In 2008, the capital of Spain became one of the centers of Jewish culture. A series of commemorative events took place in Madrid from March to June - lectures, conferences and exhibitions dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the opening of the Madrid synagogue, the first synagogue built since the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. In April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain together with the government of the New Castile area created the Institute of Jewish Sephardic culture (Casa Sefarad-Israel). According to the authorities, in this way they return a kind of debt connected to the expulsion of Jews, and demonstrate the friendship and mutual understanding between modern Spain and the Jewish people.
Jewish communities appeared in modern Spain during the twenties of the previous century. In 2000 the Jewish population of Spain numbered about twelve thousand people (90% of whom come from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). After the Six Day War, Jewish refugees from Egypt came to Spain.
According to the Electronic Jewish encyclopedia, the Jewish communities in the country merged into the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, with its center in Madrid. The community publishes the monthly A-Kesher magazine. The community centers in Madrid and Barcelona associate closely with synagogues.
In 1992, on the 500th anniversary of the expulsion of Jews, the Spanish government formally abolished the decree of exile. The King supported the decision of Parliament. At the meeting with representatives of Jewish organizations, King Juan Carlos said that he regretted the expulsion of Jews in 1492 and welcomed their presence in modern Spain.
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