Farewell Espana: The World of the Sephardim Rememb

The Jews of Spain, integrated into Arab culture since the 10th century, flourished under Islamic and subsequent Christian rule, becoming scientists, poets, merchants and farmers despite periodic outbursts of Christian fanaticism and conversionary pressure. Expelled from Spain in 1492, Sephardic Jews sought refuge in the Ottoman empire, North Africa, Italy and elsewhere. Noted historian Sachar's (A History of Israel) vibrant odyssey charts Sephardic Jewry's dispersal, acculturation and achievements, informed by his own visits to Madrid, Lisbon, Athens, Belgrade and Tel Aviv. The narrative features luminaries such as Beatriz Mendez, who built a trading empire in 16th-century Antwerp and Venice and ran an underground rescue network for Marrano refugees; and Dutch rabbi Menasseh ben Israel, emissary to London, who successfully pressured Oliver Cromwell to grant England's Jews rights of residency, worship and trade. In modern times, Sachar portrays the violence Jews faced in Turkey under Mustafa Kemal, Jewish resistance to Mussolini and the political activism of Sephardim in Israel, where they have encountered discrimination by Ashkenazic Jews of middle or northern European ancestry. A feast for students of Jewish culture and history. (Oct.)