When is a top just a top? While the interdisciplinary study examining the existence of the cryptoJewish community of the Southwest United States is less than twentyfive years old it has already become a focus of scholarly controversy Some scholars accept the authenticity of the Jewish heritage of the community while others question the realities [...]

Catholics Jews Conversos Collaborated in the Bishopric of Plasencia In 1442 as the fabulously wealthy and militarily powerful Catholic Counts of Bejar began to assert their seigniorial control over the Extremaduranvalley city of Plasencia Spain a tightly knit network of Catholic converso and Jewish families utilized the Cathedral of Plasencia to not only outmaneuver the [...]

From the 1500’s to the early 1800’s in Northern Mexico and what is now the American Southwest strong industrious optimistic Jews thrived in Colonial Mexico as merchants peddlers salesmen soldiers farmers and even as slave agents Like their ancestors in Spain Jewish women were merchants or moneylenders but very often they were midwives In New [...]

Nothing Can Erase 6000 Years: It is a phenomenon known the world over but best recognized and publicized in the West: someone discovers they are Jewish after a lifetime of not knowing Elie Wiesel who to my knowledge has not touched upon this subject would probably say we need the Maharal Rabbi Yehuda Löwe (Judah [...]

Secret Jews came to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico which was discovered by Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1493 They were hoping to avoid religious scrutiny But the Inquisition followed the colonists so many secret Jews settled in the island’s remote mountainous interior as did the early Jews in all [...]

Below we present three views on the subject ETHICS AND CRYPTO JEWISH STUDIES: + Ethical Framework For SCJS by Seth Kunin + Identity and DNA Testing by Abraham D Lavender + Alleles Have No Religion by Seth Ward Ethical Framework for SJCS By Seth D Kunin PhD Some of the perennial issues that have been raised in many recent conferences and [...]

As a youngster I grew up in a very good Roman Catholic home I went to Catholic parochial school in El Paso TX The Irish nuns that taught me always told their students that what they taught in religion class had to be believed by us They told us on the one hand that we [...]

The story of Esther Brandeau known to many as the first person of Jewish origin to set foot in New France exemplifies the situation that many possible Jewish emigrants faced when they arrived in this northern land today known as Quebec Esther Brandeau was the daughter of David Brandeau of Bayonne France Esther disguised as a [...]

Image of Santo Niño de La Guardia on wall of Cathedral of Toldeo Spain Rabbi Baruch Garzon called to me "Arturo ven aqui" He was standing at the side door of the great Cathedral of Toledo Spain He wanted to show me something It was 1992; we were part of the group from the American Sephardi [...]

The Holy Office followed Spanish settlers to New Spain How did this affect everyday life for cryptoJews in the area to the North near Monterrey? What is now Mexico endured as the Spanish colony New Spain from 1521 to 1821 Within this territory crypto Jews had immigrated from Europe the Azores and the Middle East [...]