Spain's King Felipe VI has presided over a ceremony welcoming a new citizenship law for descendants of Sephardi Jews expelled five centuries ago, saying Spain had missed them. Addressing representatives of Spanish Jewish associations and political leaders Monday in Madrid's Royal Palace, Felipe said that Sephardi Jews, as those who once lived in the Iberian peninsula are known, were now back "at home" in Spain. Justice Minister Rafael Catala said that since the law was passed on Oct. 1, there have been nearly 600 citizenship applications and 10,000 information requests. In October, Spain also granted citizenship to 4,302 people whose Jewish ancestors fled after being told to convert to Catholicism or go into exile in 1492, ahead of the Spanish Inquisition, in which many Jews burned at the stake.
Spanish king tells Sephardi Jews that Spain has missed them
Spain's King Felipe VI presides over ceremony welcoming new citizenship law for descendants of Sephardi Jews • Since new law was passed on Oct. 1, there have been nearly 600 citizenship applications and 10,000 information requests.
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