Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews
יהדות ספרד (Yahadut Sfarad)
Total population
6,200,000
up to 16% of world Jewish population
Regions with significant populations
 Israel4.2 million
 France300,000–400,000
 United States200,000–300,000
 Argentina50,000
 Spain40,000
 Canada31,000
 Italy24,930
 Mexico15,000
 Turkey14,000
 United Kingdom8,000
 Panama8,000
 Colombia7,000
 Morocco6,000
 Greece6,000
 Tunisia2,000
 Bosnia and Herzegovina2,000
 Bulgaria2,000
 Cuba1,500
 Serbia1,000
 Netherlands600
 North Macedonia200
Languages
Historical: Ladino, Arabic (Andalusian), Haketia, Judeo-Portuguese, Berber, Catalanic, Shuadit, local languages
Modern: Local languages, primarily Modern Hebrew, French, English, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Ladino, Arabic.
Religion
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, other Jewish ethnic divisions, Samaritans, other Levantines, Lebanese, Syrians, other Near Eastern Semitic people, Spaniards, Portuguese and Hispanics/Latinos

Sephardi Jews, also known as Sephardic Jews or Sephardim (Hebrew: סְפָרַדִּים, Modern Hebrew: Sfaraddim, also יְהוּדֵי סְפָרַד Y'hudey Spharad, meaning "The Jews of Spain"), are a Jewish ethnic division. They emerged as a distinct community around 1000 AD on the Iberian Peninsula. Jews set up communities throughout Muslim Spain and Portugal.

Evolution

In the late 15th century, when all Jews were expelled from Spain, they migrated and set up new communities in the countries of England, the Netherlands, North Africa, Anatolia, the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean), and the Balkan countries, as well as the Americas, where they kept their traditions and religious practices.

For hundreds of years and through the 20th century, Sephardi Jews have continued to speak their Judeo-Spanish language, commonly called the Ladino, alongside the language of their place of residence.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4
    • Gerber, Jane S. (1992). The Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience. The Free Press. ISBN 9780029115732. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
    • Benbassa, Esther; Rodrigue, Aron (2000). Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th-20th Centuries (1 ed.). ISBN 9780520218222. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
    • Cohen, Mark R. (2005). "Chapter 2 The Origins of Sephardic Jewry in the Medieval Arab World". Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewry. New York University Press. doi:10.18574/nyu/9780814797419.003.0005. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
    • Lehmann, Matthias B. (2008). "Rethinking Sephardi Identity: Jews and Other Jews in Ottoman Palestine". Jewish Social Studies. 15 (1: Sephardi Identities). Indiana University Press: 81–109. JSTOR 40207035. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
    • Ben-Ur, Aviva (2009). Sephardic Jews in America: A Diasporic History. New York University Press. doi:10.18574/nyu/9780814739150.001.0001. ISBN 9780814739150. Retrieved December 25, 2024.