The Sephardic Jewish link to the Canary Islands. February 23st, 2009 by GLORIA MOUND to The Jerusalem Post. The writer is Executive Director of "Casa Shalom Institute for Marrano - Annusim Studies" in Gan Yavne, Israel .

The recent article by Jonathan Beck in The Jerusalem Post ( " In the warm Tenerife , away from the crowds , " from 1 February) it was lovely to read, but what a pity that is not made mention of the important connection of the Jews in the Canary Islands .

There is important documentation compiled by Lucian Wolf (published by the Jewish Historical Society of England in 1926 ) showing that during the Spanish Inquisition trial , there for the XV and XVII , very many Jews from Spain and Portugal lived and practiced their religion in this region.

There is still there a town called Synagogue where they were discovered substantial remains of the Jewish community , sadly neglected and destroyed by fire a few years ago .


More recent discoveries reveal how are you and the nearby Atlantic islands of Cape Verde and Madeira provided asylum and rest for Marrano- Annusim escaped from the Inquisition to the New World .

Most astonishing of all is that these Jews held a kind of brotherhood remote for hundreds of years between them. Those who came through the Canary Islands are known as the Isleneos .

In an era without telephones and faxes , had an amazing success in communication and long-distance link , continuing Jewish traditions and associations that continue to this day !

Despite the distances between them , put great emphasis on the organization of the marriages of their children and the conduct of international business .

A network of nearly uninterrupted from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in the north to the islands of the Caribbean and New Orleans in the south , extending at times to Brazil and Colombia as well.

Unfortunately many valuable documents were lost during Hurricane Katrina , when the " New Orleans Isleneos Museum" was damaged , however , over these areas today are anusim that may not initially admit aliens who are of Jewish origin, because are an exceptionally insular people .

The most telling sign is the number of them who speak Ladino ( Judeo - Spanish ) , the language that those who left Spain took . Furthermore, Isleneos have a wonderful knowledge of the Ladino music and folk songs .

Unfortunately, when anusim Isleneos have asked to be accepted as part of the Jewish community , many rabbis have rejected instead of helping to resolve difficult questions of conversion and identity.