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Spain’s Balearic Islands officially recognize centuries of injustice against crypto-Jews on Majorca
MADRID (JTA) — In a landmark acknowledgment, the parliament of Spain’s Balearic Islands issued an official recognition of the “marginalization and discrimination” endured by the islands’ chuetas, or local Crypto-Jews from Majorca.
In a statement, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain group welcomed the news in mid-September and asked for chueta history to be taught in local schools.
Today, most chuetas on Majorca talk openly and proudly about their Jewish heritage, marking a significant change after a history of humiliation, fear and secrecy that lasted hundreds of years.
Chuetas trace their Jewish heritage back to ancestors persecuted and killed during the 16th and 17th centuries. The name likely comes from the word “xueu” for Jew in Mallorquín, a dialect of Catalan spoken in Majorca. Some linguists think the term also comes from “xulla” (pig fat), as conversos in medieval Spain were frequently obliged to prove that they had renounced their faith by publicly eating pork, which was prohibited under Jewish law.
Despite the fact that most Spanish Jews had converted to Catholicism decades before the formal expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, chuetas continued to face distrustful neighbors and were often victims of violence for centuries after. They were barred from intermarrying with other Majorcan families, leading to a close-knit community that secretly maintained their religious Crypto-Jewish traditions — such as praying or celebrating syncretic religious holidays outside Monti Sion, a Catholic church built on top of the former main synagogue in Palma de Majorca’s Jewish Quarter.
Their history received increased attention and has been discussed more openly in Spain since the death of Francisco Franco in 1975. Franco’s pro-Catholic regime had actively perpetuated anti-chueta sentiment, but the community has since seen a period of revival and acceptance.
The Majorcan government issued an apology in May 2011 for a 1691 event known as the “burning of the Jews,” carried out by the Spanish Inquisition, during which nearly 40 Jews were killed in front of an audience of about 30,000 people.
Further reparations came in September of that year when an Israeli rabbinic from the Bnei Brak Rabbinical Court ruled that chuetas could return to Judaism or immigrate to Israel without undergoing formal conversion, contingent upon proof of their Jewish ancestry. Since chuetas only married between themselves, only 15 families’ surnames survived. Miró, the family name of the celebrated abstract artist Joan Miró, was one of them. Others included Pico, Aguiló, Fuster, Martí, Picó, Pomar and Segura.
More recently, the chueta community has revived their tradition of publicly celebrating major Jewish holidays — events not seen in over five centuries on the island. In 2019, they began celebrating Purim again, then in 2021, they constructed a public sukkah. In 2022, they organized a menorah lighting ceremony for Hanukkah.
The community’s size is estimated at 800 to 1,000 members.
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The post Spain’s Balearic Islands officially recognize centuries of injustice against crypto-Jews on Majorca appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.