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Her ancestors were expelled from Spain. Now she’s bringing bagels to Madrid.
(JTA) — MADRID — Until recently, a Jew could wander all day in Madrid without finding a bagel.
But now, in a sea of tomato toasts and potato omelettes, a trail of people hovers every weekend outside the Mazál bagel restaurant. Behind it is Tamara Cohen, a Philadelphian who became Spanish through a law granting citizenship to Sephardic Jews whose ancestors were expelled during the 1492 Inquisition.
When Cohen moved to Madrid, she could not track down the bagels she craved from home. Since opening Mazál in 2020, she has seen the distinctly Jewish food grow more familiar to Madrileños, with other new bagel shops following suit — but none, so far as she knows, that are also run by Jews.
“I like to think we started it,” she said.
Cohen, who is 34, didn’t have a business plan or a culinary background when she arrived in 2015. She was a recent college graduate unsure about what to do next. She had never been to Europe and decided to teach English in Spain, thinking she would take the chance to travel and study the native language of her mom, a Cuban Sephardic Jew. (Her dad is American-born Ashkenazi.)
Soon after Cohen arrived, her mom alerted her to Spain’s new Sephardic ancestry law. Between 2015 and 2019, the measure awarded citizenship to descendants who could prove their medieval Sephardic origins. Some 72,000 people have obtained citizenship this way, most of them from Latin America.
Cohen’s mom quickly applied, not to move to Spain herself, but to affirm a lineage treasured in her family for centuries. She had documents showing her family’s travels from Spain to Turkey to Cuba, along with death certificates of ancestors buried in Sephardic cemeteries. She also had tapes of her parents singing in Ladino, the nearly extinct language that Sephardic exiles carried with them to the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America and other corners of the world.
After her mom received citizenship, Cohen followed. In the process, she discovered threads that tied her to what had seemed like a foreign land. Some 300,000 Jews lived in Spain before the Inquisition, constituting one of the largest and most cultivated Jewish communities in the world. After 1492, they were forced to convert to Catholicism, flee or be killed. Between 40,000 and 100,000 went into exile.
By the early 20th century, a small community of Jews had returned to Spain. About 6,000 lived there at the dawn of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, including prominent intellectuals such as Max Aub and Margarita Nelken. Many fell on the Republican side of the war, forcing them to flee when the Nationalists led by Francisco Franco prevailed. Franco rooted his regime in Catholicism, banning Jewish rites, shuttering synagogues and sending expressions of Jewishness into hiding.
A new era of Sephardic life began to take shape only in the 1960s. In 1967, Spain passed a religious freedom law that allowed non-Catholic communities to practice in public. Meanwhile, Middle East tensions surrounding the 1967 Arab-Israeli War drove a wave of Jews from Arab countries to Europe, according to Esther Bendahan, a writer and cultural director of the Centro Sefarad-Israel in Madrid. Her family arrived from Morocco in the 1960s.
“The return is complex, because it is the only European country where Jews do not have a long history, since it was interrupted,” said Bendahan.
Remnants of Sephardic history, like the Jews themselves, are still resurfacing. As recently as 2024, restoration work on the Santa Maria la Blanca church in Seville exposed a medieval synagogue ark behind the altarpiece. In 2023, archaeologists uncovered a 14th-century synagogue beneath a nightclub in the Andalucían city of Utrera, one of only five such buildings in Spain. And in 2012, the construction of a sewer in Segovia revealed a Jewish cemetery from 500 years ago.
“Whenever we travel to a small town and there’s a judería, I always feel like we have to see it,” said Cohen, using the word for the historic Jewish quarters that once dotted Spain.
“We have to go and stand there — even if there’s nothing to see — go and stand there, and I feel a connection to it,” she added. “Spain had a huge population of Jews, and you say, ‘Wow, they’re all gone. But look, I’m back. I have a passport. I can stay here forever if I want to.’”
Sephardic memory traveled down Cohen’s family line, as in many others, through food. Her mom sustained Sephardic recipes and traditions, like making rice on Passover. But even as Cohen identified traces of her family’s Sephardic past, she missed American and Ashkenazi foods.
She was hosting a Thanksgiving dinner with her roommates when she realized that she couldn’t find a pumpkin pie. So she made one — and then she made more. She listed her pies, cakes and cookies on a website for people to buy. Then she started making bagels.
“I basically used this website as a platform to make and sell foods that I love but that I couldn’t find here,” said Cohen. “And so I made bagels, because I grew up in a bagels-on-the-weekend family.”
Thus Mazál was born, and with it appeared a new world of Jews in Madrid — a living, breathing and eating one. Local visitors who knew little about Jewish food flocked to Mazál for its “American” menu, listing pastrami and buffalo chicken along with bagels. But just as quickly came the diners who knew the word “mazal,” or “luck” in Hebrew.
Cohen discovered how many Jews had been waiting for Mazál through her challah sales. She didn’t know how many would be sold, only that she wanted to recreate “the warmth of family” on Shabbat. Roughly 15,000 Jews live in Madrid out of 45,000 in the whole country. (Both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews eat challah, while bagels are not part of Sephardic tradition.)
“We have sold challah every single Friday for our entire existence,” she said. “When we first opened, we had something like 10 challahs a week. Now we make 90 to 150 challahs a week. We’re sold out.”
No haven for Jews in Spain has been unaffected by the country’s intense scrutiny of Israel since 2023. The Spanish government is one of Europe’s most outspoken about Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez becoming the most senior European leader to say that Israel was committing genocide last year. In 2024, Spain joined Norway and Ireland in recognizing a Palestinian state.
At times, the anti-Israel sentiment in Spain has turned on local Jews. Spain saw a 60% increase in antisemitic hate crimes in 2024, despite a drop in overall hate crimes, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
Cohen has family members in Israel. After the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, she raised money for Israeli humanitarian organizations through the delivery apps Uber and Glovo, calling the push “Bagels for Israel.” But after a few months, as Israel’s campaign in Gaza intensified and Spanish sentiment hardened against the country, she shut it down.
Now she is wary of exposing Mazál to the fall-out from anger against Israel. In 2025, she had to paint over a swastika and other graffiti sprayed on the restaurant’s shutters.
“I’m more tense about saying anything about Israel,” she said. “We’re actually opening a new bakery in the next couple of months, and the plan is it’s going to be an Israeli, Middle Eastern bakery. But when people ask, ‘What is it going to be?’ I’m like, ‘You know, Middle Eastern.’”
She wants Mazál to remain a place where Jews like her feel comforted. There are pieces of her life in the bagels, the challah and the American classics. On Thanksgiving, she sells “Mom’s sweet potato casserole,” her own mom’s recipe. And a staple on the menu is “Allen’s pancakes,” named for her dad.
“Mazál, to me, feels like my little corner of Judaism here in Madrid,” said Cohen. “It’s a way to create a home for people who are looking for that. It’s not kosher, and we’re open all year, but it’s my type of Judaism — bagels on Sunday morning, challahs on Shabbat.”
The post Her ancestors were expelled from Spain. Now she’s bringing bagels to Madrid. appeared first on The Forward.
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Israel Remembered the Shoah; Fatah Glorified a Palestinian Mass Murderer
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Earlier this week, Israel remembered the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust, along with those who valiantly fought the Nazis.
Israel learned from the Holocaust that we must always remain vigilant, and this remains an absolute survival directive, living as we do next to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which, like the Nazis, celebrates the murder of Jews and Israelis.
One of the terrorists released by Israel in exchange for Israeli hostages in last year’s Hamas extortion deal was a Palestinian terrorist who murdered 12 people. He was expelled to Egypt, where he died from an illness last week. The mass murderer is now being eulogized by Palestinian Authority and Fatah officials as exemplifying the values cherished by all Palestinians.
The terrorist, Riyad Al-Amour, was no exception.
The PA honored the terrorist with a “mourning tent” — which was visited by top officials, including Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub.
Official PA TV reporter: “The Fatah Movement, the Ramallah and El-Bireh District, the [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club, the [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ [Affairs] … set up a mourning tent for Martyr and released prisoner deported to Egypt Riyad Al-Amour, who died as a Martyr…”
Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub: “The most sacred thing in the eyes of the Palestinians is those who sacrificed their lives and their freedom – our Martyrs.”
[Official PA TV News, April 9, 2026]
Fatah issued an official statement revering the terrorist as “an example of sacrifice, courage, and perseverance” who was imprisoned by Israel since he “did not hesitate to fulfill his national duty.” [emphasis added]
Posted text: “Fatah announces with sorrow the death of released deported prisoner Riyad Al-Amour…
Al-Amour died while being distanced from his homeland, after a path of struggle in which he constituted an example of sacrifice, courage, and perseverance.…
Martyr Al-Amour joined Fatah in his youth and added that he did not hesitate to fulfill his national duty against the occupation until he was imprisoned in the occupation’s prisons, where he spent 23 years.
Fatah expressed its sincere condolences to the family…
High-level Fatah officials also mourned the terrorist on social media:
Posted text:“Fatah Central Committee members Abbas Zaki and Tawfiq Tirawi expressed their condolences over the death of released prisoner Riyad Al-Amour during a visit to the mourners’ house in Bethlehem.
The delegation expressed its deep sorrow over the death as a Martyr of Al-Amour, and emphasized that the sacrifice of the prisoners [i.e., terrorists] will remain present in the hearts of our people and that the struggle for freedom and independence must continue.”
[Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, Facebook page, April 5, 2026]
The family of Al-Amour — a “Pay-for-Slay” millionaire — will now have to wait and see if they will qualify for continued payments as family members of a “Martyr killed resisting the occupation,” since many PA officials also libeled Israel as being responsible for his death.
The Palestinian salute to Al-Amour is shameless, but as we have seen time and time again, for the PA and its leadership, terrorism is never something to be embarrassed about or part of one’s past to run away from.
On the contrary, in the PA’s “terrocracy,” the more you kill, the greater the respect you are given in life — and in death.
An additional homage to Al-Amour was made by Fatah’s “Shabiba” youth movement:
Fatah Deputy Chairman and Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul: “These Martyrs, Rashida [Mughrabi], and Riyad [Al-Amour], are among the patient ones fighting for their people, seeking freedom and independence for this Palestinian people.” …
Fatah Shabiba Youth Movement Nablus District Coordinator Rawhi Oudeh: “The message is a message of loyalty to their sacrifices, and a message of loyalty to keep their wills, and it is also a message that if Rashida and Riyad have departed in body, they will remain as a path, an idea, and an essence in the eyes, hearts, and conscience of the Fatah youth.”
[Official PA TV News, April 4, 2026]
Itamar Marcus is the Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Ahron Shapiro is a contributor to PMW, where a version of this article first appeared.
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Proposed Antisemitism Laws in France, Italy Stir Free Speech Debate
Procession arrives at Place des Terreaux with a banner reading, “Against Antisemitism, for the Republic,” during the march against antisemitism, in Lyon, France, June 25, 2024. Photo: Romain Costaseca / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
French and Italian lawmakers are due to vote on new laws defining antisemitism, proposed in the wake of a surge in anti-Jewish incidents but which critics say could be used to censor criticism of Israel.
The French law, which is scheduled to be debated on Thursday, proposes to sanction “implicitly” justifying terrorism, calling for the destruction of a state recognized by France, and comparisons of Israel to the Nazis.
The Italian bill, if adopted, would make Italy the first country to write into law the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which lists certain criticisms of Israel as examples of antisemitism.
DEFINING ANTISEMITISM IN LAW
Proponents of the laws point to the historic rise in antisemitism after Israel began its military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Critics – including some rights groups, academics, and left-wing politicians – say that they will censor legitimate activism for Palestinian rights and contribute to conflating Jews with the state of Israel.
“The [IHRA] definition confuses what is permitted speech – and that is criticism of Israel as a state – with what is prohibited speech, which is antisemitism and racial and religious incitement to violence,” UN special rapporteur on free speech Irene Khan said.
The French law, which references the IHRA definition without fully adopting it, contained vague language, she added.
The Italian bill was approved by a large majority in the Upper House last month and is expected to begin its passage through the Lower House on Thursday. The French law has lost some political backing following a petition on the French parliamentary website signed by more than 700,000 people.
SHARP RISE IN INCIDENTS SINCE OCT. 7 MASSACRE
In Italy over two years from 2023, antisemitism rose by 100 percent to a record 963 incidents in 2025, according to the Italian Antisemitism Observatory. By comparison, there were 877 recorded incidents in 2024, preceded by 453 such outrages in 2023 and just 241 in 2022.
In France, antisemitism remained at alarmingly high levels last year, with 1,320 incidents recorded nationwide, according to the French Interior Ministry. Although the total number of antisemitic outrages in 2025 fell by 16 percent compared to 2024’s second highest ever total of 1,570 cases and 2023’s record high of 1,676 incidents, the ministry warned that antisemitism remained “historically high.” There were 436 antisemitic acts recorded in 2022, before the Oct. 7 atrocities.
France’s human rights commission, the CNCDH, has said that antisemitic acts in France regularly peak in relation to operations carried out by the Israeli army.
The commission, which was not consulted for the law, wrote to MPs and the prime minister in January to warn of the dangers of conflating “the hatred of Jews and the hatred of the state of Israel.”
Responding to this warning, Caroline Yadan, the French MP proposing the law, said that her text aimed to tackle “new forms of antisemitism” and that the “essentialization that Jews equal Israel exists in today’s society.”
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a wave of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas demonstrations around the world, which Israel and its supporters say are antisemitic.
Protesters say their criticism of Israel and its actions in Gaza should not be conflated with antisemitism.
Livia Ottolenghi, representative of the Union of Jewish Communities in Italy, said the new law was necessary and did not prevent criticism of Israel.
“In Italy, we do not live well,” she said. “Our children have bars on their school windows; when they go out, they must be escorted.”
IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM
The IHRA working definition of antisemitism has been adopted by 45 countries as a guide but has not previously been written into law anywhere.
IHRA — an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries — adopted the “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum, and it is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations. Law enforcement also uses it as a tool for matters such as hate-crime investigations and sentencing.
According to the definition, antisemitism “is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
It provides 11 specific, contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere. Beyond classic antisemitic behavior associated with the likes of the medieval period and Nazi Germany, the examples include denial of the Holocaust and newer forms of antisemitism targeting Israel such as demonizing the Jewish state, denying its right to exist, and holding it to standards not expected of any other democratic state.
The Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Michael O’Flaherty said he viewed the IHRA definition as a useful tool but was concerned about its application, especially in Germany.
“To somehow attribute responsibility for the actions of a government to the Jewish community in Europe is totally unacceptable, and indeed, it does raise the specter of antisemitism,” he said. “But to somehow conflate any criticism of Israel with antisemitism is ridiculous.”
Sarya Kabbani, a French-Syrian woman, was put on trial under existing laws on antisemitism over carrying banners that drew parallels between Israeli politicians and Nazi Germany at a protest in Paris in December 2023. The 67-year-old, whose husband is Jewish, was later acquitted by a court.
“It is freedom of expression to be able to say that Israel is committing war crimes, is committing genocide, is carrying out ethnic cleansing, is occupying,” said the activist, who will join demonstrations against the French law this week.
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The Era of Pointing Fingers Is Over: Jews Must Unite
Jewish Americans and supporters of Israel gather at the National Mall in Washington, DC on Nov. 14, 2023 for the “March for Israel” rally. Photo: Dion J. Pierre/The Algemeiner
For decades, the American Jewish community operated under an incorrect assumption: we were strong enough to remain siloed. The center-left focused on their spaces, the center-right on theirs, and both sides believed they could combat rising Jew hatred within their own ideological bubbles.
We lived with a false sense of security, believing that our internal divisions were a luxury we could afford.
October 7, 2023, shattered that illusion forever and ushered in a sense of recalibration.
As Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, eloquently put it: “The time for pointing fingers is over.” He rightly diagnosed that those on the right must fight Jew-hatred on the extreme right, and those on the left must fight it on the left.
Implicit in his remarks was a telling recognition that we must all face: the Jewish people are not strong enough to stand divided. We must find common ground, or we will be overwhelmed by the tides of hate rising from every direction.
For the last two and a half years, I have been involved with a movement called Impact. Our mission is simple but vital: to organize individuals into a cohesive greater community capable of reacting — and pro-acting — to events as they unfold in the United States.
While we began with a focus on social media, the reality of the post-October 7 world has forced a crystallization of our goals. We are organizing both online and offline, because the “good fight” is now being waged on every front: from TikTok comments to letter-writing campaigns, and from political advocacy to physical presence.
The logic of organization is one of simple math. Imagine 10,000 individuals each posting their own grievances on social media; the impact is nearly impossible to quantify. But imagine those same 10,000 people acting in concert or even 50,000 people –amplifying a specific message, supporting a courageous micro-influencer, or flooding a representative’s inbox. That is meaningful power.
This isn’t just about the goal of moving the needle; it’s about the empowerment of the people involved. On the road to impact we attain empowerment. When we move from being passive vessels for receiving news to active participants in shaping the narrative, we transform as individuals as well as a community. By liking a post, signing a petition, or showing up at a rally, a person transitions from a concerned citizen to an “unknowing activist.” We are building a community where activism is the default, not the exception.
However, this strength is predicated on a shared definition of who “we” are. True leadership requires representation, and representation requires a base that shares fundamental values. In this era of recalibration, we must be sober about one thing: Jewish unity does not mean including those who actively support our enemies. While they may have been born Jewish, those who deny the basic right of Israel to exist as a democratic Jewish state have placed themselves outside the communal tent.
To build a resilient future, we must rally around our common denominators. We must recognize that the person across the political aisle who shares our commitment to Jewish survival is a much closer ally than the ideological extremist who seeks our dismantling.
The era of the “siloed Jew” ended on October 7. Today, we must choose to be the “organized Jew.” We must utilize this moment to bridge the gaps between the center-left and the center-right. We are stronger together, not because it is a nice sentiment, but because it is a survival necessity. The time for finger-pointing is indeed over; the time for Impact has begun.
Daniel M. Rosen is the chairman and co-founder of IMPACT, a 501c3 dedicated to organizing individuals into communities to combat Jew hatred on social media and beyond. He is a regular contributor to The Jerusalem Post, JNS, Times of Israel, The Algemeiner, and other publications