Red de Juderías de España

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Statue of Maimonides in the Jewish quarter of Córdoba, member and seat of the network

The Red de Juderías de España (literally "Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain") is a non-profit organisation comprising cities which have a medieval Jewish quarter. Its goals are to preserve the architectural, historical, artistic and cultural legacy of the Sephardi Jews, who were expelled from Spain in 1492.[1] Since October 2016, the organisation is permanently headquartered in Córdoba, while its presidency rotates annually between mayors of member cities.[2]

History[edit]

The organisation was founded in 1995 and its founding members were Cáceres, Córdoba, Girona, Hervás, Ribadavia, Segovia, Toledo and Tudela. Tortosa and Oviedo joined before the end of the century.[1] Barcelona and León joined in 2003, alongside Ávila and Jaén two years later.[3] In 2008 there was a significant expansion, with Besalú, Calahorra, Estella-Lizarra, Monforte de Lemos Plasencia and Tarazona joining.[4] Lucena became the 24th member in 2012, having first applied in 2003.[5]

In June 2016, the Catalan members Besalú, Castelló d'Empúries, Girona and Tortosa quit the organisation. These cities – where Jewish quarters are known as calls from a Hebrew term – saw the organisation as focused on tourism, while they considered education and research to be more important. The split made headlines in The New York Times and Israel's Haaretz.[6]

Seville, a member since 2011, also left in 2016. Mayor Juan Espadas saw membership as not financially viable.[7] Palma de Mallorca ended its 12-year membership in 2017 in order to put the €22,500 fee towards promoting its Jewish history independently.[8] Oviedo's membership ended in 2020 due to a €54,000 debt.[9]

Béjar, Lorca, Sagunto and Tui joined in 2019.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Berbis, Silvia (8 April 2000). "La Red de Juderías acepta en Tortosa su ampliación a dos ciudades cada dos años" [The Red de Juderías accepts Tortosa in its enlargement of two cities every two years]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Córdoba, elegida nueva sede de la Red de Juderías de España" [Córdoba, chosen as new seat of the Red de Juderías de España]. ABC (in Spanish). 16 October 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Avila [sic] y Jaén se integran en la Red de Juderías de España Caminos de Sefarad" [Ávila and Jaén join the Red de Juderías de España Caminos de Sefarad]. Córdoba (in Spanish). 16 January 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. ^ Medel, Gloria (6 November 2007). "Calahorra se convertirá el próximo año en miembro titular de la Red de Juderías de España" [Calahorra will become next year a full member of the Red de Juderías de España]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  5. ^ Yébenes, Almudena R. (3 June 2012). "Lucena accede a la Red de Juderías de España tras nueve años de trabajo" [Lucena joins the Red de Juderías de España after nine years of work]. El Día de Córdoba (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  6. ^ Bou, Lluís (11 June 2016). "Los calls judíos catalanes se separan de las juderías españolas" [The Catalan Jewish Calls separate themselves from the Spanish Juderías]. El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  7. ^ Barba, Eduardo (3 October 2016). "La comunidad judía de Sevilla pide sitio para reivindicar su identidad y su historia" [Seville's Jewish community asks for a site to reassert their identity and their history]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Palma sale de la Red de Juderías para tener un programa propio" [Palma leaves the Red de Juderías to have its own programme]. Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). 23 December 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Oviedo se da de baja de la Red de Juderías" [Oviedo leaves the Red de Juderías]. La Voz de Asturias (in Spanish). 29 January 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  10. ^ "La Red de Juderías de España incorpora cuatro nuevas localidades" [Red de Juderías de España adds four new locations] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2022.