Judaism

Before 1492 Jews enjoyed a rich and prosperous "golden age" in Spain. During its occupation of Christians, Jews, and Muslims, the Jewish community of Spain was one of the largest and most advanced in the world. Education, art, and science flourished among the Jewish community in Spain through out the middle ages. With the start of the inquisition in Spain in 1492 the practice of Judaism was no longer tolerated and Jews were forced to either leave the county or convert to Catholicism. Because they did have such a rich and numerous presence in Spain many of the Jews wished to remain in Spain and ended up converting to Catholicism. So much to the surprise to many foreigners, many Spanish people today can trace their roots back to Jewish ancestors and actually have Jewish blood in them even though they are Catholics. It may come as a shock to many but Franco actually allowed the Jews to escape Europe through Spain during World War II. Because of Spain's neutrality during the war and its proximity to Africa, it was an excellent route of escape from the anti-Semitic movement that took root during the early 1940's in Europe. Although he allowed the Jews to pass through Spain into northern Africa, Franco did not allow them to establish any new settlements in Spain for fear of a contradiction to the Catholic standard. Today many of the Jews remaining in Spain can be linked to Moroccan decent with the largest presence being in Melilla. Jews are certainly not a great swayer of any type of political fractions in Spain because of their small and sparse populations but the impact they have had on Spain can not go unnoticed.