‘Lost tribe’ of Mallorca Jews welcomed back to the faith 600 years later
Chuetas recognised by rabbi after centuries of persecution dating back to before the Spanish Inquisition
Almost six centuries after most of them converted to Christianity, a rabbinical court has declared that descendants of a “lost tribe” from the Spanish island of Mallorca can once more be considered Jews.
A decision by the ultra-orthodox rabbi Nissim Karelitz recognises that the Chuetas of Mallorca, who were persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition and remained a distinct group within Mallorcan society until the 1970s, had the right to call themselves Jews.
Today’s Chuetas are descendants of Jews who are considered to have been forcibly converted in the early 15th century, decades before Spain formally expelled its Jews in 1492.