It’s not every day that Shavei Israel hires a rocket scientist. But our newest emissary, Rabbi Avraham Israel Latapiat, has a resume that could take him to the moon. For now, though, he will be serving a more terrestrial community: the Bnei Anousim of Santiago,...
Shavei Israel has appointed Rabbi Yeshayahu Bin Nun as its newest emissary. Rabbi Bin Nun will be serving the Bnei Anousim community in Brazil. This is the first time a Shavei Israel emissary will be working specifically with Brazil’s Bnei Anousim. Originally from Brasilia, Rabbi...
When family and friends used to ask Baruch Israel what he wanted to be when he grew up, he didn’t answer like the other kids by specifying a profession. It wasn’t a doctor or a lawyer to which Baruch aspired. “When I grow up, I...
Some 300 El Salvadorian descendants of Spanish conversos observe the laws of Judaism and dream of living in Israel. "I wanted to connect with the Creator and I found the Jewish commandments the best way to do that," says a community leader. The newspaper Israel...
"I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m Jewish. I need proof. I need your help. I’m begging you. Please point me in the right direction.” Genie Milgrom receives hundreds of emails like this one every year. Milgrom, president of the Society...
When Rabbi Isaac Aboud set out for Mexico in 1984 as part of the now standard Israeli post-army trek, he never expected to meet his beshert – the woman who would become his bride. But only a few days into his stay in Mexico City,...
Last week we shared the stories of Kinga, Olga and Catherine, three young Polish Jews who were visiting Israel. This week, the we turn to four young Jewish leaders from the Bnei Anousim community in southern Italy. Here's the stories of Carlo, Leah, Marco and...
Cuban-born Genie Milgrom is the author of "My 15 Grandmothers" and the recently published "How I Found My 15 Grandmothers," in which she traces her lineage back to pre-Inquisition Spain and Portugal. This Passover, Milgrom traveled to the villages of her ancestors where together Milgrom...
The rabbi didn’t know what to make of Genie Milgrom. She had placed on the table before him reams of documentation going back hundreds of years, all demonstrating what she hoped would be incontrovertible proof that her family’s ancestors in Spain were Bnei Anousim. There...
Fabian Spagnoli doesn’t know why the man in the small shop in Spain said it. Spagnoli had gone in to buy a new blanket for his bed. Instead, the man looked at him and told him straight out, “You are a Jew.” Spagnoli and the...
