Bnei Anousim: Personal Stories

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...

"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...

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...