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]
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]
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]
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]