Spain
Majorca
Majorca’s Jewish community is multicultural and diverse, comprising both local Anusim and new immigrants. The latter are mostly from the UK and Israel. The Anusim community are known as Chuetas, and while their history has much in common with other Anusim, the island community has its own particularities and specific historical events, most notably a mass conversion to Christianity in 1435, an auto-da-fé in 1691, and centuries of marriage between Chueta families. As a result of the latter, Chuetas have in many cases been able to “return” to Judaism, while others have successfully converted. In the past few years, Mallorcan Jewry has seen a major uptick in activity, with Shabbat activity, events with city hall, Holocaust education offered to local schools, destination Jewish weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs, musical events, a Limmud event, and media interest. Despite a lack of young people, youth education efforts are underway, especially for the 80 or so Israeli families. The synagogue’s board includes two Chuetas and two immigrants, but more broadly there are tensions between these two groups that are yet to be resolved. Discover more at the shul’s website.
Community size
1000
Languages
Spanish, Catalan, English, Hebrew
Location
Palma
Kulanu support since
2020
Once we connected with Kulanu, we felt like we became part of a larger global family. Being far removed on a tiny island in the Mediterranean is not always easy. It has been amazing to have this extra support and collaboration.
Discover Majorca
Chuetas in print and film
Along with recent media interest in Majorca’s Jews, two books have been inspired by the community’s history. Angela Selke’s 1986 “The Conversos of Majorca” is an academic study that includes a wealth of primary source materials including documents from the trials in the 17th century. Carme Riere’s “In the Last Blue”, released in 2007, is a period novel based on the lives of Chuetas in the years leading up to the infamous auto-da-fé in 1691. A recent film also tells the story of the community.
Community rabbi
The Majorca community has frequently employed Rabbi Nissan Ben Avraham, originally from Palma but now based in Israel. The rabbi himself is Chueta and formally converted in Israel to confirm his Jewish status. He visits the community for two Shabbatot each month and for holidays, guiding the community through services, offering classes, facilitating studies towards conversion or status confirmation, and supporting the emerging identity of this complex community. The community is currently lay-led due to a lack of funding for the rabbi’s visits.
Kulanu and Majorca
Kulanu began a relationship with Mallorca’s Jewish community in 2020 and has primarily worked to increase awareness and understanding of the community’s past and present. Kulanu continues to work with community representative Dani Rotstein, who, in collaboration with Kulanu, offered a compelling online speaker series presentation.