Since the early twentieth century, modern Spain has repeatedly made steps to reach out, formally apologize, and make reparations to Sephardic Jews. In 2015, the Spanish government passed a law providing the descendants of Jews expelled in 1492 with a pathway to obtaining Spanish citizenship that was open through 2019.

Suggested Activities: Read the excerpts from Kiku Adatto’s article and discuss the concept of reparations. What other kinds of reparations for historical events can you think of? Is an apology and a path to citizenship sufficient 500 years after expulsion? Since only 132,000 Jews—out of millions who were potentially eligible—actually applied for Spanish citizenship, what does this process tell us about the contemporary relationship between Spain and Sephardic Jews? How would this type of reparation potentially affect the speaker in the song “Adio Kerida”? Can you imagine and try writing new verses of the song from the perspective of a contemporary Sephardic Jew returning to live in Spain?