My Jewish Ancestors Fled Spain. Will Returning Feel Like Home—Or Just Another Diaspora?
Pursuing the Country’s Offer of Citizenship Feels Like Claiming Privilege When What I Want to Claim Is Justice
When the government of Spain passed a law that offered citizenship to the descendants of Jewish people expelled 500 years ago by the Inquisition, half the people I knew sent me copies of news reports about it, or wrote and asked if I planned to pursue Spanish citizenship.
No, I always said. It sounded like a ploy for tourist dollars. And besides, I wasn’t even sure I could prove my connection.
My parents were born in Mexico and fled north to California in the U.S. in 1914 and 1930, respectively, during the …
