STORIES
of Converted Jews
Who Returned to Judaism
For hundreds of years fear of the Inquisition
meant Judaism had to be practised in secret.
A few of their stories are told below
Today, family customs are being investigated,
and families discovering they are Jewish.
CLICK ON A LINK BELOW TO READ THEIR STORY
books
THE FORGETTING RIVER
A Modern Tale of Survival, Identity, and the Inquisition 2012
Doreen Carvajal, Riverhead Books, 2012
REMNANTS OF CRYPTO-JEWS AMONG HISPANIC AMERICANS
Gloria Golden (Author),
Andrea Alessandra Cabello, Sohaib Raihan (Editors), 2012
p a s t c e n t u r i e s
Antonio Jose da Silva (1705 - 1739)
Brazilian Playwrite and the Inquisition
Dona Gracia Mendes (1510? - 1569)
One of the most remarkable women in Jewish history
Sevilla and Nunez
(15th/17th Century) Mexico
Rodrigo Lopez (1525 - 1594)
Physician to Queen Elizabeth
possibly used by Shakespeare as model for Shylock
Dr Eliahu da Luna Montalto (? - 1616)
Personal Physician to Marie de Medici
Dr Castro Sarmento (1691 - 1762)
one of the first Jews to be admitted
to the Royal College of Physicians
Maldonido da Silva ( - 1639)
Inquisition trial in Concepcion de Chile, 1626-1639
SEE ALSO
n o w
Everyone’s Jewish
Krauthammer's Law, 2006
Juan Mejia
(Yochanan ben Avraham Avinu Mimishpachat Mechia) (2007)
Horacio Calles (2007)
How I Discovered my Jewish Background
Professor depto. de Antropología, Fac. de Ciencias Sociales,
Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. Colombia
Jakob Finci
The saviour of Sarajevo
barred from office for being a Jew 2010
other examples of forced conversions
The Cantonists and Israel Itzkovich:
Forced conversion in 19th Century Russia
links