Sephardic Roots – Jewish History in Spain & Sephardic Ancestry Citizenship

In this episode of The When in Spain podcast we’re talking about Jewish history or Sephardic history – to use the Hebrew word – in Spain. We’ll also be talking about a law that Spain passed in 2015 that has laid a pathway for people of Sephardic descent to reclaim Spanish citizenship – and one of those who is going through the process joins me in the episode.

I’ll be chatting to Nichole Martínez Kruse who relocated from San Diego in the US to Zaragoza in the Spanish region of Aragon after a family member and amateur genealogist discovered Inquisition records dating back to the 1500s proving that Nichole’s Spanish ancestors were Jews.

This culminated in Nichole applying for Spanish citizenship via Sephardic ancestry. (CORRECTION – Important to note that Nichole has not yet obtained Spanish citizenship as I incorrectly said in the episode.) Nowadays Nichole helps others looking to gain Spanish citizenship through their sephardic roots through her boutique immigration firm, Welcome Home Sefardi. https://www.welcomehomesefardi.com/

Nichole is going to be sharing her personal story and offering some practical advice for those interested in embarking on the same ancestral journey. We’ll also look at Jewish history in Spain and how she finds her new life in Zaragoza. At the end of the episode I’ll be running through a few historical locations across Spain that should be on your radar to visit to if you’re interested in exploring the history of Sephardic Spain.