Siege (plus other 3.5 million Sephardi) gets ready to claim Spanish citizenship

[The Larch]

Israel's Sephardim abuzz at expanded Spanish citizenship offer

(Reuters) - The expansion of Spain's offer of citizenship to descendants of Jews it expelled en masse in 1492 has sparked interest in Israel, where the so-called Sephardim make up around a quarter of the population.

While no one predicts an Israeli exodus to economically bruised Spain, a passport granting access to the wider European Union appeals to many in the war-wary Jewish state - especially its disproportionately large Sephardic underclass.

Amending a decades-old law, Spain on Friday said it would allow foreign Sephardim - old Hebrew for Spaniards - who become nationals to keep their original citizenship.

Though the amendment awaits parliamentary ratification, the Spanish embassy in Israel said on Monday it had received "many" inquiries from potential applicants. Israeli media republished Madrid's list of typical Sephardic names, meant to help locate eligible kin, and celebrity candidates debated the opportunity.

Apparently there's a surname list making the rounds in the Israeli papers with a compendium of surnames of Sephardi origin, so people can check if they could be eligible. 

http://my.ynet.co.il/pic/news/nombres.pdf

My maternal grandma's surname is in there. 

[Tamas]

My maternal grandma's surname is in there. 

So, care to spill the details of the worldwide Jewish conspiracy, or did your grandma forget to pass on the memo?

[The Larch]

My maternal grandma's surname is in there. 

So, care to spill the details of the worldwide Jewish conspiracy, or did your grandma forget to pass on the memo?

My grandma is a hard core rural Catholic, I guess that the secret handshake was lost somewhere down the line over the past centuries. 

[Grinning_Colossus]

Some of those surnames are very common.

[DGuller]

My maternal grandma's surname is in there. 

So, care to spill the details of the worldwide Jewish conspiracy, or did your grandma forget to pass on the memo?

My grandma is a hard core rural Catholic, I guess that the secret handshake was lost somewhere down the line over the past centuries. 

An excellent cover.

[derspiess]

Some of those surnames are very common.

My wife's maiden name is on that list.  OMG SHE'S JEWISH. 

Not that there's anything wrong with that

[garbon]

So how would this work? You are going to have to prove full ancestry?

[Viking]

this is silly

where your ancestors lived 66, 522 or 1978 years ago really should not matter for citizenship.

[The Larch]

So how would this work? You are going to have to prove full ancestry?

No idea yet, the bill is still in the works at a draft stage.

[The Larch]

Some of those surnames are very common.

My wife's maiden name is on that list.  OMG SHE'S JEWISH. 

Not that there's anything wrong with that

Then she can claim Spanish citizenship, and then both you and your kids could have it as well. Welcome to Spain. 

[garbon]

Some of those surnames are very common.

My wife's maiden name is on that list.  OMG SHE'S JEWISH. 

Not that there's anything wrong with that

Then she can claim Spanish citizenship, and then both you and your kids could have it as well. Welcome to Spain. 

I think you mean welcome to the EU.

[Iormlund]

My maternal grandma's name is also on the list. It's a pretty clear case of converso name though, so I've always figured I had either Jew or Mudejar ancestry (maybe both).

[merithyn]

Anyone see Williams on the list?

It sounds Spanish/Jewish, right?

[Iormlund]

Guillermo is indeed on the list.

[MadBurgerMaker]

My mother in laws maiden name is on there.