Spanish Jews Say ‘Si’ to Departing King Juan Carlos
Spain’s Jewish community lauded King Juan Carlos after he abdicated the throne in favor of his son Prince Felipe.
Juan Carlos on Monday made the surprise announcement that he would step down after nearly 40 years on the throne.
“Spanish Jews recognize, value and appreciate the personal role His Majesty King Juan Carlos has played in the construction of the recent history of our country and his leadership in the consecration of the democratic values enshrined in the Constitution of 1978 and, in particular, freedom of worship,” according to a statement released Monday by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, or FCJE.
The federation’s statement said the Jewish community “remembers with special affection” the king’s 1992 visit to Madrid’s Beth Yaacov synagogue, the first visit by the king to a synagogue in the country.
On the 500th anniversary of the May 31, 1492 signing by Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of the edict ordering Spain’s 200,000 Jews to either convert to Catholicism or leave the country, Juan Carlos and his wife, Queen Sofia, visited the synagogue. The king paid tribute to the “strength of spirit” of Spanish Jews forced to leave because the state demanded “religious uniformity,” but did not directly apologize for the expulsion.
Juan Carlos visited Israel for the first time in 1993, where he addressed the Knesset.
“To the future King Don Felipe, the Jewish community wishes you long life and a reign of peace and prosperity for the benefit of Spain and the Spaniards,” the federation’s statement concluded.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO