Over three dozen leaders of emerging crypto-Jewish communities from across Spain and Portugal will gather next week in Madrid for a three-day seminar being organized by the Jerusalem-based Amishav organization, which reaches out and assists "lost Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people.



The seminar, entitled "The Meaning of Liberty: Individual and Collective Freedom in the Life of the Bnai Anousim", will include rabbis and academics from Israel, Spain and Portugal.



"Bnai Anousim" is the Hebrew term for people whose ancestors were forcibly converted to Catholicism during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, whom historians have often referred to by the derogatory term "Marranos".



According to Amishav Director Michael Freund, "There are a growing number of people in both Spain and Portugal who are seeking to come to terms with their Jewish ancestry, and it is incumbent upon us to address this phenomenon and to facilitate their return to the Jewish people."



Despite the recent terror attacks in Madrid, Freund said, the seminar will go on as scheduled.



"This gathering has been in the works for months, and we will not allow the recent bombings to deter us from reaching out to our brothers and sisters there," Freund said.



Participants from across the Iberian peninsula are registered to attend, including representatives from Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Majorca and Murcia in Spain, as well as Oporto, Covilha and Lisbon in Portugal. The program, which will run from March 26 to March 28, includes lectures and panel discussions on issues such as "The Significance of Freedom in Jewish Tradition", "Dilemmas in Jewish History" and "Who is a Crypto-Jew?".



Amishav has previously held seminars for Bnai Anousim in Barcelona and in Palma de Majorca. For more information, contact [email protected].