Samuel Toledano
Encyclopedia
Samuel Toledano was a Spanish Jewish communitary leader, lawyer.
Descendent of an old Jewish family from the medieval Toledo
,
Samuel (Sam) Toledano was a former secretary general,then president of Spain's Jewish federation of Israelite communities between 1982 - 1994
In 1967, at his request in quality of vicepresident of the Jewish community of Madrid and at the request of its president, Max Mazin (in office between 1961-1970), the Spanish authorities, represented by the Spanish ambassador in Cairo, Ángel Sagaz, issued passports for about 1,500 Jews imprisoned in Abu Zaabal prison and obtained from Nasser's government in Egypt their liberation in order to reach Spain.
.
After the freedom for the non-Catholic faiths had been achieved through the law from June 19, 1967 as political consequence in Spain of the Second Vatican council decisions,Samuel Toledano demanded from the Franco regime to bring about full legal recognition for Spanish Jews and to overturn the Spanish Inquisition
expulsion order, which was decreed in 1492.
Indeed, on December 16, 1968, still under Franco
's regime, he received from Spain's Minister of Justice. Antonio Oriol, a government proclamation formally revoking the Catholic Monarchs
' Expulsion Decree of March 31, 1492. Then could be officially inaugurated the first public synagogue
in 3,Balmes str. in Madrid.
In 1987 Toledano, signed an agreement with the Spanish state, analogue to that which existed between Spain and the Catholic Church.
On March 31, 1992 was among the Jewish leaders from around the world who welcomed king Juan Carlos I at his historical visit to a synagogue in Madrid, royal reconciliation gesture on the occasion of the 500th annversary of the decree issued against the Spanish Jews by the Catholic monarchs Fernando
and Isabel
.
In June 1992 Samuel Toledano spoke in the name of the wide "tribe" of Toledano exiled Jewish families around the world and together with other 19 representatives of it, received a symbolic key of the town of Toledo in a public historical ceremony in Plaza de Ayuntamiento.
Toledano was active also in the efforts to achieve the full reconciliation between the Jewish and the Spanish nations, and in this context, the official recognition in 1987 by the Spanish Kingdom of the State of Israel
and the institution of diplomatic relations at embassy rank between the two mediterranean states.
Samuel Toledano was a founding member of the Center for Judeo-Christian
Studies in Madrid. He has involved also in the business circles, having been a board member and financial director of Jusan company in Madrid
He died of a heart attack in Madrid, Spain on July 22, 1996.
Was married twice and had one son, Mauricio and three grandchildren.
In his memory was founded the Samuel Toledano Prize which is attributed every year by the Misgav Institute in Jerusalem to people from Spain, Israel and other countries who contribute to the research of the Sefaradic heritage and its Christian and Muslim context.
Descendent of an old Jewish family from the medieval Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
,
Samuel (Sam) Toledano was a former secretary general,then president of Spain's Jewish federation of Israelite communities between 1982 - 1994
Biography
Born in Tangier on 15 August 1929, Toledano graduated the law faculty at the University of Paris and moved to the Spain in 1959, Soon he became for 36 years one of the most important leaders and spokesmen of the Jews in Spain.In 1967, at his request in quality of vicepresident of the Jewish community of Madrid and at the request of its president, Max Mazin (in office between 1961-1970), the Spanish authorities, represented by the Spanish ambassador in Cairo, Ángel Sagaz, issued passports for about 1,500 Jews imprisoned in Abu Zaabal prison and obtained from Nasser's government in Egypt their liberation in order to reach Spain.
.
After the freedom for the non-Catholic faiths had been achieved through the law from June 19, 1967 as political consequence in Spain of the Second Vatican council decisions,Samuel Toledano demanded from the Franco regime to bring about full legal recognition for Spanish Jews and to overturn the Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
expulsion order, which was decreed in 1492.
Indeed, on December 16, 1968, still under Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's regime, he received from Spain's Minister of Justice. Antonio Oriol, a government proclamation formally revoking the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
' Expulsion Decree of March 31, 1492. Then could be officially inaugurated the first public synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in 3,Balmes str. in Madrid.
In 1987 Toledano, signed an agreement with the Spanish state, analogue to that which existed between Spain and the Catholic Church.
On March 31, 1992 was among the Jewish leaders from around the world who welcomed king Juan Carlos I at his historical visit to a synagogue in Madrid, royal reconciliation gesture on the occasion of the 500th annversary of the decree issued against the Spanish Jews by the Catholic monarchs Fernando
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
and Isabel
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
.
In June 1992 Samuel Toledano spoke in the name of the wide "tribe" of Toledano exiled Jewish families around the world and together with other 19 representatives of it, received a symbolic key of the town of Toledo in a public historical ceremony in Plaza de Ayuntamiento.
Toledano was active also in the efforts to achieve the full reconciliation between the Jewish and the Spanish nations, and in this context, the official recognition in 1987 by the Spanish Kingdom of the State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the institution of diplomatic relations at embassy rank between the two mediterranean states.
Samuel Toledano was a founding member of the Center for Judeo-Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Studies in Madrid. He has involved also in the business circles, having been a board member and financial director of Jusan company in Madrid
He died of a heart attack in Madrid, Spain on July 22, 1996.
Was married twice and had one son, Mauricio and three grandchildren.
In his memory was founded the Samuel Toledano Prize which is attributed every year by the Misgav Institute in Jerusalem to people from Spain, Israel and other countries who contribute to the research of the Sefaradic heritage and its Christian and Muslim context.
Writings
- Samuel Toledano, Espagne: les retrouvailles, in: Les Juifs du Maroc (Editions du Scribe) Paris 1992 (article in French in a book about the Jews of Morocco)
External links
- Farewell Espana: The World of the Sephardim Remembered. - book reviews in National Review on December 5, 1994, by Ben Toledano
- Toledo :Capital of Sepharad - lecture of Samuel Toledano in Los Angeles - in "Encounters" Autumn 1990, p.37-41
- Raanan Rein - Diplomacy, Propaganda, and Humanitarian Gestures:Francoist Spain and Egyptian Jews, 1956-1968, Iberoamericana VI,23,(2006), 21 -33