The Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain (FCJE) is urging the restitution of a building which was once the main synagogue of Toledo.
The 12th-century building today houses a popular museum and is owned by the Catholic Church.
Erected in 1180, it is considered one of the oldest synagogue building in Europe still in existence.
It was taken from the Jewish community in the early15th century and turned into a church, taking the name of Santa María la Blanca.
Some decades later, during the Spanish Inquisition, all Jews were forced to leave the country or convert to Christianity.
The floor plan of the synagogue is unusual: It is an irregular quadrilateral divided into five aisles, with the central nave aisle slightly larger than the remaining four.The Mudéjar construction was created by Moorish architects on Christian soil for non-Islamic purposes.
FCJE President Isaac Querub has now called on the Catholic archbishop of Toledo to demonstrate the church’s commitment to interfaith relations through the symbolic gesture of handing back what was once the Ibn Shushan Synagogue. Querub said the Catholic church in Spain was lagging behind society when it came to atoning for the mistakes of the past.
“The winds of Rome have blown very weakly in Spain. The gestures of John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis [toward Jews] seem to be reaching Spain very late – or not at all," the Jewish leader was quoted by the British newspaper 'The Guardian' as saying.
Querub pointed to the Spanish government’s recent decision to introduce a law offering citizenship to the descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled in 1492, arguing that Spain had taken “giant steps” toward dealing with the sins of its past.
“Why won’t the Catholic church in Spain do the same? When someone sincerely recognizes that they have made an error and tries to fix an injustice, they become a better person. It’s the same thing: Spain is a better place and its society has made progress. No political party opposed the law. Frankly, it was just extremely positive. The same thing needs to happen with the church: there needs to be Judeo-Christian dialogue,” Querub said.
He wrote to the archbishop of Toledo, Braulio Rodríguez Plaza, last year to request a meeting on the issue but is still awaiting an answer.
In a press statement, the Archdiocese of Toledo said the church’s ownership of the now-deconsecrated building was “perfectly clear” and the government had restored Santa María la Blanca to its care in 1929.
The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, recently struck a more conciliatory note and emphasised the need for dialogue. “Gestures that bring us together and help us all are good,” he told 'El País' newspaper. “Of course I think they’re good. Santa María la Blanca needs to be a meeting place.”
