Any country that expelled Jews is a country I wouldn't give a second thought, let alone even visit. I'm from the US and I couldn't be happier being in Israel. Heck, I don't even plan to return to the US. Israel is home, forever.

At best I would think this is a symbolic gesture on the part of the Spanish dominion. How else to explain this? Otherwise such an act would perpetuate the notion of the jewish people being a perpetual wanderers!

Maybe I will give a rabbi 10000$ and they will make me Spanish?

Some people will try to take the credit for everything. Who is he to say that the Rabbis will decide who is deserving and who is not. What a disgusting comment to make.

"Come back home to Spain, but please don't forget to bring along your saving accounts, creative talents, financial know-how and your business contacts list as well."

One more way to control the herd and source of kickbacks ,...

If jews have to go to spain for sanctuary, we're in big trouble! A place for jews to go is why Israel was created. If anti-semitism reaches a point that jews have to leave the U.S. , the only sanctuary would be the one place where jews are a majority, and armed to the teeth.

And who will get the money? It is time that these Jewish Ayatollahs were brought down!

Is the Spanish offer for today's Sephardic Jews or is it for the offspring of them?? There are a great number of people who descend from Jews in Spain but who aren't Jewish. Are they included?

to Spain. The former will claim descent from Sephardic Jews. The latter will claim they were similarly expelled from Spain and deserve "right of return". Miniscule number of actual Jews will take Spain up on its offer, which conveniently, it did not make before the establishment of the State of Israel, when Jews really had no place to go.

If the Parlament in Spain will approve the programmed citizenship( if) ,the Rab Amar will decide who is Sefaradi or not in Israel. He will be a modern inquisitor without intention, and the supposed correction will be a wanted humiliation of the happy candidates

I'm as Askenazi as you can get, but in our country, since most people are victims, and minority status is a great thing to have, some of us get to legally choose our minority affiliation. I've recently learned that if you are Jewish, and have any Sephardic relatives, which I do, we are considered to be of Spanish, i.e., HISPANIC descent. Wish I had known that when I applied to college, or for my home mortgage. It's good to be a victim!

In case of antisemitism which is all over, there is no Israel for the Spanish Jews? Are they indeed trying to give Israel away?

Spain's IQ indicator will hit the sky when she gets her long lost foster children back ,...

After reading the current news regarding the offering of Spanish citizenship to Israelis, I felt a bit saddened by the news. Why would Israelis wish to be connected to any country in Europe? Have we Jews forgotten not only the past anti-Semitism that took place during the second world war, but also the continued anti-Semitism in Europe today? There was a time not long ago, that Israelis took pride in their country and state, and it was looked upon unfavorably to those who decided to leave. There's a disconnection somehow within the population, which is evident by the current situation there. I thank G-d for the State Of Israel. Where would we be without her?

During the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD/3rd World War/Ezekiel chap.38-39., Spain and Italy will be invaded by Forces from North Africa and Asia, and the Basques will rise in Spains back. The Whole of Central Europe, from Balkan upp to the Eastern Sea, to the North of Poland, will be Battleground as well as parts of Germany. UK will face a Civil War. Bevere of the Spanish King, according to Nostradamus he will go Back to France and Head EU, the Fourth Beast of Daniels book. Arn.Sweden.

Rabbi, you state that if there will be an anti-semitic uprising ... Jews will have a place to go. Sorry, but they already have a place. Right here in Israel. As far as the rabbis deciding who will be eligable for Spanish Citizenship. Rabbis, stay out of it. It is merely another oportunity for bribes and graft and there are already too many "rabbis" involved in these practices. Rabbis should be involved in drawing the Jewish people closer to Judaism not - as they already are - driving people away.

The place for Jews to go to when in need is Israel, not Spain - a former state employee should know that, or return his salary. And who made him the representative of Sepharadi Jews? All this kind of professional rabbis want is power ('to have a say who qualifies') and be courted by 'important' Gentiles. Not in my name, amigo!

...opportunity for Israeli corruption to take root. I wonder how much the rabbis will charge for a piece of paper telling that my great-great-etc.-parents were neighbors of Queen Isabella who personally kicked them across the border, ergo I am entitled to Spanish citizenship (even though my family has been in the Holy Land for at least eight generations).

It's called the State of Israel

The only hint that Rab Amar is giving here is that the Federacion de Comunidades Judias de España has a decisive role in the process of recognizing SOME of the offspring of the sephardic jews that where expelled from spain during the abhorrent edict of expulsion. But to say that only the Rabbis - sephardic in this case - in Israel "...would be able to rule on it ...because they engage in clarification of Jewishness and can testify on the origin of every person in a professional and reliable manner." WOW THE ORIGIN OF EVERY PERSON IN ISRAEL HE SAYS !!! is extremely arrogant and very worrying indeed. To give such a power (if this is true) only to the Federation and/or to the sephardic Rabbis here in Israel could raise a lot of questions about the legitimate or political demagogic discourse and intentions of the Spanish Government (understand Partido Popular PP) as it would constitute a bigger injustice to leave aside a supposedly secular population that are of legitimate sephardic (not Mitzrahi) descent and are not necessarily aligned or do not agree to carry the burden of the Sephardic - well famed here in Israel for it's corruption features - Rabbinate and it's dictatorial rules. Beside it could be shameful to the grade that only orthodox religious jews could enter into this process and will be of a great economical scapegoat for the Sephardic Rabbinate ( that is well in moral debt and bankrupt to the Israeli society as a whole) to control such decisions of who is or who isn't part of the tribe based in halachic manipulation, if you know what I mean. The Rabbinate both the Ashkenazic or Sephardic are well sounded in Israel for it's litany of corruption and mismanagement of the jewish ENIAN (situation) and it would be very unwise from the spanish side to close the doors to a stream of ALSO LEGITIMATE HALACHICAL SEPHARDIC-HISPANIC JEWS but who are not identified to the stringent Orthodox branches of Judaism i.e. goes: sephardic datim Leumim, conservative and reform branches in Haaretz Israel, Hilonim and a large etcetera Are the Spaniards that stupid to give such power to just one party of several that exist? Only time will tell.

then stand by for grief. The less power they have over our lives the happier we will be.

If Poland would extend citizenship to all the Jewish expatriates also, the population of Israel will be largely reduced.

KING JUAN CARLOS made that statement He would like to see all the Spanish Jews return to Spain and will be welcomed back to Spain as citizens. This statement was made in Toledo in 1992, and I was there 15 feet away from the stand where the king and queen Sophia sat.You can check the veracity of my words with Rabbi Benito Garcon Chief Rabbi of Spain at that time. I was the chairmen of a delegation of 25 couples from NYC that went to that ceremony celebrating 500 year annuversary of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in Toledo, and he repeated the same statement at the Pierre Hotel that same year where he received an award from MR Edmond Safra A"H and from the Sephardic Jewish Community of New York. this annoucement is 22 years old and He always wanted to be recognized as the King that wants to help the Jews.This is old news and was always on the table and I am not sure why now Rabbi Amar is getting involved., no one went back. .I do not think it is a good idea to publicize this now lest the world tell to some of the Jews you have a place to go leave Israel and give space to the Jordanians claiming to be Palestinians. There is only one place where the Jewish people will feel at home and safe for ever it is ISRAEL.We must hold all of this land with our teeth if need be and never againlet go at any price. My grand Mother was a ladino family Benveniste,and Behar, spoke Spanish and came finally to live in Egypt from Saloncia Greece,definetly a child of spanish ancestry expulsed Jews and then we had to be expulsed from Egypt another expulsion and I would never go back to Spain.

Who are You, to make selection, who has the chance in case of emergency to have a recognition and passport + save place !! Who are You ??- Do U think, You are G_d ?! --- WE  tell You:  YOU  ARE  NOT  ! - Let the people bring their papers and let the Spanish bodies do the work (can u imagine:  they have archives ! and going back long times !) - In case, of unclear WE can may be call You for mediation; take Your hands out and let the people bring their papers !! You have plenty of works to do in Your own fields/people - and plenty of skeletons in ur own toilet ! (By the way: WHOM  did u help in Venecuela ? - types like LANSKY and CO.- drug-dealing and brothel-chain-owners and some more like this... ?? - no wonder they were afraid...! - So, may be they were born as Jews, BUT THEY are not ! - they are PHARAOH's/ideology clerks !)

It could be the fast track to hassle free travel or employment anywhere in EU. Another passport in your pocket.

the wealthy spanish jews went to Amsterdam and from there their descendants spread out to all of Europe. Similarly many spanish Jews went to Italy and from their spread out into the inner recesses of Europe. So it is possible that Askanazim are also decedents of Spanish Jews.. How is the chief rabbi going to know??..