Sephardic Jews of Gibraltar

Historical Timeline for Gibraltar

  • 1474: Jews expelled from Gibraltar by the Spanish
  • 1704: Gibraltar captured by Anglo-Dutch forces during the War of Spanish Succession
  • 1704-1705: Twelfth Siege of Gibraltar
  • 1713: Treaty of Utrecht cedes Gibraltar to Britain “in perpetuity”
  • Around 1721: Jewish resettlement in Gibraltar
  • 1727: Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar
  • Around 1728: Opening of first synagogue, Sha’ar HaShamayim
  • 1749: Jewish population reaches around 600
  • 1753: Jews granted formal permission to reside in Gibraltar by the British government
  • 1779-1783: Great Siege of Gibraltar
  • 1781: Nefusot Yehuda Synagogue built
  • 1799: Abudarham Synagogue constructed
  • 1802: Ets Hayim Synagogue established
  • 1830: Jewish population reaches about 1,300
  • 1840: Sir Moses Montefiore visits Gibraltar
  • 1850: Don Pacifico Affair in Athens involved a Gibraltarian Jew
  • 1858: Jews allowed to hold public office in Gibraltar
  • 1870s: Jewish population peaks at around 2,000
  • 1940-1944: Evacuation of civilians, including most of the Jewish community, during World War II
  • 1954: Sir Joshua Hassan becomes first Jewish Mayor of Gibraltar
  • 1969: Sir Joshua Hassan becomes first Chief Minister of Gibraltar
  • 2002: Gibraltar sovereignty referendum. 98.97% of Gibraltarian vote that Britain should not share sovereignty of Gibraltar with Spain.

Jewish Gibraltar

Jew of Gibraltar

Gibraltar is strategically important because it is a defensible peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean. Under the British, it became an important base for the Royal Navy.

The core of the Gibraltarian Jewish population were Megorashim (North African Sephardim), especially from Tangier and Tetouan.

Under the Treaty of Utrecht Jews and Muslims were disallowed from settlement in the territory. Britain agreed but promptly ignored this provision as they needed supplies for the Royal Navy, which could only come from Morocco.

In 1729, following the 1727 siege, the British and the Sultan of Morocco agreed that the sultan’s Jewish subjects be legally permitted to reside in Gibraltar.

Jews were given the right to permanent settlement in 1749, when Rabbi Isaac Nieto from London established congregation Sha’ar HaShamayim, now the oldest synagogue in Gibraltar.

With strong connections with the Sephardic communities of Morocco and London, Gibraltar can sometimes provide clues in researching British Jewish families of Moroccan origin.

Jewish Genealogy in Gibraltar

Video: Gibraltarian Jews in the 18th and 19th Centuries – Joshua Marrache

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