The 18th World Congress of Jewish Studies

Attitudes Toward Forced Converts in Ashkenaz and Sepharad

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Until relatively recently it was believed that the Ashkenazi Jews were more likely to undergo martyrdom in time of persecution than their Sepharadi coreligionists. An explanation behind this premise is that the Ashkenazi Jews expressed strict views regarding conversion and the treatment of converts, whereas the Sepharadi Jews expressed much more relaxed views and were more tolerant of converts. Focusing on martyrdom, studies by R. Ben-Shalom and M. Ben Sasson have shown that many Sepharadi Jews did undergo martyrdom to avoid conversion. My presentation will center on the aspect of conversion and demonstrate that in many cases the attitudes of the two communities toward the forced converts were not that different.