The Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies (SCJS) is an American nonprofit organization that promotes historical research and contemporary scholarship on Sephardic crypto-Jews and their descendants. It focuses on members of the Jewish diaspora originating in Spain and Portugal who fled to the New World during the Inquisition. The society was founded in 1991 by three people in response to growing interest in Jewish ancestry in New Mexico and the broader Southwestern United States. The SCJS hosts an annual conference, publishes a biannual journal, and produces several newsletters.

History

The SCJS was founded in 1991 by Rabbi Joshua Stampfer, Dr. Stanley Hordes, and playwright Rena Down. a region with historical connections to Sephardic Jews dating back to early colonization. The first SCJS meeting was held that year at Fort Burgwin, near Taos, New Mexico. The following year, the society held its annual conference in two towns in Portugal, marking the first time it convened outside the United States. In 1995, it launched its first website. By the late 1990s, several other Sephardic Jewish organizations had emerged in the southwestern and western United States. During this period, the SCJS was also among the first organizations to promote the term "crypto-Jew", which refers to the secret practice of Judaism while outwardly professing another faith. In a 1997 interview, Benveniste explained that several SCJS members who discovered their Jewish heritage returned to Judaism, while others continued to profess the Christian faith but sought to maintain connections to their Jewish roots. Interest in the Jewish central roots in New Mexico led to the launch of a radio program covering crypto-Jewish topics in 1999, and the SCJS held a conference in Los Angeles attended by more than 50 scholars from the United States and Latin America that year.

In 2001, SCJS members met in Flagstaff, Arizona, to draft the society's bylaws, recognizing the need for formal governance as membership expanded. The bylaws were later approved at a conference in Pueblo, Colorado. In 2002, steps were taken to register the SCJS as a nonprofit organization to obtain tax-exempt status and apply for foundation grants. Attorney Martin Sosin of Santa Monica, California, provided pro bono legal assistance during the process. The organization declined an offer to advertise a bank in its publications until its nonprofit registration was finalized. That same year, the SCJS announced the launch of its current website and began migrating research articles and other publications to the new platform. The SCJS is a nonprofit organization based in Aurora, Colorado, incorporated as a domestic nonprofit corporation in California and granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service in October 2004.

In January 2013, the SCJS affiliated with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) to establish a scholarly research program. The initiative aimed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty, students, community members, researchers, and the broader Jewish community. It was described as the "first university-based program in the United States" dedicated to advancing research in Sephardic Crypto-Jewish studies and sought to develop a formal curriculum on the subject. One of its sociology and Jewish studies professors, Abraham Lavender, was also a SCJS member and president.

In 2014, crypto-Jewish author and researcher Genie Milgrom became president of the SCJS, a position she held until 2016.

Objectives

The organization's primary mission is to promote historical research and contemporary scholarship related to Sephardic crypto-Jews and their descendants, members of the Jewish diaspora originating in Spain and Portugal who fled Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries amid the Inquisition and are now dispersed globally.

Initially founded as a strictly academic research institution, the organization later expanded into a multidisciplinary body that includes non-academics from diverse cultural backgrounds and engages both religious and secular communities. A large portion of attendees come from New Mexico and other states in the Southwestern United States. Funds provided by the foundation have also been used to support scholarships and fellowships for students interested in crypto-Judaic studies, to enable descendants of crypto-Jews to attend the SCJS conference, and to compensate keynote speakers.

The SCJS has also examined DNA studies concerning crypto-Jews, other European Jewish groups, and the broader Jewish population. HaLapid was founded in 1992 by Bob Hattem and has remained in continuous publication since its inception. HaLapid publishes a range of material, including academic research articles by scholars of Sephardic Jewish history, personal narratives, news, and articles on the history of Sephardic Jews and their communities.

The SCJS also publishes La Granada,

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

  • HaLapid Archives
  • Discontinued HaLapid Website (via Wayback Machine)
  • Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies webpage