The Sephardic Anousim

This book is set to serve as a primer for those first learning or yet unfamiliar with the plight of the descendants of the anousim. Anousim generally means ‘forced ones’ or ‘coerced,’ in Hebrew. These are the Jews that because of 14th and 15th century coercion, (before and during the Inquisitions in Spain and Portugal), concealed their Judaic observance while acting like they were newly baptized Catholics. The word anousim not only refers to the original generation of forced ones, but also to the descendants of the original generation who today are coming out after centuries of darkness, searching for the light of truth, often still called marranos and for various reasons, crypto-Jews.