3.5 Sephardic Jews expected to apply for Spanish citizenship

Officials said they expect 3.5 million Sephardic Jews to apply for Spanish citizenship under a new law letting them return to the country of their ancestors. Sephardic Jews were banished from Spain in 1492 and a law approved by Madrid's Cabinet of Ministers Friday means their descendants are now able to regain Spanish nationality, TheLocal.es reported Monday. There have already been many applications, Israel's Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese Association said. "The power awarded to the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain to decide who gets nationality is a complication as they only have a handful of volunteers to process an avalanche of applications all sent at the same time," said Leon Amrias, president of the association. "People want to work there [Spain] and there are also feelings involved," said Maya Weiss-Tamir, a lawyer dealing with Spanish nationality applications.