The village of Castrio Mota de Judios in northern Spain is going through a deep process of “repentance”. Until 2015 and for hundreds of years, it was known as Castrillo Matajudíos – “death camp for Jews”. Actually since the days of the Inquisition. In October 2015, it was renamed to Castrillo Mota de Judíos (Jewish Hill Camp), and this week, a center in memory of the Jewish community that lived there in the Middle Ages was opened in the village, which changed its name to the “Jewish Hill Camp”.
The town of Castrillo Mota de Judíos (Burgos) has inaugurated a museum on Sephardic memory.
It is a space that opens its doors after more than four years of work and that is presented as “an opportunity to provide this area with a centre of reference of Jewish culture”.
The mayor of Castrillo Mota de Judíos Lorenzo Rodríguez has highlighted the importance of the opening of this centre, which means “a definitive twinning with the Jewish culture and giving nature to our Sephardic past.”
The museum is located in the Plaza Antonio de Cabezón, next to the church of San Esteban and the Town Hall, and is set to become an international reference point for the promotion and dissemination of the Spanish-Jewish legacy.
The building has been given a multifunctional character and already has an area for exhibitions and workshops, a conference room, management and meeting rooms and a future library for research.
The President of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain (FCJE) Isaac Benzaquén participated in the inauguration of the museum.FCJE President appreciated the tenacity, courage and commitment of Castrillo and its mayor, Lorenzo Rodríguez, in their reconciliation with their Jewish past and has stated that the FCJE will continue to support these initiatives.
The event counted with the presence of the Ambassador of Israel, Rodica Radian-Gordon, the Director General of Centro Sefarad-Israel, Jaime Moreno Bau, the President of the Jewish Community of Madrid, Estrella Bengio, political, diplomatic, civilian and military authorities and residents of Castrillo and nearby towns.
