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In 2010-11, Theater Wit will present a collection of plays that highlight the stress of success in a culture defined by money and media power.

OCTOBER — The Four of Us by Itamar Moses

This Chicago premiere about friendship, male bonding through competition and the price of success chronicles the long-time friendship of a novelist and a playwright caught in

an unintended power play for the title of Most Successful.eee 1/2 stars

“Hilarious” - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

DECEMBER — The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris (adapted by Joe Montello)

Our holiday classic returns for it’s 7th straight year, once again starring Mitchell Fain who played to rave reviews and soldout houses. Don’t miss what Time Out Chicago calls “a martini-flavored antidote to Christmas cheer.” A celebration of the desperation of unemployment, the insanity

of Christmas shopping and the ineffable “cheer” of the holiday spirit.

MARCH — This by Melissa James Gibson

After an evening’s parlour game among friends

goes horribly, hilariously wrong, the characters find themselves adrift

in a morass of romance, adultery, and friendship. In

its New York production last December, Ms.

Gibson’s play was called a “beautifully conceived,

confidently executed and wholly accessible work,

which is not just her finest to date but also the best

new play to open Off Broadway this fall.” by the

New York Times. Theater Wit is happy to bring Ms Gibson’s acute, verbally dazzling

comedy to a Chicago stage for the first time.

THEATER WIT ’ S 2010 -11 SEASON

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Your Name Here!!

MISS ION : SM ART ART

Theater Wit dedicates itself to producing plays that address contemporary issues with humor and intelligence. With groundbreaking new plays and classic works, Theater Wit seeks to engage its audiences with wit and wisdom.

Theater Wit recently finished a $1.3 million renovation on the old Bailiwick Arts Center. It will be home to Theater Wit, resident companies, and numerous visiting artists, creating a welcoming and professional home for the neighborhood to experience Chicago’s diversely talented theater scene.

GET A FLEX PASS

To take full advantage of all the productions and companies in the space, you can purchase a FLEX PASS for any and all productions in the building. You can use it to purchase online or at the box office. One pass will let you see up to 10 shows at Theater Wit. Bring a date to 5 shows or a crowd of 10 to one show—it’s up to you. Make sure you are on our mailing list to get this great ticket offer for $205—a savings of up to 35% off. Call our box office at 773-975-8150 for details or visit us online at theaterwit.org.

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RESIDENT AND VIS ITING SHOWS THIS SEASON AT THEATER WIT

Bohemian Theatre EnsembleThe Elephant Man

January 7 – February 6

Ami DayanConviction

February 3 – 20

Red BastardFebruary 11 – 12

Stage Left TheatreEnemy of the PeopleFebruary 25 - April 3

Theater WitThis

February 25 - April 23

Route 66 Theatre EnsembleA Twist of Water

February 17 – March 27

Bohemian Theatre EnsembleDirty Blonde

April 1 – May 1

InFusion TheatreSoul Samurai

April 25 – June 5

Call the Theater Wit Box Office for tickets 773-975-8150 or visit us online at theaterwit.org

Jeremy Wechsler ...................................................................................................Artistic DirectorDavid Wechsler .............................................................................................. Company ManagerMercedes Rohlfs ...................................................................................................... Grant DirectorNadia Garofalo, Mikey Laird ........................................................................................ Box OfficeJay Kelly, L.C. Williams & Assocs ........................................................................ Press RelationsMichelle D. Miller and John D. Neumann, Jones Day .................................................. LegalRichard Kasemsarn .......................................................................................................... ArchitectDavid Trent Zilmer .........................................................................................General Contractor

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kathryn Stieber .................................................................. President Paul Danao .................................................................Vice-President Charles Hornewer ............................................................. Treasurer Steve Owen ......................................................................... Secretary

Todd GoldbergAshley Nelson

Neal SmythBruce Wechsler

THEATER WIT STAFF

With so much going on at Theater Wit, we recommend you get our e-newsletter to keep up. Get updated news on our resident companies,

pre-production insights, interviews and photos. You can also be our bestest ever e-pals by visting us at facebook.com/theaterwit.

Fill out a mailing list insert and give to any bartender, usher or house manager to get a free piece of chocolate,

or sign up online at theaterwit.org/join.

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WitRES IDENCE

PROVIDING A HOME TO CHICAGO’S THEATERSEach season, Theater WIt offers its space to one or more companies to produce in year round. The WitRESIDENCE program combines the principles of a cooperative and a traditional rental house to create a more cohesive, professional, and efficient nonprofit environment. In its facility, Theater Wit will play host to other Chicago theater companies on a minimum two-year basis. The resident companies will volunteer their time for space maintenance, share audience development initiatives, and gain a home under one roof. Meet our resident companies!

BOHEMIAN THEATRE ENSEMBLE

BoHo Theatre’s mission is to create theatre that incorporates the arts as a whole — Art for art’s sake.

BoHo’s vision is to challenge convention through literary originality and eclectic expression while fostering an ever-evolving artistic environment in which people are inspired to learn, think, dream, and feel. To teach others and ourselves how to expand, create, and present art through theatre while reveling not only in the process, but also in the journey. BoHo’s season is chosen to highlight and explore

the four bohemian pillars of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love. Four shows, four pillars (and maybe a holiday musical thrown in for good measure!)

STAGE LEF T THEATRE

Stage Left Theatre’s mission is to develop and produce plays that inspire debate about political and social topics. We focus on presenting complicated issues in the context of an engaging story, without prescribing a single point of view. We attempt to spark respectful debate about the issues most relevant to our community, and activate audiences to continue those conversations beyond the walls of the theatre. Stage Left also works to inspire playwrights to address political and social themes through our Downstage Left new work development program.

Sign up @ www.footlights.com/newsletter

Subscribe to our e-newsletterKeep updated on

featured shows and ticket giveaways in the Milwaukee, Chicago, and Madison areas.

Maya Productions, Larry Horn, Steve Klein, and ShPIeL-Performing Identity

present

By Oren NeemanBased on the novel CONFESSION by Yonatan Ben Nachum

Directed by Kevin Hart

Performed by Ami Dayan

Original Music ............................................Jon Sousa and Yossi Green Costume Design ............................................................... Kevin Brainerd Lighting Design ............................................................... Jacob M. Welch Gobo Design ........................................................................... Jeremy Cole Movement Director .....................................................Robert Davidson Stage Manager ................................................................William C Dean Lighting Assistant .............................................................Scott Pillsbury House Manager .......................................................................Beth Bruins Photography ..................................................................................Eran Tari

The adaptation of CONVICTION was commissioned by the Denver Center Theatre Company

Kent Thompson, Artistic Director

The projections in this production were made from the official Inquisition file of Andrés González.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSApple Core Holdings, Ken and Ann Anderson, Alicia, Soci and Emmet Bassuk, Emily Briskman, Edward Cisek, Bill and Sara-Jane Cohen, Jeremy Cole, Maya Dayan, Michael Lebowitsch Dayan, Erin Dugan, Gadi and Sharon Eisnger,Dan Elbaum, Rabbi Laurence Edwards, Diane Gilboa and Theatre Or, Jessica Hutchinson, lsArt, Elayne LeTraunik and

Genesis Theatrical Productions, Limmud Chicago, Joan Mazzonelli, Manghal Grill on Howard and California, Hazzan Alberto Mizrahi, Ignacio Olmos and Teresa Hernando at the

Cervantes Institute; Rabbi Brant Rosen and Tom Samuels of Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston; Ann Rudovsky, Rabbi David Sandmel, Anita Silvert,Emily Soloff, Jill Valentine and Brian Peterlin at Stage 773; Laura Silverman, Karin Pritikin, Cailin Short,

Eli Taylor, Willa Taylor, Lina Williams, Amanda Berg Wilson, Elliot Zashin.

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ABOUT CONVICTION

EXCERPT FROM THE ORIGINAL INQUISITION FILE OF ANDRÉS GONZÁLEZ:

“…when I was a priest in Alcabdete, in Talavera, one Sunday I was coming to the church to say mass and a farmer approached me – by the name of Fernand Alonso – and said, “I came here because as I was coming to church there was one of these women from the household of Gonzalo Marques resting and honoring the Sabbath as a Jew…” and they were off to burn the house and its [inhabitants]. It would have been best for me later not to intervene, but I did.” (Andrés González, 1486, translated by Lina Williams and Mark Williams)

B IOGR APHIES

Ami Dayan (Adapter, Actor) studied and worked professionally in Israel, Europe, and the USA. A two-time recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Grant, Ami’s work has recently been commissioned by The Denver Center Theatre Company, The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and The Roe Green Foundation. Hav-ing worked with all major theaters in Israel, Ami’s Off Broadway credits include Dario Fo’s A TALE OF A TIGER, Alan Drury’s THE MAN HIMSELF, Ilan Hatsor’s MASKED, and Oren Neeman’s CONVICTION. Ami’s upcoming produc-tions include A Happy Ending, by Iddo Netanyahu, and his new adaptation of Lessing’s classic Nathan the Wise.

Kevin Hart (Director) Kevin is an award-winning actor and director. Recent roles include Pozzo in WAITING FOR GODOT (Denver Post Ovation award), Charles P. Smith in NOVEMBER (Denver Post Ovation award nominee), Bruce in BEYOND THERAPY (Marlowe award), Artie in THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, George

in THE ACTOR’S NIGHTMARE (Denver Drama Critics Circle award), and Aaron in Quiara Alegria Hudes’ new play, 26 MILES. Other highlights include adapt-ing and directing MCBETH, a comedic version of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth (DDCC best New Play nominee), and the mock self-help seminar, THANK YOU FOR CHANGING MY PATHETIC LIFE (Marlowe award).

Jacob M. Welch (Lighting Designer)is pleased to be returning to Convic-tion, having previously designed the Off-Broadway production at the 59E59 Theatre. Jacob is an award winning lighting designer throughout North America. Other favorite designs include The Syringa Tree with Alliance Stage, A Splintered Soul with the Odyssey Theatre, Senses with the Vancouver Centre for the Performing Arts, An-gels in America with Bas Bleu, Family Stories: Belgrade with LIDA Project, Hair with Lake Dillon, 9 Parts of Desire with Curious, and The Night Heron with Paragon. This upcoming summer, Jacob will be serving as the Resident

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B IOGR APHIES (c o n t.)

Lighting Designer for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. By day, Jacob is an Assistant Professor of Lighting Design with Metro State in Denver, CO and heads the Applied Theatre Technology and Design BFA Program. Jacob received his MFA in Lighting Design from Western Illinois University.

Kevin Brainerd (Costume Designer)Off-Broadway: Urban Stages, Com-mon Ground, the adobe theater co., Playwrights Preview Productions, the National Shakespeare Conservatory, and 52nd Street Project. Regional: Capital Rep, TheatreFest-Montclair, the Phoenix Theatre (THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL starring Ellen Burstyn), The Yale Dramat, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Aspen, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, New Works for a New World, New Hope Arts Fes-tival. As Associate Designer, extensive credits on Broadway, including the Tony-winning THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE; Opera, TV and Film, including THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES and the Oscar-winning A BEAUTIFUL MIND.

Jon Sousa (Music)Upon first listening to his mother’s 70’s vinyl collection at the age of 5, spirit decided to move through Jon Sousa in the form of music. From his rock/metal roots in NJ, to studying with solo guitar virtuoso Pierre Bensusan in France, to exploring the music of Senegal West Af-rica and most recently immersing him-self for a year in the culture and music of Ireland , Jon Sousa’s love of music has taken him across diverse terrains and genres. Jon currently resides in Boulder, Colorado where he teaches and per-forms regularly and has begun work on an album of meditative guitar music.

Yossi Green (Music)began to write music at the age of 18 and has grown to be one of the most important creators of contempo-rary Jewish music today. His close to 500 compositions have appeared on more than 120 original albums, featur-ing most of the leading talent of the genre, and include popular, classical,

religious, liturgical, and Chassidic songs as well as show tunes. Yossi’s music has been performed on most of the major stages across the world, includ-ing the Metropolitan Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Gardens, Carnegie Hall, Budapest Opera House, Zurich’s Tannhauser Hall, London’s Wembley Hall and Israel’s Heichal Hatarbut. Yossi was one of the subjects of a PBS special about the history of Jewish Music en-titled SANDS OF TIME. He is working on a new musical entitled SALT & HONEY.

Robert Davidson (Movement Director) serves as Head of Movement for the National Theatre Conservatory at the Denver Center Theater Company. For-merly director of his own aerial dance company, he has toured the USA and Europe, featuring his much acclaimed AIRBORNE: MEISTER ECKHART. He is a Master Teacher of the Skinner Releas-ing Technique and will be training a new generation of teachers in the UK in the summer of 2010 and 2011.

Oren Neeman (Playwright) studied drama in Tel Aviv and at the Royal Court Theatre in London. His plays have been produced at the leading theaters in Israel, including The National Theatre, Habima, the esteemed theatre company Gesher, the Haifa Repertory Theatre, Beit Les-sin Theatre, and The Jerusalem Khan Theatre. Oren enjoys writing for the screen, as well as lyrics for leading Israeli singers including Rami Klein-stein, Aracadi Duchin, and David D’or.

Yonatan Ben Nachum (Author of Confession, which the play is based on) Yonatan was born in 1942 on Kib-butz Beit Zera. A novelists, historian, lecturer and researcher, Ben Nachum published two books: Confession (published also in German), and In-dianapolis. His writing combines im-mense historical research, with rich and complexly layered plot lines. In 2001 he was awarded the prestigious Prime Minister Prize for Hebrew Literature.

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B IOGR APHIES (c o n t.)

Mark J. Williams (Co-Adapter) is a former F-15 pilot and veteran of the (first) Gulf War. He currently re-sides in Boulder, CO with his wife and two daughters and has written on the subjects of religion, strategy and personal development. His collabora-tion with Ami Dayan began with THE MAN HIMSELF, Mark’s first foray into the world of theatre. The two are now de-veloping their third theatrical project.

Will Dean (Stage Manager, Tech Operator) is stoked to be working on Conviction’s Chicago Premier. He works as the master electrician for House Theatre and is a freelance lighting te-chie for Chicago area theatres. Will is currently going to Columbia College part time working on a BA in Light-ing Design. He would like to thank his parents for their loving support in his pursuit of a theatrical career.

Scott Pillsbury (Lighting Assistant) Since arriving in Chicago in 2000, he’s designed or assisted for several dif-ferent theaters and dance companies: Albany Park Theater Project, Ballet Chicago, Beverly Theater Guild and Arts Center, Collaboration, Five Star Produc-tions, GI Alliance, Gift Theatre, Prevail Dance Company, Pure Renditionz, Shapeshifters, Strange Tree, Theatre of Western Springs and Theatre Wit. Films: Dead in the Water, Lac Du Flam-beau, Something to Eat and Tapioca.

Steve Klein (Producer) worked with Ami Dayan as an Associate Producer of MASKED (off-Broadway) and is proud to be working with him again. Steve won a Drama Desk Award in 2008 for Best Musical as a Producer of PASSING STRANGE on Broadway, which also received 7 TONY nomina-tions including Best Musical and won for Best Book. Steve also partnered with Spike Lee in 2008 to produce PASSING STRANGE: THE MOVIE, which Mr. Lee also directed. Steve wrote and directed the feature film GAME DAY

starring Richard Lewis and the award winning short film CHOICES starring Greg Giraldo. At Steve’s day job, he is the Managing Partner of Apple Core Holdings, a diversified private New York City investment company, and CEO of Apple Core Hotels, which owns and operates several New York City hotels.

Larry Horn (Producer) is a founding partner of Apple Core Holdings, a New York-based private investment company. Larry has been involved in several theatrical pro-ductions in New York both on and off Broadway including PASSING STRANGE, BURN THE FLOOR, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, MASKED, and THE LOST CHILDHOOD. Larry was also an Executive Producer of the recent film PASSING STRANGE: THE MOVIE directed by Spike Lee.

Maya Productions (Producer) is a Boulder based theatre company, committed to productions of diverse backgrounds and theatrical lineage, with strong relevance to our lives to-day, and unwavering artistic integrity. ShPIeL-Performing Identity (Producer) is a dynamic performance incubator project and producer of works utilizing identity, culture and heritage based in the Chicago and Evanston, IL area, yet working with theatre artists worldwide. Both a concept and a center for perfor-mance, ShPIeL actively develops the theatre artist her/himself and performative projects through identi-ties and cultural narratives; provides professional networks for theatre and performance art; and is dedicated to an evolving transformative community. Artistic Director David Y. Chack, Manag-ing Producer Joan Mazzonelli and Pro-duction Coordinator Elayne LeTraunik

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THE INQUIS ITION IN SPAIN : A H ISTORICAL NOTE

In about 1300 C.E., 500,000 Jews lived in Spain. The Jews were then at their zenith in prosperity and influence, which aroused the envy of the Christian populace and provoked hatred among the Catholic clergy. Over the next 100 years, these dynamics resulted in ever more severe, officially-imposed restrictions on Jews and popular massacres against them.

On June 4, 1391, a mob attacked the “Judería” (Jewish Quarter) in Seville, killing 4,000. At least 20,000 Jews escaped death only by submitting to baptism. This pattern was replicated throughout Spain, resulting in tens of thousands of forced conversions. By 1411, the law denied Jews virtually all their religious and secular rights. Jews (and Moors) were ordered to live and work only in designated areas, under pain of confiscation of property and flogging. As a result, as many as 400,000 Jews became New Christians or “conversos” between 1391 and 1418.

Conversion to Christianity lifted the restrictions imposed on Jews and allowed them to prosper. The Old Christians’ resentment of the conversos rose with the latter’s success, as did suspicions regarding the sincerity of their conversions. By the mid-15th century, violent uprisings against these so-called “Marranos” (“Swine”) erupted in several cities and many Jews were massacred. Agitation increased for the Catholic Church to punish those who still adhered to Judaism. In 1449, rebels in control of Toledo instituted their own Inquisition, burned convicted conversos to death and confiscated their property. Thereafter, descendents of conversos were repeatedly accused of practicing Judaism.

In 1474, Ferdinand II and Isabella I united all of Spain except for Granada. While they worked to consolidate their power, conflicts arose between conversos who were in positions of authority, and those who agitated against them. One night in 1478, a young Christian caballero stumbled on a group of Jews conducting a Passover Seder, When this incident was reported to Isabella, she dispatched her ambassadors to Rome to seek a Papal Bull authorizing the establishment of the Inquisition in Spain. On November 1, 1478, the Pope issued that edict. The Inquisition’s assignment was to investigate and punish heresy by Jewish conversos.

In 1483, the Spanish Royals appointed Tomás Torquemada, a Dominican friar and Isabella’s former confessor, as Grand Inquisitor. As leader of this combined Church/State enterprise, he managed a repressive criminal justice system that eventually convicted over 100,000 people as heretics, about 5,000 of whom were put to death.

On January 2, 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella recaptured Granada from the Moors. Fearing that the presence of any Jews in Spain would tempt conversos to relapse, the Catholic Kings issued an Edict of Expulsion requiring all unconverted Jews to leave Spain by July 31 of that year. An estimated 165,000 Jews left Spain for European and North African countries. Approximately 5,000 Jews and conversos made their way to the Americas.

The Inquisition was abolished in 1834. However, Jews were not permitted to return to Spain until the adoption of a new constitution in 1868. The Edict of Expulsion was not repealed until 1968; Spain only recognized the state of Israel in 1986.

© 2007 by Bill Cohen & Maya Productions

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GLOSSARY

CHRISTIANITY:

Confessional – A place in the Catholic Church where baptized Catholic men and women confess their sins and are absolved by a priest. Under Catholic canon law, priests must treat all confessions as strictly confidential and not disclose them to civil authorities even if they are threatened with death, on pain of automatic excommunication.

Auto-da-fé – The “act of faith” was the religious ceremony where condemned heretics and apostates of the Spanish Inquisition had their sentences read. During the early stages of the Spanish Inquisition, the auto-da-fé was a stunning display of high ritual. Usually held in town squares transformed for the occasion, the auto–da- fé lasted anywhere from several hours to an entire day. The grand auto-da-fés of Seville (1482) and Toledo (1486) were celebrated under the auspices of the first Inquisitor General of Spain, the infamous Dominican monk Tomás de Torquemada.

JUDAISM:

The month of Elul and other Jewish fall holidays – Elul is the month in the Jewish (lunar) calendar preceding the High Holy Holidays. During Elul, Jews prepare for repentance of their sins and initiate the process of seeking forgiveness from those they have wronged during the prior year. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, celebrated on the first two days of the following month, Tishrei, begins the period of prayer and introspection that comprise the ten Days of Awe.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown with the recitation of the Kol Nidre Prayer. By this ancient prayer, Jews repent for “all vows, obligations and oaths” between themselves and their conscience or God that they failed to honor in the past year, and may fail to honor in the coming year, and seek annulment of those oaths. It is believed that many conversos who continued to adhere to Judaism recited the Kol Nidre Prayer to absolve themselves of their forced conversions. Though the prayer has been used by anti-Semites against Jews, who were considered untrustworthy because of it, it is often retained, at least in part, in memory of the conversos’ ordeals during the Spanish Inquisition.

Sukkot (Booths), a joyful holiday, which follows the solemn Yom Kippur by five days. It commemorates the 40 years the Jews lived in temporary shelters (sukkot) while wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. Sukkot is followed by Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah), which celebrates the completion of the annual cycle of reading the Five Books of the Torah (Hebrew Bible). Synagogue congregants also take turns carrying the Torah around the sanctuary, accompanied by singing, dancing, and drinking.

Kabbalah – An ancient stream of mystical Judaism outside of, but related to the Torah and Talmud (compiled oral rabbinic teachings about the Torah), first published as a compilation titled the Zohar (The Book of Splendor) by Rabbi Moses de Leon, of Leon, Spain, around 1290 C.E.

Sanctification Prayer (“Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Adonay Tzva’ot”) – A Hebrew prayer sanctifying God, based on Isaiah 6:3, which evokes the image of angels singing hymns in praise of God: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole world is filled with His glory.”

Shekhina – Judaism believes that God is One. The concept in Kabbalah of Shekhina refers to God’s divine presence in a place, person, group, or period of time. Because Shekhina is a feminine noun in Hebrew, some interpret the term as referring to the feminine aspect of God, in contrast to other names found in the Torah, such as Elohim, which is a masculine plural noun referring to aspects that stress God’s might and creative power, as well as traits of justice and fair governance.

Shabbat (Sabbath) – The Jewish Sabbath, perhaps the most important Jewish ritual observance, is the only one mandated in the Ten Commandments. Shabbat is a day of rest and spiritual renewal. Shabbat’s importance is highlighted by its symbol as a “bride” or “queen” as in the Likha Dodi prayer (“Beloved, come meet the Sabbath Bride”), a portion of which is recited in CONVICTION - “bo’i kala! bo’i kala!” (“Enter, O’ Bride! Enter, O’ Bride!”)

Tikkun Olam – Literally “Repair of the World” derived from a term in the body of classical rabbinic teachings known as the Mishnah. It reflects the Jewish value of adopting social policy and doing individual good deeds (mitzvot) to repair what is unjust in the world.

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GLOSSARY (c o n t.)

SPANISH TERMS:

Conversos – Spanish Jews who, faced with conversion to Catholicism or death, chose the former in mass numbers.

Marranos – Literally “pigs” or “swine.” Used as an insult to question the sincerity of the conversos, especially their refusal to eat pork, forbidden to Jews (and Muslims). Conversos referred to themselves by the Hebrew term “Anusim,” the “forced ones,” because they were forced to chose between conversion or death.

Retajado – A Spanish slang term meaning “circumcised” (cut around), used by Old Christians as an insult against male conversos discovered to have been circumcised. Circumcision, the sign of a Jew’s covenant with God, supposedly indicated continued adherence to Judaism.

Judaizantes – Conversos found to have adhered to Jewish law and/or continued to practice Jewish traditions and who were convicted of heresy by the Inquisition. Upon his conviction by the Inquisition in Toledo, Spain in 1486, Andrés González was labeled a “Judaizante”.

GEOGRAPHIC PLACES:

El Archivo Histórico Nacional – Located in the Spanish capital city Madrid, it houses thousands of documents from the Spanish Inquisition, including the file of Andrés González.

Río Tajo (Tagus River) – The longest waterway on the Iberian Peninsula, In Toledo, the river passes nearby the Judería (Jewish Quarter), the location of Andrés González re-conversion to Judaism and the seat of a flourishing Jewish community for centuries prior to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.

Salamanca – Location of the oldest university in Spain, considered one of “the four leading lights of the world,” along with the universities of Paris, Bologna, and Oxford. Jews in Salamanca were afforded equal rights in 1170 by King Ferdinand II of León for aiding him in a war against the King of Castille. They were forcibly converted to Christianity in 1412. During the Expulsion in 1492, most of the Jews in Salamanca emigrated to Portugal. Those who did not submit to forced conversion were expelled in 1497.

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