## *THE PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH NATIONALITY LAWS - WHAT WENT WRONG?*## *WITH DAVID MENDOZA*## *SEPHARDIC WORLD, SUNDAY 28 MAY 2023*In 2015 both Portugal and Spain passed laws granting citizenship to people of Sephardic ancestry. The goals of these nationality concessions were not totally clear and the standards of evidence were poorly defined. The Spanish scheme closed prematurely. Changes to the law in Portugal mean that their offering is closing in fact, if not in law. The Portuguese nationality application of Russian businessman, Roman Abramovich, made international headlines. The granting of Spanish citizenship to descendants of conquistadors also raised eyebrows.Iberian politicians and Jewish community leaders appear keen to sweep matters under the carpet and move on. But what lessons can we learn? *Ton Tielen* will interview ***David Mendoza***for his personal opinion on what happened, from the perspective of a Sephardic genealogist. Have the nationality concessions helped or harmed the Sephardic community and the practice of Sephardic genealogy? Are countries responsible for events hundreds of years ago? Should people be held responsible for their actions, including rabbis and synagogue presidents who may have incorrectly verified the Sephardic ancestry of some applicants? Do historic reparations make any sense?***David Mendoza*** is co-host of this series of talks. He was the principal author of the Sephardic Genealogical Society's Code of Conduct for those working on nationality applications. His calls for adherence to genealogical standards have sometimes been met by abuse. The views expressed in this meeting are a matter of personal opinion.This meeting is on Sunday 28 May 2023 at 11am in LA, 2pm NYC, 7pm London, 8pm Paris/Amsterdam and 9pm Jerusalem. Patrons can join us on Zoom. The link is shared at our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/sephardi Everyone else is invited to join us at: https://www.youtube.com/SephardicGenealogyAndHistoryIf you can, please support our work, which is not without cost to us. As little as $5/month makes a huge difference. https://www.patreon.com/sephardiShare the link below with family or friends who may want to join our mailing list. https://www.sephardic.world/sephardic-world*Best wishes,**Ton and David**Sephardic World*