The story of Crypto-Judaism usually revolves around Spanish and Portuguese Jews who converted to Catholicisim between the 14th and 16th centuries and their struggles to maintain Jewish life amidst the Spanish and later Portuguese Inquisitions. There is however, another group that this term applies to.
The followers of Sabbatai Zevi, the false messiah of the 17th century still survive to this day. They are referred to as the Donmeh. In contrast to other Jews who initially supported the Sabbatean movement, the Donmeh converted to Islam and continued to observe Jewish practices, albeit often significantly altered, in secret.
Sabbatai Zevi
Their story is fascinating and while the bonds between the Donmeh and traditional Turkish Jewry were broken long ago, there are still bonds between them.
The following article discusses the fact that anti-Semitism is something which connects these two very different communities. The problem is so significant that some Donmeh are looking to take advantage of the Spanish government’s offer of citizenship to the descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews who left after the Expulsion decrees.
The article on the Jerusalem Post can be found at the following link:
Turkish Jewry’s secret medieval messianics survive
For another article on the Sabbatean movement, please see my post titled The Sabbatean Prophets.
Posted Rabbi Juan Bejarano-Gutierrez the director of the B’nei Anusim Center for Education and author of What is Kosher?
B'nei Anusim Center for Education 
2 Comments