Ladino is now a dying language, but the Sephardim have retained their distinctive identity and are estimated to number up to a third of the world's 13 million Jews today. Spain's planned new law potentially covers almost all of them, for it is written very broadly.
Applicants for Spanish citizenship need not speak Ladino or even be religious. They need only be able to show a link to Sephardic culture (it could be as little as a Sephardic family name). In most cases, however, the simplest route to Spanish citizenship would be to have a local rabbi certify their Sephardic ancestry, or to get certification of their Sephardic heritage from a recognised Spanish-Jewish community.
Spain's justice minister reckons that only about 150,000 Sephardic Jews will take him up on the offer (which will remain open for two years), and he does not think many of them will actually want to move to Spain. But he promises that the government will not be strict in deciding who qualifies as Sephardic - "We are opening the door," he said - and he may be surprised by how many actually apply.
What Gallardon has not taken into account is the fact that Spanish citizenship is, for practical purposes, citizenship in all 28 member countries of the European Union. A Spanish passport-holder can enter Britain, France, Germany, Sweden or any other EU country without a visa, take up residence there, get a job or start a business there. What's not to like about this offer?
Almost half of Israel's Jews are Sephardim and Israel is a country where second passports are in great demand. The big Sephardic communities in the United States and Mexico will probably not be tempted, but the remaining Sephardic Jews in Muslim countries, including Turkey, certainly will be.
Gallardon is thinking mostly about symbolism, which is important, but his offer will also have a real impact on many people's lives.
Portugal, which expelled its Jews shortly after Spain did, is also trying to make amends, though on a less grand scale. Last year it changed the law and now grants citizenship to Sephardim who can demonstrate a connection to the Portuguese Jewish community. How much further might this example spread? Not very far, alas.
Most of the great expulsions of history have occurred in the context of war, like the compulsory "population exchange" of the Greek minority in Turkey and the Turkish minority in Greece after World War I, or the expulsion of 10 million Germans from their homes in eastern Europe at the end of World War II.
It is because the Jews of Spain and Portugal were entirely blameless and ruthlessly victimised that there is broad popular support in both countries for this act of apology and belated recompense. All credit to Spain and Portugal for doing it.
Gwynne Dyer in an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.
