“The teaching of appreciation”: the Amistad Judeo-Cristiana and the inclusion of Jews in Spain’s public sphere during the Franco Dictatorship

Established in 1961 in Madrid, the Amistad Judeo-Cristiana strove to promote a dialogue between Catholic and Jewish Spaniards. The article accounts for the Amistad’s origins and its development, explaining the critical impact of the Second Vatican Council, which allowed for the eventual formal recognition of Madrid’s Jewish community by the Franco regime. The support received by a sector of the Spanish ecclesiastical hierarchy permitted the association to embark on a campaign to purge school textbooks from anti-Jewish content, and to condemn blood-libel traditions that were still very much alive in Spanish popular culture. The article argues that the experiences and activities of the Amistad Judeo-Cristiana should be included within the larger historiographical trend that highlights the role played by civil society in helping pave the way for the Spanish transition to democracy.