New Jerusalem
10508 W. Pico Blvd Los Angeles
In "New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch De Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656," the New Jerusalem of the title is indeed the Dutch city of Amsterdam. The Netherlands had become a place of refuge for Sephardic (Spanish and Portugese) Jews fleeing the horrors of the Inquisition after Spain under Isabella issued the Alhambra Decree in 1492. Jews found their homes and belongings seized by the Catholic Church and were forced to undergo conversion. Many were slaughtered en masse, burned alive. Others were expelled, and the expulsion of Jews from Spain lasted four centuries.
Thru - Apr 1, 2012