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00:04If you care to look at my wardrobe, most of it 25 years old.
00:08This was given to me by Angie when she went to Spain the first time.
00:12She only wears it for special occasions.
00:1584-year-old actress June Brown has been a British cultural icon for decades.
00:22Playing the indomitable Dot Cotton in the BBC soap, EastEnders.
00:26It shouldn't really be too coordinated, because she gets the colour slightly wrong.
00:31Many find it difficult to distinguish June from the part she plays.
00:35I think they think I'm very like Dot. A lot of people call me Dot.
00:38I'm always delighted when they call me Dune.
00:41As a negligee, well covered up.
00:46I am the oldest person who has ever done. Who do you think you are?
00:51Dune married at 23, and by the age of 30 was widowed after her husband's suicide.
00:58She continued her acting career, and in 1958 married for a second time, to actor Robert Arnold.
01:06They had six children, losing one as a baby.
01:13In 2003, after 45 years of marriage, June was widowed again.
01:20I'm not a person who can cry.
01:22I think I've sort of worked my emotions out.
01:26So I don't expect to weep, although I will have some waterproof mascara,
01:30but I don't think I will.
01:34June knows she has EastEnd Jewish roots.
01:37Now she wants to see whether these spread any further than the laundrette
01:41she's inhabited professionally for more than 20 years.
01:46I had never really felt like an East Ender.
01:49I knew my mother was.
01:52I don't think we'll find any royal blood,
01:56any blue blood flowing in our veins, but who cares?
01:59We're all people.
02:33Well, I'm going to have a wine glass.
02:40I was born in 1927.
02:43We had no television, telephones or cars.
02:48It was a lovely life.
02:50It's a different world from ours.
02:54At the age of 84, June feels that this is her last chance
02:58to discover if she's a real East Ender.
03:01Smile.
03:04Before she begins, her family has gathered at her Surrey home
03:07to send her off in style.
03:09Cheers!
03:11Sorry, I've already done mine.
03:19June was born in Suffolk, one of five children.
03:24Her parents, Louisa and Henry, both came from London's East End.
03:32Scottish grandfather, Italian grandmother, Irish grandfather.
03:38Like a mongrel, I'm not truly English.
03:41I'm not truly anything as far as I know.
03:44But I know I'm Jewish through my mother's line.
03:47It's her mother's Jewish East End heritage June wants to investigate.
03:51I'm not married.
03:52That is my mother.
03:53And my mother was 35 for years.
03:56And then she got fed up with being 35 and suddenly said,
03:58Oh, I'm 50.
04:01When I was first in EastEnders, they said,
04:0447-year-old June Brown.
04:06Well, I was 58, I think.
04:07We laughed at that.
04:08If they want to think I'm 47, let them.
04:11I thought, I'm not going to say any different.
04:13We laughed at that.
04:15You might have done.
04:15I didn't.
04:16I was delighted.
04:20As the matriarch,
04:21she is the keeper of the family history
04:23and over the years has collected together
04:26an archive of photographs and stories.
04:29That was 1967.
04:32Your father was quite famous at the time
04:34as PC Swain in Vixen of Doc Green.
04:38Is this you here?
04:40That is me as a bridesmaid in green satin.
04:43This is the wedding of my auntie Marie.
04:46They lived in the East End.
04:48And all of those are Jewish cousins.
04:50Right.
04:51My mother said,
04:52and I might be completely wrong,
04:55but my mother did say
04:57we had a champion bare-knuckle fighter
04:59and he was in the East End, of course.
05:02What was the fighter's name?
05:03His name was Isaac Bitten.
05:05I don't know where Bitten comes from.
05:07It doesn't sound a bit Jewish to me.
05:09It would be nice to find out more about him.
05:10Well, I'd like to find out more about him.
05:12I wouldn't know.
05:13You know, did he have money?
05:15Well, I should think so.
05:15It would be quite interesting.
05:17To follow that.
05:19It's all my mother that do his side.
05:21It's granny.
05:42It's granny.
05:43My mother was born in the Mile End Road.
05:47She mentioned this famous bare-knuckle fighter
05:51in the East End.
05:53And I'd like to find out more about Isaac Bitten,
05:56if I can.
06:00Family research has managed to trace back
06:03as far as June's great-great-great-grandfather,
06:06the bare-knuckle boxer Isaac Bitten,
06:09born in 1779.
06:15Now June is hoping that Isaac,
06:17the legendary fighter,
06:18will help her travel further back
06:20into her East End past.
06:24I'm a very curious person.
06:26I like to know everything, really.
06:28I don't care what I find out,
06:30as long as I find out.
06:34Would you be Michael Berkowitz?
06:36Yes, I am.
06:38My name is June Brian.
06:39Well, did you meet me?
06:40Oh, thank you so much.
06:42Historian Michael Berkowitz is an expert on Jewish London
06:45and the early years of British boxing.
06:49And here we have Isaac Bitten,
06:54your great-great-great-grandfather.
06:58He was a big personality,
07:00a real East Ender.
07:03Well, look at the little dancing feet.
07:06They remind me a bit of, you know,
07:08dance like a butterfly.
07:10But it looks like he has quite strong legs.
07:11He was known for being undefeated,
07:15an extremely powerful fighter.
07:21In the early 19th century,
07:23Isaac Bitten lived in London's growing Jewish community
07:26in the East End,
07:28an area that for centuries had been home to those on the social margins.
07:36The bloodthirsty sport of bare-knuckle fighting
07:38was at the height of its popularity.
07:41Few rules existed,
07:43and audiences were entertained by bouts that could continue for hours.
07:47With no limit to the number of rounds,
07:50the winner was only decided when his opponent could no longer stand and fight.
07:55For men like Isaac,
07:56the sport provided one of the few paths to fame and fortune.
08:01One of the things that's very interesting
08:02is not only were Jews involved,
08:05who were pretty marginal in society,
08:07but also Irish and blacks.
08:09And one of the things that boxers consider very special
08:13is that, although it's a very brutal world,
08:16that they treated each other with more respect
08:19and more dignity
08:20than they would be accorded in the wider society.
08:23If you could take a look,
08:25there was a paragraph down here that I've marked.
08:29One thing at all events is certain.
08:32He was a Jew.
08:33That was unmistakably
08:36samped upon his physiognomy.
08:40The hooked nose,
08:41the thick lips,
08:43the swarthy complexion,
08:44the curly black hair,
08:46and piercing black eyes.
08:48Every traditional feature of the Jewish face
08:51was there in most marked and pronounced characters.
08:55So they're talking about their racial characteristics,
08:57which is completely wrong,
08:58but he had no problem showing himself
09:01as a very almost stereotypically Jewish Jew.
09:06I think this is part of his personality
09:09and part of the magnetism.
09:10He was very comfortable,
09:11although he had a lot of it.
09:13He was very comfortable in his own skin.
09:15You mean when he was fat?
09:17Yes, he was fat, but agile.
09:20The sport of bare-knuckle boxing was illegal.
09:24Fights were arranged covertly,
09:26many taking place on London's commons
09:28far from the attention of the police.
09:31But attending the fights
09:33had become a fashionable pastime.
09:35The cream of society
09:37enjoyed mixing with London's underworld.
09:40Though most of the boxers themselves
09:42saw little profit from the fights,
09:45vast sums were won and lost
09:47by the wealthy audiences
09:48betting on the outcome.
09:50A fighter like Isaac Bitten
09:52would have been lauded
09:53by his aristocratic audiences.
09:56The fights were incredibly popular
09:59and they could have hundreds,
10:00if not thousands, of spectators.
10:02Even Byron was a great patron,
10:05so he knew a lot
10:06of these very important people of his time.
10:09He was identified very consistently
10:12as sort of one of the great figures
10:15of the East End.
10:16Actually, we've got a rather special publication here
10:19called Pugilistica.
10:21It's just a little over 100 years old.
10:23If I could have you read toward the end.
10:29This is fun.
10:31Isaac Bitten, a Jew of great strength,
10:34was well known for more than 30 years
10:36to the ring-going world
10:37of the last generations.
10:39His draw with Maddox
10:41deserves preservation,
10:43and for these reasons
10:44we have given the ponderous Isaac,
10:46ponderous,
10:47a niche in our history.
10:49It's a fight that lasts 74 rounds,
10:52which would be absolutely unheard of.
10:55It's referred to as
10:56one of the hardest fought battles ever.
10:58Isaac actually came out on top.
11:00By the end,
11:02he simply isn't going to be able to see.
11:04He was probably completely swollen.
11:07Well, he's fun.
11:08Yes, he probably...
11:09His eyes were...
11:10Oh, damn me.
11:11Do you think his brain was damaged?
11:12I think it's...
11:14If he didn't get damaged in some way,
11:16it would be utterly remarkable.
11:19Isaac Bitten's epic fight
11:21of 74 bloody rounds
11:23took place in December 1802
11:25on Wimbledon Common
11:26when he was just 23 years old.
11:29It would be the greatest fight of his career.
11:33Isaac retired undefeated.
11:38His weight after his retirement
11:40so immensely increased
11:42that although his activity
11:44was remarkable for his size,
11:47he drew at scale 17 stone.
11:51That's not that bad nowadays.
11:53They can be 22.
11:54I'm really quite small.
11:55For quite a long time, though,
11:57he was the life of the party.
11:58I mean, he was one of the major figures.
12:01I think it will most likely be helpful
12:04to see what kind of evidence
12:06is available at Bevis Mark's synagogue
12:08because there are references
12:11to him as being Sephardic,
12:13that is, coming from the Spanish world,
12:16which means either Spain or Portugal
12:18at some point.
12:27From Michael's research,
12:29June has clues to her family's
12:32Sephardic Jewish roots
12:33in the East End.
12:36She's on her way
12:37to the Bevis Mark's
12:38Sephardic synagogue,
12:40which holds records for the community.
12:47Hello.
12:49Nice to meet you.
12:50Oh, nice to meet you.
12:51My name's June Brown.
12:52Yours is?
12:53I'm Maurice Bitton.
12:55I look after this wonderful old synagogue.
12:57You're not a relative by any chance, are you?
13:00Well, I was hoping we were,
13:01but I don't think we are.
13:02I'm sure we must be with a name like that.
13:04Well, if you go back far enough,
13:05we probably are.
13:07As you can see,
13:08this was built in 1701,
13:10which makes it
13:11the oldest surviving synagogue
13:12in the country.
13:16Oh.
13:18It's beautiful, isn't it?
13:19It is, isn't it?
13:22Well, they're
13:23candelabra, I suppose you'd call them.
13:27You get this wonderful sense of silence.
13:30Let me introduce you to
13:32Miriam Rodriguez Pereira,
13:33who's our archivist.
13:35How do you do?
13:36It's very kind of you to come and tell me.
13:38It's been a pleasure to do.
13:39Is this the rabbi's
13:42reading desk?
13:43Reading desk.
13:44This is the book of all
13:47the Hebrew Marriage Certificates.
13:50There we are.
13:51There he is.
13:53Their names are given in Hebrew here.
13:56Isaac, son of Abraham,
13:59be torn.
14:00And her name is Hava,
14:03Eve, in Hebrew.
14:05So that gives us his father,
14:07who's Abraham.
14:08Yes, it sounds like
14:10the Old Testament, doesn't it?
14:12Isaac, son of Abraham.
14:14There's his signature.
14:16Well, he could write quite well.
14:17Yes.
14:18He was literate,
14:19and what's that say?
14:20That says novio,
14:21which is the
14:22Spanish, actually,
14:24for bridegroom.
14:26That's lovely.
14:27And at the bottom,
14:28the rabbi has written,
14:30in Portuguese,
14:31I married them
14:32with the seven blessings,
14:34the 10th of July, 1818.
14:36Oh, wonderful.
14:40Aged 39,
14:41Isaac married Hava.
14:4317 years after beginning
14:45his career
14:45as a bare-knuckle boxer.
14:47For June,
14:49the wedding record
14:49is the first time
14:50she's seen evidence
14:51of any other
14:52bitten ancestors.
14:54Isaac's father, Abraham.
14:59The next document
15:00Miriam has for June
15:01is from 1798,
15:03when Isaac was 19 years old.
15:06This is the charity
15:08ledger
15:08from 1798,
15:10and Isaac's father
15:12was getting money
15:14every month
15:16until
15:18April,
15:19and F,
15:20I think his father,
15:22which is the Portuguese,
15:23for died.
15:24Oh.
15:25So he died,
15:27so Isaac
15:28was on his own.
15:30Is the mother mentioned?
15:33No,
15:33it was just himself
15:34and Isaac.
15:35Oh.
15:38The charity ledger
15:39proves that Isaac
15:40and his father, Abraham,
15:41were living on their own
15:42in London's East End.
15:46June wants to discover
15:48what happened to Isaac
15:49after his father's death.
15:52So,
15:52we know from
15:54the birth register
15:55Isaac had
15:5611 children altogether,
15:58and this
15:59is the ledger
16:00for the
16:01charity
16:02allotment
16:03by the congregation,
16:06which gives
16:06all the details
16:08of
16:09water.
16:09Oh,
16:10it's the money
16:12they give.
16:15Isaac
16:15bitten relief.
16:17Yes.
16:18Here we are.
16:20Isaac gets money
16:2210 shillings.
16:23This was in
16:241838.
16:25But I mean,
16:26how long was that
16:27but do you know
16:28that he'd stopped
16:30boxing?
16:31I don't think
16:32he was ever wealthy
16:33and he didn't
16:35have very much
16:36and the congregation
16:37was very good
16:38at providing
16:39for people
16:40and giving them
16:41allowances
16:42and giving them
16:43coal in the winter.
16:45Otherwise,
16:45there was no
16:46welfare for anybody.
16:48Exactly.
16:48And they'd starved
16:49the fish
16:50of all those children.
16:51Yes.
16:54more than a century
16:56before the creation
16:57of a welfare state,
16:59Britain's poor
17:00relied on charity
17:01for survival.
17:02The Bevis Marks
17:04Sephardic Synagogue
17:04looked after its members,
17:06distributing
17:07Siddhaka,
17:08charitable donations
17:09to the needy,
17:11like Isaac
17:12and his family.
17:16There is a note
17:17of his death.
17:19Oh, it's in English.
17:21That's marvellous.
17:22Well, I can read this.
17:23Where do we go?
17:24Ah,
17:25here we've got it.
17:26Look.
17:27Old Ikey,
17:28nice, isn't it?
17:30After a few weeks' illness,
17:32breathed his last
17:33at the age of 60
17:34in the eastern quarter
17:36when he was so long known
17:38and lies in the Jewish
17:40burial ground
17:41near Bethnal Green.
17:43Well, it's Myland Road,
17:45actually.
17:45Yeah, well, you see,
17:46that's where my mother
17:47was born.
17:49Isaac died in 1839
17:51at the age of 60.
17:53He had fathered
17:5411 children.
17:58Where was that?
18:00In order to learn
18:01any more about
18:01her Sephardic roots,
18:03Dune has to turn
18:04her attention
18:05to Isaac's father,
18:06Abraham,
18:06her great,
18:07great,
18:08great,
18:08great grandfather.
18:11Abraham was an immigrant
18:12as far as we can tell
18:15and I should think
18:17the most likely place
18:18is Holland
18:19from Amsterdam.
18:21Why would you think that?
18:22Well, because a lot
18:23of our people
18:24did come from there.
18:26I want to ask you,
18:27Miriam,
18:28if there are any graves
18:30that one could visit for
18:31because if Abraham
18:32died here,
18:33he would have been
18:33buried here.
18:34Yes,
18:35they were both
18:35buried here
18:36but unfortunately
18:37there is no grave now
18:39and we don't know
18:40whether there were
18:41gravestones.
18:43If there were,
18:44they didn't survive.
18:49Despite Isaac's fame
18:50in the East End,
18:51no memorial
18:53to the bare-knuckle
18:54boxer exists.
18:56Isaac died penniless,
18:58just as his father,
19:00Abraham,
19:00had four decades earlier.
19:11That's always been
19:12one of my fears,
19:15being poor and old.
19:17You know,
19:18it's not so bad
19:19being poor
19:19when you're young
19:19because you've always
19:20got the hope
19:21that something's
19:21going to happen
19:22but unless you win
19:23the football pools
19:24or the lottery comes up,
19:25you don't have much chance
19:27when you're old.
19:38It seems likely
19:40that Abraham and Isaac
19:41made their way
19:42to London's East End
19:43from Holland.
19:45Dunes come to Amsterdam
19:47to discover
19:47if they did live here
19:48and if so,
19:50why they migrated
19:51to London
19:52when Isaac
19:52was only 10 years old.
19:55For me,
19:56it's rather like
19:57reading a detective novel
19:58which I do all the time.
20:01It's the only things
20:02I read
20:02unless I'm being serious
20:04and this is
20:05like this for me,
20:06you know,
20:07finding out
20:07what sorts of
20:08fascinating things.
20:15What I'm interested
20:17in finding out
20:18is why he left
20:19Holland
20:20or the Netherlands.
20:22I don't know
20:23whether the mother
20:24had died
20:24or stayed behind
20:26or whatever,
20:27divorced.
20:28There must have
20:29some reason
20:30why he came
20:31to the East End
20:32of London.
20:39At Amsterdam's
20:40Municipal Archives,
20:42Dune has arranged
20:43to meet Harman Snell,
20:44a specialist
20:45in Jewish genealogy.
20:48What I found out
20:49in London
20:50was that I
20:51have a great-great-great-great-grandfather
20:54who was
20:55a very well-known
20:56bare-knuckle champion.
20:58This is Isaac Bitton.
21:00And I'd like to know
21:01if he was the only child
21:02and why he came
21:04at the age of 11,
21:05roughly,
21:06with his father
21:07to the East End.
21:08And when did they arrive?
21:10I think roughly 1790.
21:14Yeah, so we're going
21:14to go for Bitton.
21:18We're looking for
21:19some child
21:20born about 1778.
21:24I wish I could work
21:25one of these things.
21:26This is Abraham Bitton
21:28as a father.
21:29Uh-huh.
21:30These are the years
21:31that his children were born.
21:33And it's the name
21:34of the mother.
21:36Ah, oh, look.
21:38Rachel Rodriguez de Castro.
21:40What a lovely name, isn't it?
21:41Yes, beautiful.
21:42I wish I had a name like that.
21:44Mine's so common.
21:45Yeah, well, mine too.
21:47And here is
21:48one child,
21:50Isaac,
21:51uh-huh.
21:52born 1777.
21:55Ah, a bit older
21:56than we thought then.
21:57And here is another
21:59Isaac
21:59in 1779.
22:02Oh, one died.
22:03One died.
22:04The first one died.
22:05And the second one
22:06was named
22:07Isaac Chaim.
22:09Chaim meaning life.
22:11This is a birth
22:12registration.
22:15Good Lord.
22:16Such lovely writing.
22:17And here you see
22:1929 of June
22:211779,
22:22Isaac Chaim,
22:23son of Abraham Bitton
22:25and Rachel
22:27Rodriguez de Castro.
22:29So that must be
22:30the bare-knuckle boxer.
22:32And his mother
22:34was Rachel.
22:35Yes.
22:38In the late 18th century,
22:40many of Europe's cities
22:41forced Jews
22:42to wear distinguishing marks
22:43and live in separate ghettos.
22:46But in Amsterdam,
22:47the city in which
22:48Abraham and his family
22:49were living,
22:50Jews were tolerated
22:51and could move about
22:53and practice their faith
22:54freely.
22:56But even with this freedom,
22:58Jews were prohibited
22:59from most professions.
23:01Many were forced
23:02to scrape together
23:03a living as street traders.
23:06So what prompted
23:07Abraham and the
23:0810-year-old Isaac
23:09to abandon their family
23:11and leave the most
23:12tolerant city in Europe
23:13for an uncertain future
23:15in England?
23:18What I want to show you
23:20is a book
23:22which is called
23:24The Termos.
23:26The Sephardic community,
23:27if they had to deal
23:29with something,
23:30they wrote it
23:30in this book.
23:32Very fancy.
23:33Very fancy.
23:34Yes.
23:35But Abraham Bitton
23:36is registered here
23:38being a taxpayer
23:40for the community.
23:42Ah, so he wasn't
23:43on the poor relief then?
23:45No.
23:45He had a job?
23:46He had a job.
23:47Most likely
23:48he was a hocker
23:50on the street.
23:50Not a liability
23:51on the congregation?
23:53No.
23:53Ah, well done.
23:55Not yet.
23:56No, no.
23:58Yes.
23:59What's next?
23:59And next.
24:01What's this?
24:02This is
24:03the year 1784,
24:051785.
24:07And here
24:08you see
24:09Abraham Bitton
24:10again.
24:11And this
24:12is a
24:13sedaka list.
24:15Relief
24:15for the poor.
24:16Aha.
24:17And this is
24:18the first time
24:18he appears
24:19in this.
24:20Right.
24:21So his household
24:22were seven people.
24:24So,
24:25five children.
24:26Five children.
24:26Five children
24:27were alive
24:28at that moment.
24:29And these are
24:30the amounts
24:30that they received.
24:32Why did they
24:32receive that?
24:33Had he gone down
24:34in the world?
24:35Was he out of work?
24:361784,
24:381785
24:38were
24:39dramatically
24:40bad years
24:41in Dutch economy.
24:43We just
24:44had a war
24:45behind us.
24:46Which war
24:47was that?
24:47It was what
24:48we call
24:48the fourth
24:49English war.
24:51So,
24:51imagine
24:52who we were
24:53fighting.
24:53Ah, yes,
24:54I can't think
24:55which war that was.
24:55But we lost.
24:56We lost.
24:57Oh, good.
24:57I'm sorry.
24:58Oh, yeah.
25:02In 1780,
25:03the British declared
25:04war on Holland
25:05when the Dutch
25:06came out in support
25:07of George Washington
25:08and his
25:08revolutionary forces
25:09in America.
25:12Four years
25:12of war
25:13with Britain
25:14followed.
25:16The Dutch
25:17economy
25:17was in ruins
25:18and in the years
25:19that followed,
25:20Jewish street traders
25:21like Abraham,
25:22who in the good times
25:23had managed
25:23to eke out
25:24a living
25:24for their families
25:25now faced
25:26destitution.
25:29The 10-year-old
25:30Isaac and his
25:31father Abraham
25:31joined a wave
25:33of Jewish migrants
25:34in search of
25:34a new life
25:35in the booming
25:35city of London.
25:39Abraham's wife
25:40Rachel
25:40and Isaac's
25:41siblings
25:42were left
25:43behind in
25:43Amsterdam.
25:47Why did he
25:48move to London
25:48without his wife
25:49and other children?
25:51Do you know?
25:51He probably
25:51thought in London
25:53there might be
25:54chances.
25:54He went there
25:55to see if there
25:57were chances
25:58to stay there
26:00for a longer time
26:00and get his
26:01family over.
26:02Still goes on.
26:03It still works
26:04like that.
26:05But in 1795
26:06the Netherlands
26:08were invaded
26:10by France
26:11and from that
26:13moment on
26:14it was very
26:15difficult
26:16or almost
26:17impossible
26:18to travel
26:19to England.
26:20To leave the country
26:20and go across
26:21the Channel
26:22and end up
26:23on the boat.
26:26By 1795
26:27Europe was in
26:28the grip
26:28of the French
26:29Revolutionary Wars.
26:31Holland was
26:32politically
26:32and economically
26:33vulnerable
26:34and the French
26:35invading army
26:36marched in
26:37isolating the
26:37country by land.
26:39And with Britain
26:40and France at war
26:41the Channel
26:42was blockaded
26:43cutting Holland
26:44off by sea.
26:49Rachel would have
26:50given up any hope
26:50of escaping
26:51the devastated
26:52Amsterdam to join
26:53Abraham and Isaac
26:54in London.
26:55It's probable
26:56all communication
26:57between the
26:58divided family
26:59ceased.
27:03But by 1801
27:05word from London
27:06must have got through
27:07to the synagogue
27:08in Amsterdam.
27:09Rachel's husband
27:10Abraham
27:11had died.
27:15Here you see
27:17a registration
27:19the widow
27:20of Abraham
27:22Bitton.
27:23Abraham had already
27:25died.
27:25and she knows
27:27here that
27:28he died
27:29because she's
27:29registered
27:30as the widow
27:31and
27:32her support
27:33in this
27:34sedaka list
27:35is now
27:35for three
27:36persons.
27:37So she had
27:38eight children.
27:39Yes.
27:39The other children
27:40at this time
27:41in 1801
27:42had all died
27:44except Isaac.
27:45In these times
27:46they died young.
27:47They died young.
27:48Many of them
27:48died young
27:49and most
27:50of them
27:51on tuberculosis
27:52or kind
27:53of fevers.
27:54That's a very
27:55bad period
27:56of their lives
27:57then.
27:57They were
27:58separated.
27:59The son
27:59went and
28:00she was
28:00on the
28:01parish
28:01as it were.
28:03And for
28:03Isaac
28:04writing letters
28:05or
28:06visiting his
28:07mother
28:07was not
28:09really in it.
28:10It's impossible.
28:10It looks
28:11like the
28:12mother was
28:13totally not
28:13aware
28:14that her
28:15son was
28:15still alive
28:16in London.
28:17And he
28:18had
28:18no contact
28:20with her
28:20once he
28:21was in
28:22England.
28:22Oh dear.
28:25What happened
28:26to Rachel?
28:27Well,
28:28she died
28:28in Amsterdam
28:29in 1812
28:31and she
28:32and her
28:33children
28:33are buried
28:34in Amsterdam.
28:36Where did
28:37Abraham and
28:38Rachel
28:38come from?
28:40We can
28:40research that
28:41when we
28:41find the
28:43marriage.
28:44I will
28:44show you.
28:45Go on then.
28:45I'll show you
28:46that one.
28:47speedy
28:48Gonzales.
28:52June has
28:53uncovered
28:53the fate
28:54of Isaac's
28:54parents,
28:55Rachel and
28:56Abraham.
28:57Now she
28:58wants to
28:58delve further
28:59back to
29:00earlier
29:00generations.
29:05so what I
29:06have here
29:06is a
29:07reference
29:07to
29:08the
29:08actual
29:09marriage
29:09of
29:10Abraham
29:10Bitton
29:11and his
29:12wife.
29:14I'm looking
29:15for my
29:15glasses.
29:16I won't be
29:16in it right.
29:17I've got them.
29:19I think
29:20you might
29:21be able
29:21to read
29:22it without.
29:2421st
29:24of May
29:251762
29:26Abraham
29:27Bitton
29:28from.
29:29Can you
29:30read this?
29:30Yes.
29:31Yes.
29:31What does
29:32it say?
29:33Well I said
29:34yes.
29:34I just
29:34said yes
29:35to be
29:36accommodating.
29:37But it
29:37looks like
29:38go to
29:38me.
29:39You should
29:40read it
29:40like this.
29:42There's
29:42written
29:42Livorno.
29:43And what
29:44does that
29:44mean?
29:44But that's
29:45the only place
29:45in Italy
29:46isn't it?
29:47In Italy.
29:47The town
29:48where he
29:48was born.
29:50Oh so
29:51he was
29:51Italian.
29:53And she
29:54is written
29:55here.
29:55Rachel
29:56Rodriguez
29:56from
29:57Amsterdam.
29:59And here
30:00you see
30:00their
30:00signatures.
30:02So this
30:03is the
30:03father of
30:03Isaac.
30:04Well that's
30:05very good
30:05because they
30:05were literate.
30:06See that's
30:07unusual at
30:08that time
30:09because very
30:09often people
30:10couldn't write
30:11and they
30:11signed their
30:12name with
30:13a cross.
30:13Yeah.
30:14Or with
30:15a circle.
30:16In the
30:16Netherlands
30:16Jews very
30:18rarely used
30:19a cross
30:19when they
30:20couldn't
30:20write.
30:21Oh you
30:21mean that
30:22sort of
30:22cross.
30:22They
30:23didn't like
30:24very much
30:24what the
30:25cross had
30:25done to
30:26them.
30:26So the
30:27man who
30:28came to
30:29England
30:30he came
30:30from the
30:31Netherlands
30:32but he
30:33was born
30:33in Italy.
30:34In Italy.
30:34I always
30:35said I
30:35was a
30:35mongrel.
30:38Where do
30:39we go
30:40not from
30:41where do
30:41we go
30:41backwards
30:42from here
30:42we go
30:43backwards.
30:45Harmon has
30:45one final
30:46document
30:46connected
30:47to Abraham
30:47for June
30:48to see.
30:49So you
30:50see this
30:51letter
30:52dated 1764
30:54says that
30:56there is
30:56confirmation
30:57of his
30:57birth in
30:59Italy in
31:00Livorno
31:00with an
31:01exact date
31:0125th of
31:02June 1732
31:04and names
31:05of his
31:05parents
31:06Joseph
31:06and Simcha
31:07Bitton
31:08in Livorno.
31:09That's
31:09the mother.
31:10Yes.
31:11And this
31:12part is
31:13even more
31:14interesting.
31:15This is
31:16by two
31:16other guys
31:17who confirm
31:18that Abraham
31:19the son of
31:20Joseph Bitton
31:22who now
31:23lives in the
31:24city of
31:25Amsterdam
31:26that he
31:27really is
31:28from the
31:29Nacion
31:30Espanola
31:31the Spanish
31:32nation
31:32and that
31:34his
31:35grandfather
31:36Isaac
31:38Bitton
31:40was
31:41from the
31:42city of
31:43Oran.
31:45Where's that?
31:47In the
31:48north of
31:48Africa.
31:50Africa?
31:51In Algeria.
31:53Nowadays
31:53Algeria.
31:54Algeria.
31:55And at
31:56that time
31:57it was
31:58Spanish
31:59ruled.
32:01Oh right.
32:02But it
32:03says that
32:04the whole
32:04family
32:05was
32:05expulsado
32:06was
32:07expelled
32:08together
32:09with all
32:10the Jews
32:10todos los
32:12Hebreos
32:12in the
32:13year
32:141669.
32:16So all
32:16the Jews
32:17were expelled
32:18from that
32:19town.
32:20Because of
32:20faith?
32:21That faith?
32:21Yes.
32:22Oh.
32:39June has
32:40now traced
32:41her
32:41bitten
32:41ancestors
32:42back to
32:431669
32:43to the
32:44North African
32:45city of
32:45Iran
32:46when it
32:46was under
32:47Spanish
32:47rule.
32:49But before
32:50she can
32:50pursue this
32:51new
32:51information
32:51there is
32:52one place
32:53she still
32:53wants to
32:54visit
32:54in Holland.
32:57Amsterdam's
32:57Sephardic
32:58cemetery is
32:58just outside
32:59of the city
32:59on a tributary
33:01of the Amstel
33:02River.
33:03June is
33:04now on her
33:04way there
33:05to see if
33:05she can find
33:06the grave of
33:06Isaac's mother
33:07Rachel,
33:08June's great
33:09great great
33:10great grandmother.
33:12They must
33:13have lived
33:13always on
33:14edge.
33:16Their fortunes
33:17fell and
33:18rose and
33:19fell and
33:19unfortunately
33:20fell more
33:21than they
33:21rose.
33:22I think
33:23this must
33:24have been
33:24particularly
33:24hard for
33:25Rachel when
33:26she was
33:26left.
33:28It's like
33:29being widowed.
33:30There is
33:31the hole
33:32there somehow.
33:33You miss
33:34the familiarity
33:35of it,
33:36the pattern
33:36of it,
33:37the routine
33:37of it.
33:39I think
33:40it must
33:41be
33:41dreadful
33:41not to
33:42know what
33:42happened
33:43to your
33:43son.
33:44She couldn't
33:45get across
33:46the channel.
33:46It was
33:46blockaded
33:47and there
33:48wasn't a
33:48telephone
33:49and you
33:50couldn't
33:51make a
33:51call and
33:52how did
33:52you know
33:52how they
33:53were?
33:53It must
33:53have been
33:53she must
33:54have lived
33:55her life
33:55in constant
33:56worry.
34:01By
34:02tradition
34:02the dead
34:03are carried
34:03to Beth
34:04Haim
34:04Cemetery
34:04by boat.
34:10Hello.
34:13May I
34:13hand you
34:14those?
34:18Opened in
34:18the early
34:1917th century,
34:20the cemetery
34:21is still
34:21used and
34:22cared for
34:23by Amsterdam's
34:24Sephardic
34:24community.
34:31That's only
34:32that's
34:33ten years
34:34later.
34:35June's
34:35sorting
34:36through the
34:36cemetery's
34:37records to
34:37find Rachel
34:38and any
34:38of her
34:39children who
34:39may have
34:40been buried
34:40here.
34:41bittern.
34:43Ah, we've
34:44got Rachel.
34:4621st of
34:47July,
34:491812.
34:50And the
34:51bittern is
34:52only spelt
34:52with one
34:53T.
34:54Well, that
34:55must be
34:55the mother.
34:57Oh, a
34:58child who
34:59died at
34:59two months
35:00old.
35:01Oh, dear.
35:03And this
35:03is a
35:03brother.
35:05And he
35:05was two
35:06when he
35:06died.
35:07So,
35:08he's
35:09died.
35:09But he's
35:10died as
35:11well.
35:12Of course,
35:12they all
35:13died in
35:13here.
35:14This
35:15one died
35:15in
35:1696.
35:18So, she
35:19lost that
35:20daughter.
35:21This
35:22one, born
35:2369, Abigail,
35:25a daughter,
35:26a pretty
35:27name, died
35:291812.
35:30So, she
35:31died the
35:32same time
35:32as her
35:34mother.
35:35So, we've
35:36got 1812.
35:38Mother
35:38and daughter
35:39died in
35:40the same
35:40year.
35:41Oh, well,
35:43the daughter
35:44died first.
35:45Abigail died
35:46on the 26th
35:47of January
35:47and her
35:48mother died
35:49on the
35:5021st of
35:51July.
35:52So, she
35:53was left
35:53all on
35:54her own.
35:55She was the
35:56last one
35:57to die.
35:58And she'd
35:59lost her
35:59daughter.
36:04perhaps she died
36:05heartbroken
36:06when her
36:06last child
36:07died.
36:08Nothing
36:08left to
36:09live for.
36:10Oh, dear.
36:13What a sad
36:14life.
36:18Beth
36:19Himes'
36:19caretaker,
36:20Dennis
36:20Orderdorp,
36:21is taking
36:21June to
36:22the place
36:22where
36:23Rachel was
36:23buried.
36:25The mother
36:26was left
36:26alone.
36:27She was
36:27the last
36:28one to
36:28die.
36:29She'd
36:30got
36:30Isaac,
36:31but she
36:31didn't
36:31know
36:31that.
36:32He
36:32was
36:32in
36:32England.
36:34If
36:35they
36:35were
36:35wealthy,
36:36they
36:36would have
36:36a stone.
36:37And if
36:38they were
36:38not
36:38wealthy,
36:39then they
36:39wouldn't
36:40have
36:40a stone.
36:42Of
36:42field
36:421763,
36:44this is
36:45row
36:458.
36:46and
36:47Rachel
36:48was
36:48buried
36:48in
36:48row
36:496.
36:49Right.
36:50So that
36:50must be
36:51somewhere
36:52here.
36:53Right.
36:55Row
36:567.
36:57Row
36:577 is
36:58about
36:58there,
36:59yes.
36:59And
36:59somewhere
37:00here
37:00must be
37:01row
37:016.
37:03Row
37:036.
37:06So we
37:06could be
37:07standing
37:07on her
37:08grave,
37:09yes.
37:11Well,
37:12I'm going
37:12to imagine
37:13that her
37:13grave is
37:14here.
37:14Where
37:15would her
37:15head
37:15be
37:16in
37:16this
37:16row?
37:17On the
37:18side we
37:18are
37:18standing
37:19now.
37:19This
37:20side?
37:20And the
37:21feet
37:21upwards.
37:22So it
37:22goes that
37:23way?
37:24Right.
37:24So we
37:24are here.
37:28Would you like
37:28to leave me
37:29alone for a
37:29moment?
37:30No,
37:30of course,
37:30I do
37:31understand.
37:39Hello,
37:40Rachel,
37:42dear
37:43great,
37:44great,
37:44great,
37:44great,
37:45great
37:45grandmother.
37:47I have
37:48come to
37:49visit you,
37:50which you
37:51never expected.
37:52And I'm
37:53going to
37:54show you
37:54what happened
37:56to your
37:57only living
37:58child when
38:00you died.
38:01Well,
38:02this is he,
38:03and he
38:04became famous.
38:06He was a
38:06champion
38:07bare-knuckle
38:08fighter.
38:08So you
38:09would have
38:09been very
38:10proud of
38:10him.
38:11So where
38:12is the
38:13sun?
38:13There.
38:14And I
38:14brought you
38:15a flower
38:15from him,
38:15and wherever
38:16the sun
38:17goes,
38:17that face
38:18will track
38:18it.
38:19So may
38:19your face
38:20always be
38:20beside the
38:21sun.
38:22And this
38:23I will
38:23place in
38:24front.
38:25I don't
38:25suppose it
38:26will be
38:26there long.
38:27And according
38:28to the
38:29Jewish
38:29custom,
38:30I have
38:31brought
38:31you a
38:32stone,
38:33which,
38:34believe it
38:34or not,
38:35has got a
38:35little face
38:36on it.
38:37I'm sure
38:37you were
38:38prettier,
38:39but there
38:39she is.
38:41That is
38:42on your
38:42sun.
38:50I feel
38:51a kind
38:51of affinity
38:52with this
38:52Rachel,
38:53partly because
38:54of the amount
38:56of children
38:56that she had,
38:57partly because
38:57she named
38:58two of her
39:00children,
39:00I think it
39:01was,
39:01when the
39:01first one
39:02died with
39:03the same
39:03name,
39:03and I
39:04did the
39:05same.
39:05I had a
39:06premature
39:06baby that
39:07died when
39:07she was
39:0816 days
39:08old,
39:09and I
39:09named
39:09her
39:09Chloe.
39:10And then
39:11I had
39:11Sophie,
39:12and then
39:12I had
39:13William,
39:13and the
39:14next one
39:15I called
39:15Chloe again.
39:17And of
39:18course I've
39:19lost one
39:20child.
39:21My mother
39:21lost two
39:22children.
39:23She had
39:23five,
39:23and I
39:24had six,
39:24I suppose.
39:25And this,
39:26how many
39:27has she
39:27lost,
39:28all of
39:28them in
39:29the end?
39:29And she
39:30was widowed,
39:31and I
39:32am twice
39:33widowed.
39:34And so I
39:35do feel
39:35very much
39:36that I
39:36understand
39:36what it
39:37must have
39:38been like
39:38for her
39:38when she
39:39was left
39:39at the
39:39very end
39:40with no
39:41children,
39:42no
39:42husband.
39:43I'm
39:43quite sure
39:44she gave
39:44up.
39:47And I
39:48should think
39:48she'd had
39:48enough.
39:50I think
39:51you can
39:52almost will
39:53tell yourself
39:53to die.
40:04She at
40:05least knows
40:05that she
40:05had one
40:06son living
40:08at the
40:08time of
40:09her death
40:09who became
40:10successful
40:12and was
40:13charismatic
40:14and very
40:15well liked.
40:18now there
40:19is
40:19success.
40:22Bye.
40:26It won't
40:27last long,
40:27the photograph,
40:30but she's
40:31seen it.
40:37June has
40:38traced her
40:39bitten
40:39family's
40:40line from
40:40the East
40:40End to
40:41the heart
40:41of Amsterdam's
40:42Sephardic
40:43community.
40:45To follow
40:45these
40:46Sephardic
40:46routes any
40:47further,
40:48June has
40:48to step
40:49back a
40:49century earlier
40:50and trace
40:51the journey
40:51that her
40:52family made
40:52from Iran
40:53in North
40:54Africa when
40:55it was under
40:55Spanish
40:56imperial rule.
41:02June has
41:02travelled to
41:03mainland Spain
41:04where records
41:05of its time
41:06under the
41:06Spanish are
41:06kept.
41:13Spanish.
41:19She's
41:20starting her
41:21journey in
41:21Madrid,
41:22once the
41:23capital of the
41:24largest empire
41:25in the world.
41:28I've been to
41:29Spain before,
41:30not to Madrid,
41:31and it gives
41:33the sense that
41:34Spain had a
41:35big empire,
41:37enormous empire.
41:44June is in
41:45pursuit of
41:46another
41:46Isaac,
41:47her great-great-
41:49great-great-
41:50great-great-
41:51grandfather.
41:52She knows
41:53this Isaac
41:54was expelled
41:54from Iran
41:55in modern-day
41:56Algeria
41:56in 1669.
42:00I might
42:01be able
42:01to find
42:02out more
42:02about my
42:03Sephardic
42:04roots,
42:05what happened
42:07to those
42:08particular Jews
42:09because that
42:10is a very
42:11interesting thing
42:12to be part
42:13of.
42:16When June's
42:17ancestor was
42:18living in the
42:18North African
42:19Spanish outpost,
42:21religious
42:21intolerance
42:22raged.
42:25For more
42:26than two
42:26centuries,
42:27Spain had
42:27aggressively
42:28expanded its
42:29empire.
42:30As it
42:31grew,
42:31a zealous
42:32Catholicism
42:33was branded
42:33on its new
42:34territories.
42:35A tribunal
42:36was set up
42:37to enforce
42:38adherence
42:38to this
42:39Catholic
42:39doctrine
42:40that's
42:40become
42:41known
42:41as the
42:42Spanish
42:42Inquisition.
42:44In Spain,
42:46Jews faced
42:46the onslaught
42:47of this
42:48Catholic
42:48zeal.
42:49They were
42:49offered a
42:50choice,
42:50leave,
42:51convert,
42:52or face
42:53death.
42:56The Spanish
42:57captured Iran
42:58in 1509.
43:01Remarkably,
43:01in this
43:02North African
43:02town,
43:03just a day's
43:04sale from
43:04mainland
43:04Spain,
43:05the small
43:06Jewish
43:07community
43:07was
43:07tolerated
43:08and even
43:09permitted
43:09to practice
43:10their faith.
43:12The area
43:13surrounding
43:14Iran was
43:14rich with
43:15fertile ground
43:16and Jews
43:17were put to
43:18use brokering
43:18deals for
43:19the abundant
43:20crops between
43:21the local
43:21Berber farmers
43:22and Spanish
43:23buyers.
43:35the largest
43:36collection of
43:36documents
43:37connected to
43:38the Jewish
43:38presence in
43:39Iran is
43:40held in
43:40royal archives
43:41north of
43:42Madrid in
43:44the town
43:44of Simankas.
43:53June is
43:54here to
43:55meet Dr.
43:55Francois
43:56Soyer,
43:57an expert in
43:58the history of
43:58the persecution
43:59of the Jews
43:59in Spain.
44:05Ah,
44:06you must be
44:07Francois
44:07Soyer.
44:08Hello,
44:08June.
44:09You know
44:09my name.
44:10Sit down,
44:11shall I?
44:12Sit down.
44:13These are
44:14rather beautiful.
44:15It is.
44:15It's a beautiful
44:16watercolour,
44:16isn't it?
44:17This is a
44:18map of
44:20the western
44:21Mediterranean,
44:22yes.
44:22Looks like a
44:23pretty picture
44:23to me.
44:24On the
44:25upper side
44:25of this
44:26map is
44:27the
44:27Mediterranean
44:28coast of
44:28Spain,
44:29the
44:29Hina
44:30Alicante,
44:32in the
44:32middle,
44:33Mallorca,
44:34Ibiza,
44:34and here
44:35at the
44:36bottom,
44:36what is
44:36today
44:37Algeria,
44:38known back
44:38in the
44:3817th century
44:39as the
44:39Barbary
44:40Coast,
44:41and Oran
44:42here,
44:43this town
44:43on this
44:44side.
44:45Yes,
44:45thank you.
44:46And what is
44:47that?
44:47That is
44:48a more
44:49detailed map
44:50of Iran,
44:52drawn actually
44:54in 1675.
44:56The town is
44:57surrounded by
44:58walls.
44:59It's very much
45:00a military
45:01outpost.
45:01It's got
45:02hostile Muslim
45:04outposts all
45:06around it.
45:07Now, the
45:07Jews in Iran
45:08had this
45:09rather peculiar
45:09existence,
45:10never fully
45:11trusted by the
45:13Spaniards,
45:14very much
45:15forced to live
45:16in their own
45:16little area,
45:18seen as
45:19potential double
45:20agents,
45:21maybe working
45:22for the Muslims
45:22as much as
45:23they were
45:23working for
45:24the Spaniards.
45:25Francois has
45:26a document
45:27which will
45:27give June a
45:28clue to
45:28Isaac's life
45:29and that
45:30of his
45:31father,
45:31a second
45:32Abraham.
45:33Now, this
45:34is from the
45:35Royal Archives.
45:37I'm going to
45:37get slightly
45:38round nearer
45:40you, and we
45:41can both read
45:42at the same
45:42time.
45:43Its date is
45:44from...
45:45What language
45:45is it?
45:46It's in Spanish.
45:47Oh, I don't
45:47think I'll bother,
45:48you can tell me
45:49about it.
45:49I'll give you
45:49a translation
45:50of it.
45:50Its date
45:51is from
45:521637,
45:52and what
45:53it's telling
45:53is, is that
45:54in that year,
45:55two Jews
45:56from Iran
45:57asked for
45:58the right
45:58to trade
46:00in Spain,
46:00and this
46:01is exactly
46:01what the
46:01documents say.
46:02So,
46:03Sadia
46:03Elike
46:04and Abraham
46:06Ben-Bottom,
46:07Jews...
46:07What's that
46:08name again?
46:09Ben-Bottom?
46:10Ben-Bottom.
46:11Ben-Bottom.
46:13The name
46:13has changed.
46:14Yep.
46:15And the
46:15bottom here
46:15is probably
46:16a Spanish
46:18sort of...
46:19a transliteration
46:20of what
46:20the original
46:21name would
46:21have been.
46:22Is this
46:22Abraham
46:23related to
46:24me?
46:24The names
46:25are so
46:25similar.
46:26Uh-huh.
46:28Abraham,
46:28Ben-Bottom,
46:30Isaac,
46:30Bitton,
46:32there should
46:34be almost
46:34no doubt
46:34that they
46:35are related.
46:36Abraham
46:37was probably
46:39his father.
46:40Ah.
46:40So,
46:41these two
46:41Jews have
46:42asked the
46:42Crown
46:43for the
46:43right to
46:44come to
46:45Spain
46:45for their
46:46business
46:46dealings.
46:47Mm-hmm.
46:48Jews are
46:48not allowed
46:48to go to
46:49Spain normally.
46:50No.
46:51In fact,
46:51there's a death
46:51penalty against
46:53any Jews who
46:54were to be
46:54found in
46:55Spain without
46:56any proper
46:57authorisation.
47:04As a trader
47:05in Iran,
47:06Isaac's father
47:07Abraham needed
47:08to travel to
47:09Spain to
47:10broker deals.
47:11officials.
47:13But under the
47:14rules of the
47:14fanatical
47:15inquisition,
47:16any Jew
47:17found in
47:18Spain without
47:18proper
47:19authority
47:19faced
47:20torture
47:21or
47:22execution.
47:25The permit
47:26granted to
47:27Abraham allowed
47:28him to travel
47:29in Spain
47:29safely.
47:32effectively,
47:33they were asking
47:33for a visa
47:34to come to
47:35Spain.
47:36And it had
47:37to go all
47:37the way to
47:38the king.
47:38And they
47:39had to wait
47:39for his
47:40authorisation.
47:41This bit
47:41here is
47:43the king's...
47:44The initials,
47:45I think.
47:46Exactly.
47:46This was
47:47Philip IV.
47:49Document's
47:49also very
47:50interesting
47:50because both
47:51Sadia
47:52Elike and
47:53Abraham
47:53Ben
47:54Botten
47:55are portrayed
47:56as good
47:57Jews.
47:57They're
47:58descendants of
47:59Jews who
48:00helped Spain
48:00when the town
48:01was captured.
48:02And Abraham
48:03Ben Botten
48:03is one of the
48:04most senior
48:05members of the
48:05local synagogue.
48:06When the
48:07Spanish
48:07Sephardi is
48:07asked for a
48:08list of the
48:08most prominent
48:09Jews in
48:091656,
48:11he is
48:11definitely
48:11there.
48:12The best
48:13place to
48:14go in
48:14Spain is
48:14probably Toledo
48:15in central
48:16Spain.
48:17Why is
48:17that?
48:18Well,
48:19it has
48:19probably the
48:20best preserved
48:21medieval
48:22Sephardic
48:23synagogue.
48:23in the
48:25western
48:25Mediterranean.
48:26And I
48:27would
48:27heartily
48:27recommend
48:28you go
48:28there.
48:32Once
48:33again,
48:33June has
48:34uncovered a
48:34father and
48:35son.
48:36Another
48:37Abraham and
48:38another
48:38Isaac living
48:39in Iran in
48:40the mid-17th
48:41century.
48:48What she
48:48has not yet
48:49uncovered is
48:50evidence to
48:51explain why
48:52the Ben
48:52Botton family
48:53fell out of
48:54favor with
48:54the Spanish
48:54court,
48:55resulting in
48:56the expulsion
48:57of Abraham
48:57and Isaac
48:58in 1669.
49:01How did
49:01they go from
49:02being the
49:03good Jews of
49:03Iran to
49:05being cast
49:05out?
49:14Abraham was a
49:15Sephardic Jew,
49:17which of course
49:18makes me Sephardi
49:19makes me Sephardi,
49:20a fact of which I'm
49:20rather proud.
49:22He came from
49:23Iran in
49:26Algeria, which was a
49:27Spanish property, it
49:28was a fortress town.
49:30They had been there for
49:31years, but suddenly they
49:33were all expelled.
49:35Whether it was just a
49:36general pogrom or whether
49:38there was a particular
49:39reason is what I hope to
49:41find out.
49:44During the violent years of
49:45the Inquisition, few
49:47synagogues were spared.
49:49Many were converted to
49:50churches, others looted or
49:52destroyed.
49:54Remarkably, here in
49:55Toledo, the 14th century
49:57Synagogue del Transito
49:58survived the onslaught of the
50:00Inquisition.
50:21It's very hard not being at
50:22the Jewish faith, but
50:23coming from Jewish roots.
50:26I see both sides, I
50:28suppose, and I suppose that's
50:29what we should all do.
50:32I don't understand
50:33religious wars.
50:35That is where we all go
50:36wrong.
50:44At the synagogue, June's
50:46meeting Spanish language
50:47scholar Michael Britton.
50:50He's translated a document
50:52written in 1670, a year
50:55after the Jews were
50:56expelled from Iran.
51:00It's not exactly brief, is
51:01it?
51:02But it says, brief account
51:03and abridged summary of the
51:07complete expulsion of the
51:09Jews from the Jewish
51:10quarter of the city of Iran
51:11due to the Catholic zeal of
51:13the most excellent
51:14Senor Don Fernando.
51:16And then it lists, these
51:17these are all his name, this
51:20governor of Iran.
51:21So this is written by the
51:23captain of the place on his
51:24behalf and within it we can
51:27see what happened and we can
51:28see things about the Jewish
51:30community of the time which
51:31Abraham and Isaac lived in and
51:34what happened to them.
51:35But it's effectively a
51:36propaganda document and it's
51:38very one-sided.
51:39Is this to excuse the reason
51:41why they expelled the Jews from
51:43Iran?
51:45And our protagonist in all of
51:46this, the Marquess, he's going to
51:49carve himself out a glorious deed.
51:56In 1667, the politically ambitious
51:58Marquess de los Velez, governor of
52:01Iran, saw an opportunity to bolster his
52:03position in the Spanish court.
52:06He knew that any move against the
52:08Jews would be popular with the
52:10Catholic monarchy and powerful
52:12inquisition.
52:15The theme that goes throughout
52:16this document is the utilidad, the
52:18usefulness of the Jews.
52:20What is their usefulness?
52:21And the language is quite shocking
52:24really.
52:25It's at every opportunity there's a
52:28negative term applied to the
52:30Jewish people.
52:31It's this one here, the
52:34the bad weed that grows in the
52:36wheat field, which Satan had
52:38introduced there to Iran.
52:39A stain which had spread so much
52:42and which is of dangerous
52:44contagion, not only to the
52:46faithful Christians, but also for
52:50these kingdoms.
52:53The Marquess advised the Spanish
52:55court that the small Jewish
52:57community of Iran no longer served
52:59any valuable purpose.
53:02their expulsion was recommended.
53:07The Marquess is saying to the
53:08Spanish court, this must be done
53:10secretly, the Jews mustn't find out
53:11what's going to happen in case they
53:12run rings round us and cause some
53:16revolt or something.
53:17Uprising, yes, that's a lovely word.
53:18And then the big day comes and then the
53:21actual expulsion is read out.
53:24As the last words of this Catholic and
53:27holy edict were delivered, the
53:29unhappy ones against whom the
53:30proclamation had been made, of which
53:32there were many present, being left both
53:34sad, disheartened and confused.
53:37I think we can really glimpse, you know,
53:41even the person writing it can see
53:42that this must have been a terrible
53:44moment for them.
53:46Yeah.
53:46And amongst these are Itak and Abraham.
53:51And Abraham.
53:52Because the arrangement is that they
53:53are given eight days in which to tidy
53:56everything up, settle their affairs and
53:59leave.
53:59They're not just taken in the night.
54:02No, they're not just taken in the night.
54:03They're time to sort things out.
54:04Off to a concentration camp.
54:05But they do have a week.
54:07And they're leaving their houses.
54:09They're leaving their houses, the place
54:11that they've been settled in, some of
54:12them, for 150 years.
54:14Yes.
54:14It's a big thing.
54:17On the 16th of April, 1669, the
54:20expulsion of the Jews from the city
54:22began.
54:24Summoned in secret by the Marquis, a
54:26small fleet of ships lay anchored off
54:28the shore below the town.
54:31Among them, a single 500-tonne vessel
54:34he deemed large enough to hold all the
54:36Jewish people of Iran.
54:38The Marquis readied his men at the gates
54:41of the Jewish quarter and ordered the
54:43Jews to leave their homes.
54:46So now Abraham and Isaac are going to be
54:48coming out of their house.
54:50They were ordered to leave the said Jewish
54:52quarter, which was their greatest pain and
54:54sorrow.
54:56And at the appropriate time, the march began
54:58down to find where the ships were.
55:00The vanguard occupied by beautiful horses,
55:02accompanied by drums and trumpets, symbolizing
55:05in form the dignity of the illustrious and
55:08loyal city of Iran.
55:09And in the middle was the standard of the
55:10Holy Court of the Inquisition.
55:11Spanish, every captain.
55:12These were all Spanish people who were having the
55:15bands and all this pomp and ceremony.
55:18It's like an old boys club.
55:19And the Jews lollied behind.
55:21The Jews.
55:21If you imagine it yourself, what it would be
55:23like just to leave everything behind.
55:26And you don't know where you're going.
55:28No.
55:28And then the most excellent Lord Marquess led them down.
55:32Whereupon they reached the beach, though they were laden with
55:34clothes and furniture, which they sold with greater avarice, he
55:39says, wishing to take away the money.
55:42So they were selling this on the beaches?
55:44It sounds like that.
55:46Like a garage sale.
55:48Yes.
55:48And these were the small things.
55:49And this is their actual possessions.
55:52So we're getting a picture of quite a scene, isn't it?
55:57Of everybody going down there.
55:59And it says here it took all day long.
56:01They're being received aboard 466 people.
56:05It says, His Excellency the Marquess, though the passage of the
56:09Jews onto the ship took most of the day, remained at the spit of land by
56:13the water without alighting, nor disbanding the squadron, until he saw
56:17that abhorrent people fully disembarked from the beach.
56:22And we know that from Oran, which is just, you can just see it there.
56:29I can barely see it.
56:31I can't see it.
56:32There's an O-R-A-N.
56:33If you go from the A of Barbary, you go up a bit.
56:35This one there is Oran.
56:37Right.
56:38And then they were taken up to Nice.
56:44And they've only allowed the richest people to stay there.
56:50And 300 were not allowed to disembark.
56:55And amongst those 300 were...
56:57Abraham and Isaac and their families.
56:59Exactly.
57:00And they went on to...
57:01They went on to round the corner here.
57:06It's got a G in those days.
57:09Livorno, Livorno, in Italy.
57:13And that is where the next one I know, Joseph, who was the son of Isaac, lived and died.
57:21And his son, Abraham, went to Amsterdam.
57:29It's quite a story.
57:41They talk about the wandering dew, and they seem to have wandered all the time.
57:45They couldn't put down any roots, not really, because they were constantly torn up and they had to move on.
57:52And it must have been an exceedingly worrying life.
57:59Belonging to the Sephardic tribe, you know, I do think that it maybe is the reason why some collective consciousness,
58:09some distant race memory makes me think, but I have to be settled.
58:15I don't like being unsettled.
58:18I don't like not knowing where I'm going or what I'm doing or when.
58:23I don't know whether it's just me and the way I was born or whether it's something of a memory
58:28of being moved on.
58:32I feel more connected.
58:35A consolidation, I think, of my Jewishness.
58:40Like being a member of a family.
58:47Like being a member of a family.
58:48Like being a member of a family.
58:50Like making a member of a family.
58:55Like making a member of a family.
59:02였я is the tribe and a father.
59:02And Southern is a don't like the family.
59:03On the other campus, 대학 is on the Aoife.
59:03A Khalid an Kiss Gardener.
59:06However, I think one of the scener군요 .
59:06So many people in those systems are going to be successful.
59:06And theütfenjan's every particularitionally did not have anotherolan.
59:06As I Warden was also agreed to use that maneuvering to the manufacturer with the confidence.
59:06And it was going to be given a story.
59:07And it felt the source for you as they really did in the class of it.
59:15You