Spain has appointed six Israeli academics to the prestigious Royal Spanish Academy. Among this illustrious list is Prof. Emeritus Jacob Bentolila, former chair of BGU’s Department of Hebrew Language.
This exciting marks the first time in history the Spanish Academy has decided to recognize the cultural and historical significance of Sephardic Jewry.
Born in Tetuan, Morocco, Prof. Bentolila immigrated to Israel and became an expert in the languages of Ladino (Jewish-Spanish) and Haketia (Jewish-Moroccan). He chaired the Department of Hebrew Language at BGU from 1974 to 1975 and again from 1990 to 1992, and has been a member of the Academy of the Hebrew Language since 2004.
Scholars who are admitted as members of the Spanish Academy are elected by active members and, upon being chosen, become members for life.
The Academy’s timely acknowledgement of people like Prof. Bentolila’s contributions to academia sends a powerful message of support to the Israeli institutions of higher learning, and a blow to those attempting to undermine them.
The Israeli appointments in addition to Bentolila were: Prof. (Emeritus) Ora Schwarzwald, of the Department of Hebrew and Semitic Languages of Bar-Ilan University; professors Aldina Quintana and David M. Bunis of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Prof. Eleazar Gutwirth of Tel Aviv University; and Prof. Moises Orfali, of the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at Bar-Ilan University.
