The organisation was founded in 1995 and its founding members were Cáceres, Córdoba, Girona, Hervás, Ribadavia, Segovia, Toledo and Tudela. Tortosa and Oviedo joined before the end of the century.[1] Barcelona and León joined in 2003, alongside Ávila and Jaén two years later.[3] In 2008 there was a significant expansion, with Besalú, Calahorra, Estella-Lizarra, Monforte de Lemos Plasencia and Tarazona joining.[4] Lucena became the 24th member in 2012, having first applied in 2003.[5]
In June 2016, the Catalan members Besalú, Castelló d'Empúries, Girona and Tortosa quit the organisation. These cities – where Jewish quarters are known as calls from a Hebrew term – saw the organisation as focused on tourism, while they considered education and research to be more important. The split made headlines in The New York Times and Israel's Haaretz.[6]
Seville, a member since 2011, also left in 2016. Mayor Juan Espadas saw membership as not financially viable.[7] Palma de Mallorca ended its 12-year membership in 2017 in order to put the €22,500 fee towards promoting its Jewish history independently.[8] Oviedo's membership ended in 2020 due to a €54,000 debt.[9]
Béjar, Lorca, Sagunto and Tui joined in 2019.[10]
.jpg)