La Vida en España (living in Spain) – part one by Jackie and Mike Jacobs “Why did you go to Spain?” is the question most commonly asked us, usually followed by “Why not Israel?” The answers to both questions are the same. We had visited both Israel and Southern Spain; we knew and liked both, but I (Mike) had studied Spanish at school and although I was no longer fluent, I was confident that I could pick it up again, whereas I do not speak Ivrit, and property prices in Spain were much cheaper than in Israel. So when it came to looking for a holiday apartment, the Costa del Sol was the logical choice. My job was becoming more and more stressful (working for a Jewish organisation, need I say more?) and the journey to and from work was getting more difficult, with more and more traffic on the roads. And of course, the English climate in winter is dreary and cold. We would go to Spain as often as possible, at least three times a year. The apartment was in a beautiful area called Duquesa, about 25 minutes’ walk from the marina and beach, about half an hour drive from Gibraltar, and 15 kilometres from Estepona; every time we went it was so peaceful and relaxing. Inevitably, the day came when I said “I’m fed up with London, I want to live in Spain”. Jackie was not so keen but she knew how much I wanted to go and she agreed. And so, after six months, in October 2007 we moved from London to live in Spain. Jackie: I couldn’t speak Spanish and the last thing I wanted to do was leave my friends and family in the UK and start to build a new life in Spain. Friends asked us what we would do in our retirement and wouldn’t we be bored? I asked myself the same questions. We went to Spain not knowing
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anyone there. But just before Rosh Hashana we read in the Jewish Chronicle about services being organised for Ashkenazim in the Marbella area with an email address for information. We had both been on the Board of Wembley Shul and we wanted to find out, and get involved with, what sort of Jewish life, if any, there was on the Costa. We knew there was a Shul in Marbella, of which more later, but it was primarily Sephardi and also 47 kilometres away from our flat. We contacted the address given and explained that we were moving to Spain, and the reply came back that we should contact a gentleman called Gerry Crest, with his email. To cut a long story short, we arranged to meet with Gerry at a Shabbat service organised by the then Chabad rabbi of Marbella in a hotel. I found out that Gerry, who had been President of his Shul in the UK for many years, had been in Spain for 15 years and had previously created a local Jewish Community but it had not lasted. Jackie and I got together with Gerry and his wife, Sharon, and we started by arranging a tea in a hotel in Estepona. We had no idea how many people would come. Gerry mentioned it to a few people he knew and we put a small advert in a local English newspaper. To our surprise, people were queuing round the block to get in. Around 200 people came, and they all said the same thing: “we didn’t know there were other Jewish people here.” Fortunately, we had prepared questionnaires to take contact information of those attending. That was the beginning of the Estepona Jewish Community (EJC). We spent a lot of time investigating the possibility and feasibility of
creating a Shul cum community centre but realised that (a) there were no suitable premises available and (b) it was not what the people there wanted and therefore they would not fund it. Those who wanted to belong to a Shul already did, i.e Marbella Synagogue. We held monthly Friday night services, followed by a kidddush and social, initially in Gerry’s house, then in various places including the Municipality’s Council meeting room which they kindly let us use at no cost. As most of the Jewish people living on the Costa del Sol had been members of Reform, Masorti or Liberal synagogues we had to make our Services suitable to their needs or they would simply not take part. We did end up teaching most people Kabbalat Shabbat songs. We also held many social events, including pool parties, afternoon teas, Jewish comedy evenings and music evenings, which were always very well attended. With a mailing list of more than 300 names, about half of whom had holiday homes in Spain, we had no problems selling out the events. Funds raised were given to local charities, particularly a cancer hospice. I mentioned Marbella Synagogue. This was founded in 1978 by the Ohayon family, who came from Morocco. They bought the land, which at that time was cheap because there was very little in the area, and they built a synagogue with a house above and adjoining, where they lived. They also built houses nearby for other family members. In Franco’s time – he was Dictator from 1939 to 1975 – no Synagogues were allowed to be built. This was the first synagogue in Andalucia (the southern region of
