Sephardi Jews, also known as Sephardic Jews or Sephardim (Hebrew: סְפָרַדִּים, Modern Hebrew: Sfaraddim, also יְהוּדֵי סְפָרַד Y'hudey Spharad, meaning "The Jews of Spain"), are a Jewish ethnic division. They emerged as a distinct community around 1000 AD on the Iberian Peninsula. Jews established communities throughout Spain and Portugal. Then in the late 15th century, when all Jews were expelled from Spain, they migrated and set up new communities in the countries of England, the Netherlands, North Africa, Anatolia, the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean), and the Balkan countries, as well as the Americas, where they kept their traditions and religious practices. For hundreds of years and through the 20th century, Sephardi Jews have continued to speak their Judeo-Spanish language commonly called Ladino, besides the language of their place of residence.
