Hey guys! I'm Jeff Dirdack. I am a junior TVR major and writing minor. I play club lacrosse, I am involved in ICTV, and I produce all the online video content for a MMA fighting promotion called Gladius Fights. Check us out if you're into that kind of thing. I decided to take this class because I went to Israel on Birthright this summer and had an amazing time. I never felt so in touch with Judaism. Growing up the most Jewish thing about me was knowing all of my extended family was Jewish, and going to barmtitzvah's. While my parents never put me through Hebrew school i did always identify myself as Jewish.

Anyway,

In general the Sephardic Jews transitioned into the Ottoman Empire pretty smoothly. The Ottomans were very welcoming to the Sephardic Jews and sympathetic to their Expulsion from Spain. However, in the Balkan provinces of the ottoman Empire, there were some growing pains. When the Sephardic Jews arrived to the Balkan province, they found Romaniote Jews already living there. Many of the Jews that were kicked out of Spain were converted to Christianity, and many of them had a hard time communicating and living with the Romaniote Jews. The Romaniotes also did not adjust so easily to the new Sephardic Jews entering their cities, but due to their vast numbers had to take on many of the customs and even the language of the Spehardic Jews.