SEFARAD. - A semiannual periodical deriving its title from the Jewish name for Spain.
It first appeared in 1941 as the organ of the « Instituto Arias Montano de estudios hebráicos y Oriente próximo » of Madrid and Barcelona, which since 1944 has devoted itself exclusively to Jewish studies, with three sections: a) Hebrew-biblical section; b) Hebrew-Spanish section; c) Near Eastern section (of an auxiliary character). Of these, the most important is the second, which deals with the literature, language, history, sciences, and arts of the Jews of Spain. It benefits from the rich collection of Jewish manuscripts at the Escorial and from archaeological discoveries, and even carries out excavations of Jewish necropolises. Among non-Jewish journals, it is the only one devoted almost exclusively to the study of an important period in the millennial history of the chosen people, and it is the pioneer of Spanish Orientalism with regard to the ancient East.