Residents of the Spanish village of Castrillo Matajudíos (Castrillo Kill the Jews) will hold a vote on Saturday on whether to rename the village something less offensive.
The small village’s 60 residents will vote on whether keep the town’s current name, or return it to its historical name of Castrillo Mota de Judíos (Castrillo Hill of the Jews), with the town mayor Lorenzo Rodríguez telling Diario de Burgos:
“The majority decision will be respected, if only by one vote”
The village’s original name, Castrillo Mota de Judíos, dates back to 1035 when Jews from nearby Castrojeriz found refuge in the area in the wake of a pogrom. However the Jews were expelled from Spain after the Alhambra Decree in 1492 and archaeologist Angel Palomino believes that those remaining in the village renamed it Matajudíos as a commitment of their Christian faith and a sign of support for the Catholic monarchy.
