CASTRILLO MATAJUDIOS , Spain, April 14 (UPI) -- Families in a Spanish village who have been living with the name Castrillo Matajudios (Kill Jews) since the Spanish Inquisition may finally be changing their town’s name back to what it was originally, Castrillo Mota de Judios (Jews Hill).

The 60 resident families will meet at a town hall meeting to discuss the proposed name change next week.


According to Haaretz, area residents often say “killing Jews” when they are referring to “the traditional drinking of lemonade spiked with alcohol at festivals held in city squares at Easter, or drinking in general.”

Organizers of a Good Friday fiesta estimate that 40,000 gallons of lemonade will be sold during the event.

"Frankly it doesn't surprise me that there's a village called Kill the Jews, though it's pretty disgusting that it's taken them till now to think it might be a good idea to change it,” a Jewish American living in Spain told the Guardian. “There's a casual racism in Spain that no one here seems to notice but which is quite shocking to an outsider. People say 'he's a bit of a Jew' and stuff like that and no one seems to notice. Plus Spain is in complete denial about its Jewish and Muslim history."

Spain is home to about 12,000 Jews, compared with 290,000 in the U.K. and 478,000 in France.

[Haaretz] [The Guardian]