During the Middle Ages Jewish culture flourished on the Iberian Peninsula, largely under Islamic rule at the time. After being driven out of Spain in 1492, these Sephardic Jews found themselves new centres in Antwerp, Amsterdam and Thessalonica, the so-called ‘Jerusalem of the Balkans’, and became the most important branch of Judaism alongside the Ashkenazic Jews of Central Europe. Georg Bossong provides a vivid description of Sephardic history and culture from ancient times. He also explains how they were affected by the Holocaust and describes how their culture lives on in Israel and in other countries.