crypto-Jew

plural crypto-Jews

1. A person who, while publicly converting to another religion (such as Christianity or Islam), secretly practices Judaism.

   Look at the Crypto-Jews, the Marranos, who for centuries lived a double life, outwardly Christians, but handing down secretly from generation to generation the faith, the traditions, the observances of Judaism.

   1914, Israel Zangwill, Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People

   1 more example

   Ms. Sheinbaum will legislate from buildings in downtown Mexico City near the Palace of the Inquisition, where crypto-Jews—a term used to describe Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity by the Spanish crown in the 15th century but continued to practice Judaism in secrecy—were tortured during the colonial period.

   2024 March 17, Ilan Stavans, “Will Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum, a Jewish Woman, Blaze a Trail or Follow One?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 01 Jun 2024