It is also spoken in Turkey.
With perhaps around 150,000 speakers left when once there were millions, it is considered under serious threat of extinction.
In a statement, the Royal Spanish Academy said the agreement “was a historic and emotional moment for Sephardic people from all over the world”.
David Hatchwell, president of the Hispano-Jewish foundation, described how Sephardim, "for 500 years, have made an effort to preserve a language that is the heritage of all Spanishness".
Shmuel Refael Vivante, a member of the Ladino National Authority, said the language had “served as a bridge between the Sephardim and is an element of necessary identification for this community".
Speaking at the closing session of the conference, Mr Kutner told the audience that “the creation of this academy in Israel will be an extraordinary step that will not only serve to boost philological studies on Judeo-Spanish, but will give it greater prestige in Spain, in Israel and in Spanish-speaking countries. "
