Portugal, a country that has a terrible history of Jewish persecution, is now trying to right the wrong by reaching out to Jewish communities abroad. The Tourism Secretary, Ana Mendes Godinho, is encouraging Jews to both visit and consider living in Portugal. 

During a recent tour of America, she met with community leaders in New York and California, stating: “We have a vast Jewish heritage and a very ancient and profound connection to Jewish communities, with evidence of a Jewish presence in Portugal since 390 AD. We identified as a priority the promoting of the Jewish Legacy in Portugal…It is quite interesting to remember that in the 15th century, circa 20% of the Portuguese population was Jewish, so we always say that every Portuguese may have a Jewish origin.”

She is correct about that, but seems to be glossing over what happened to those people and why the Portuguese Jewish community almost ceased to exist entirely: An Inquisition that forcibly tried to convert Jews, exiled Jews and eventually killed Jews who wanted to maintain their heritage and faith. 

The Inquisition is a very shameful chapter in Spanish/Portuguese history. Most surprising of all, it wasn’t officially ended until 1821! (It started back in the late 1400’s.) The first post-Inquisition synagogue was not founded until 1836 and today, in 2018, the estimated Portuguese Jewish population is less than 2,000 individuals. 

Current governments are not responsible for the actions of their predecessors, of course, and I am genuinely impressed that Portugal is willing to make an effort with the Jewish community. The Tourism Secretary has gone to great lengths to reach out and that’s admirable.

Jews of Sephardic descent whose ancestors were persecuted and exiled during the Spanish Inquisition and/or subsequent Portuguese Inquisition have been able to acquire Portuguese citizenship since 2013. A few thousand have chosen to do so, but there isn’t a huge interest for obvious reasons. 

Personally, I’d be willing to visit Portugal. Living there, however, would be a different story. I’m not convinced it’s a safe area for Jews, given the complicated history of the region. That said, anyone who wants relocate should have the opportunity and I’m glad the Portuguese government has made that an option.