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The global surge of antisemitism triggered by the October 7th Hamas massacre has impacted Jewish communities around the world, including in the northern Portuguese city of Oporto, where a renaissance of Jewish life has taken place over the past decade.
The head of the Jewish Community of Oporto, Gabriel Senderowicz, recently spoke with the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) about the rapid growth of the community and the contemporary challenges it faces in a country where there was almost no Jewish presence for 500 years following the Inquisition.
First, can you give an overview of what the Jews of Portugal have been experiencing since October 7th?
“In a nutshell, ten years ago there was no Jewish community here in Portugal. And now there is. Specifically, here in Oporto, the community grew exponentially from 50 members to over 1,000, and antisemitism grew together with this. So back then there were reports from the ADL that there was no antisemitism in Portugal, and this because there were no Jews. After October 7th, of course, antisemitism has been increasing here, in the media, and some vandalism at the synagogue, but the problems that the Jews face here in Portugal preceded October 7th.”
To get a little more specific, how does antisemitism manifest itself in Oporto and Portugal more broadly?
“Three days after October 7th, our synagogue in Oporto was vandalized. There was ‘End Israel Apartheid’ and ‘Free Palestine’ graffiti in front of the synagogue. So it was clearly linked local Jews to what was going on in the Middle East. Some weeks after that, our security saw a suspicious car filming our members when they were leaving the synagogue after Shabbat services. And of course the media is only portraying Israel and the Jews in a negative image.”
Going back to before October 7th, how does the Portuguese population generally view Israel?
“Very negative. The media here in Portugal always links Jews to negative things — to money, to trickery, to profits. For instance, we still have the national citizenship law for Sephardic descendants. And over all these years that the law has been in effect, the revenue that came with this law to the Jewish community enabled us to create a vast network of tzedakah, to invest in the community itself, and to promote Jewish life in Portugal and in the world. And none of this was reported by the media. Only when, in the beginning of 2022, the media saw an opportunity to create a scandal, they began to report that the Jewish Community of Oporto made millions in profit. This is just one example. We are a nonprofit organization. Everything we receive, we reinvest in the Jewish world and Jewish community itself.”
What is the current status of the investigation that was launched against the Jewish Community of Oporto two years ago over corruption allegations?
“The investigation is still ongoing. But we have, since the beginning, considered the investigation dead, because it has no foundation. Everything from the initial accusations has proven to be untrue. So there is nothing to investigate, really. Of course there is material, but they won’t find anything. They want to keep the investigation going for ten years to have time to create to find small details, that’s the game.”
In Portugal, when there are incidents of antisemitism, where on the ideological or political spectrum does it usually come from?
“I would say that it mostly comes from the politicians and the press. Nowadays, it is mostly the left that is very antisemitic throughout the world, be it in the United States, Europe, or Latin America, pushing an anti-Israel narrative while pretending to care about minorities in general. So, here in Portugal, the left seems to be more antisemitic than the right, because the right has not been in power while the left has been ruling Portugal for decades. So we cannot accuse right of being antisemitic, because they have not shown to be antisemitic recently.”
What does the Jewish Community of Oporto do to address the challenges posed by rising antisemitism?
“This is a very important topic. We spend a lot of money on security. We pay for the security of the community by our own means. We don’t receive anything from the state or for the European Union, which is unusual. There are many other communities that receive help from their states and the European Commission. We pay for ourselves. Since October 7th, we are spending more money security and increasing the number of police officers in the synagogue and in the museums. And recently, I’ve been to Rome to attend the conference on the security of the Jewish communities in Europe. So we are always looking for ways to protect the community.”
Why is it that you don’t receive support from the government?
“Listen, I think because Judaism is very new here, so to speak, the Jewish communities in Portugal were reborn recently, and many in the political establishment have shown they don’t know what is a Jew. They don’t know what is Judaism. They just know fantasies and stereotypes. So they don’t know what is Jewish life. In fact, here in Portugal, the Inquisition did a really good job for centuries [eliminating Jewish life]. And the Jewish Community of Oporto specifically is not very much involved into politics. We are not into the political establishment. We are very independent. We know that the Jewish Community of Lisbon received help from the state for the security, but we don’t. Recently, there was project with a call to apply for funds from the European Commission. But the amount is very small compared to what we need, so it’s not very useful.”
How many Jews live in Portugal these days?
“We believe there is around 5,000-6,000 Jews all over Portugal, mostly in Oporto and Lisbon, and others throughout the country in smaller cities and rural areas.”
Tell me about the films the Jewish Community of Oporto has produced.
“We have already produced three films about the history of Jews in Portugal and in Oporto and the Inquisition, and we are currently producing a new one. It’s called 1506: The Lisbon Genocide. It’s a very short film, a documentary. It’s about 20 minutes long, about the genocide that took place in Lisbon, which has a lot of similarities with the massacre of October 7th. It’ll be out next month, on April 19.”
How can Jews outside of Portugal get involved if they want to support the Jewish Community of Oporto?
“Of course, we welcome all new members here. The community is growing. So there is place for everybody to join us. We also have our channel on YouTube where people can see our productions to learn about the history of the community. People can read the news, on what’s happening in Portugal to the Jews and the political silence regarding the recent attacks we suffered. I believe it’s important. I usually call the recent history of Jews in Portugal a case study, mostly because ten years ago there was nothing and now there is everything. So with this, the antisemitism came together. So I believe its important for people to know, because this can happen to their communities as well.”
Do you have hope that the Portuguese authorities will become more responsive to antisemitism?
“Yes, I think pressure works. I think you can help us, the media in general could help us, and the Jewish world as well, by sharing what is happening here. Then, when the information is all over the world, maybe things will change.”
To learn more about the Jewish Community of Oporto, please visit: comunidade-israelita-porto.org
