ANTISEMITISM AND RACISM IN PORTUGAL

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Portugal 2007

The first ever desecration of a Jewish cemetery in modern Portugal was perpetrated in April 2007. Also in April, 36 neo-Nazis from the Portuguese branch of the violent, extreme right Hammerskin Nation were arrested.

the jewish community

Evidence of a Jewish presence in the territory now called Portugal dates back to the fifth century. From the 12th century until 1492 almost 200,000 Jews (20 percent of the population) lived in Portugal; they maintained synagogues, hospitals, bath houses, and a flourishing Jewish life.

After the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, over 150,000 Spanish Jews fled to Portugal, but in 1497 they were either enslaved or forcibly converted to Christianity; most, however, continued to practice Judaism in secret. In 1506, the so-called Lisbon Massacre (Matança de Lisboa), instigated by the Dominican Order, resulted in the murder of some 4,000 Jews and forced the remaining ones in the large cities, such as Lisbon and Oporto, to disperse to numerous destinations (the Dutch Republic, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, Brazil and India). Those who chose to stay fled to mountain villages, where they continued to practice Judaism clandestinely in their homes. The Inquisition only ceased in 1821 and many Jews had already assimilated among the Portuguese population. (For details of the massacre, see Esther Mucznik, “Massacre dos Judeus em Lisboa,” http://www.cilisboa.org/hist_pt.htm.)

In the early 19th century, Jews established local businesses in Lisbon, Faro and the Azores islands. In 1880, Abraham Anahory asked permission from the authorities to congregate the Jews of Lisbon into a formal community, but it was only in 1897 that the inaugural meeting of the Comité Israelita de Lisboa took place, although a shechita (ritual Jewish slaughter) service had been operating since 1894. A synagogue was built in 1904 but was not given official religious sanction because the only religion the Portuguese Constitution (Carta Constitucional) recognized was Catholicism. Following the Republican Revolution of 1910 and the acceptance of other religions, the committee was authorized in 1912 as a legal but not a religious association.

At the beginning of World War II, Portugal adopted a liberal visa policy, allowing thousands of Jewish refugees to enter the country until restrictions were applied in late 1940 and 1941. However, 100,000 Jews and other political refugees were able to seek refuge in Portugal, with the help of the Jewish community and COMASSIS, the organization created in 1933 to help them. As a result, all Jews in Portugal, including locals and refugees, survived the war. (For further details, see Mucznik, Esther, “Os Judeus em Portugal – Presença e Memória,” http://www.cilisboa.org/hpt_esther.htm.)

After the 1974 revolution and the establishment of democracy in Portugal, the Jewish community was fully accepted as a religious minority and protected under the law of religious plurality. However, the community only received official recognition in 2001 with the publication of law no. 16/2001 of 22 June, the Religious Freedom Act, which permitted the registration of religious associations under Portuguese law.

The small Jewish community is well integrated into Portuguese society and well-regarded by the political authorities, illustrated by the latter’s reaction to the Lisbon cemetery desecration (see below). There are 4,000 Jews in Portugal (continent and islands) out of a population of 10 million, organized into four independent Jewish communities − Lisbon, Oporto, Belmonte and Algarve. The leading one is Lisbon community, Comunidade Israelita da Lisboa (www.cilisboa.org), which maintains a synagogue (with daily services), a Jewish club, and the cemetery; it publishes a periodical, Tikva, and provides kosher food through the shop El Corte Inglés,. The association Somej Nophlim cares for the Jewish aged as well as the needy. The Oporto Jewish Community (http://comunidade-israelita-porto.org/), provides regular services in the synagogue. The Algarve Community is oriented basically toward non-Portuguese Jews holidaying in the south of Portugal. The Belmonte Community was formed recently for descendents of the anusim (forced converts to Catholicism). It provides a synagogue with regular services and maintains a cemetery, and promotes traditionally Portuguese kosher products such as olive oil and wine.

political organizations

With the creation of the Partido Nacional Renovador (National Renewal Party − www.pnr.pt/) in 2000, the far right wing gained a foot in the Portuguese political arena. Although the party officially denies links to neo-Nazi/racist movements, many members and/or sympathizers of these groups are affiliated to the party. Moreover, the leaders of the PNR and the Portuguese Hammerskins (or Hammerskin Nation − a chapter of the transnational white supremacist movement of that name) are known to be friendly, and the media often reports on interaction between the two groups (see, for example, http://jn.sapo.pt/2007/04/21/nacional/lider_pnr_que_o_partido_e_perseguido.htm; also below). In the municipal elections to the Lisbon Town Hall held in July 2007, the party got 0.8 percent of the total, doubling their vote from the previous election.

The party has been led since 2005 by José Pinto-Coelho. It has been accused of promoting discrimination based on racial, religious and sexual grounds as well as inciting violence and hatred toward immigrants and homosexuals, among others (their website includes no specific reference to the Jews). There has been discussion in Portuguese society about banning the party, since the Constitution forbids any kind of discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, gender or religion. The party, which is close to the French Front National, has a youth section, Juventude Nacionalista (Nationalist Youth).

antisemitic activity

Background

Portuguese antisemitism tends to be expressed in historical stereotypes, as primary and high school textbooks clearly demonstrate, and is influenced by the way religion in general, and Judaism in particular, is presented in them. Catholicism is portrayed as the only religion in Portuguese geographical and social history, and Jews and Muslims, are regarded not as minority religious groups but as a cultural and folklore phenomenon. It should be noted that school textbooks are published by private entities and are freely chosen by both private and public schools. Until 2006, the only criterion for the selection of a school textbook was the obligation to follow the educational calendar and curriculum. Since then, with the adoption of Law 47/2006, a commission has been created to evaluate and authorize school textbooks for primary and high schools (see www.dgidc.min-edu.pt/public/manuais.asp).

A second feature of school books is the message that Jesus, the “son of God” born in Palestine, created monotheism. Judaism is never referred to as the source of Christian monotheism, traditions and beliefs, but as a negative cultural influence. School history books also mention that Hitler persecuted the “Communists and the Jews, a people who became rich from trade and interest from money lending.” Moreover, the books attempt to inculcate youth with “political correctness,” inter alia, by comparing historical realities with contemporary ones; the sentence “Being a Jew in the Middle Ages was as bad as supporting Yassir Arafat in today’s Israel,” for instance, appears in a 9th grade textbook published in 2004. By comparing Israeli citizenship laws to the 1935 German Nüremberg laws, another 9th grade history book, published in 2006, implies that they discriminate against the Palestinians. Additionally, since there is no official or legal definition of antisemitism in Portugal, many schoolbooks contain expressions such as “the Jews are a people attached to money.” (For further information, see Esther Mucznik, “A Religião nos Manuais Escolares” [Lisbon: Comissão de Liberdade Religiosa, 2007].)

There are no official statistics on antisemitism in Portugal because the Constitution forbids ethnic or religious categorization. Therefore, the sources for this report were the Jewish community website, newspaper websites, right-wing organization websites, personal blogs and websites, and oral testimonies.

Antisemitic Activity

On September 25 the Lisbon Jewish cemetery, dating from the mid-19th century, was vandalized. About twenty tombs were desecrated and swastikas painted on almost every damaged stone. The cemetery guard reported the incident to the police, who detained two individuals, far right sympathizers, inside the cemetery. A criminal investigation followed and the Jewish community is involved in the legal process. This was the first desecration of a Jewish cemetery in the history of modern Portugal. There are about nine Jewish cemeteries on Portuguese territory, including on the islands of Azores and Madeira, but only two are in use – in Lisbon and Belmonte.

Following the incident, an official ceremony was held in the cemetery on October 7, in the presence of several Portuguese politicians and representatives of other religious communities. The minister of internal affairs declared that all Portuguese “were Jews that day.” Far right blogs containing antisemitic comments relating to the attack were monitored by the Portuguese authorities and the Jewish community.

Opinion pieces on newspaper websites and reports by Portuguese journalists in the mainstream press often contain references to the Israeli army as “the Jewish army” (see, for example, http://ultimahora.publico.clix.pt:80/noticia.aspx?id=1230558&idCanal, which quotes “major Sharon Feingold, um porta-voz do exército judaico” [Major Sharon Feingold, a spokesman of the Jewish army]).

responses to racism and antisemitism

In April 2007 the Portuguese police arrested 36 neo-Nazi activists from the Portuguese branch of the violent extreme right Hammerskin Nation. Police confiscated weapons, explosives, ammunition, poison gas and publications inciting to racism and antisemitism, as well as Nazi memorabilia. They were to be charged with threats, harassment, physical attacks, kidnapping, incitement to crime and illegal possession of weapons. The arrests took place three days before a planned conference of some 250 representatives of European extreme right-wing groups in Lisbon, which was subsequently canceled by the leader of the far right PNR.