Portugal is preparing legislation that would grant citizenship to descendants of Jews expelled from the country in the 15th century.
The intriguing move was announced by tourism minister Adolfo Mesquita Nunes on a promotional visit to Israel at the weekend.
It is also an echo of what is happening in Spain – where legislation potentially opens the doors to half the world’s 13 million Jews, claims Associated Press.
Nunes did not elaborate on these kinds of numbers, but told journalists that the final version of the new law (Lei Nº 43/2013) would be ready in the summer.
It seeks to redress the expulsion of 400,000 Jews from Portugal in 1497 and their subsequent persecution during the Portuguese Inquisition, which began in 1536.
Reporting on the legislation, the website Jewish World commented that “like in neighbouring Spain, the Portuguese law will not oblige a person seeking a Portuguese nationality to reside in the country. The applicant will simply have to show a connection to Portugal and prove that he or she has no criminal record”.
The Portuguese Jewish community has maintained records of the country’s lost families – many of whom fled to Portuguese colonies or other parts of Europe, especially Amsterdam – and these, together with Inquisition records, will be used in part to determine who will qualify for Portuguese citizenship.
Meantime, Portugal’s Ambassador to Israel Miguel de Almeida e Sousa, himself a Jew, told Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that “the law must now be translated into clear procedures, in order to allow people to submit applications which will each be examined properly.
“We are talking about some 15 generations back” – which, any way you do the maths, translates into a large number of potential new Portuguese citizens.
