Between 2012 and 2022, the videography of the Jewish Community of Porto, composed of 15 videos, was seen by around 750 thousand people. The project forms part of the Community's cultural activities which also include museums, feature films, a library, a painting gallery, and other. Click to watch the video:
European Day of Jewish Culture in Oporto
Brief history of the Jews of Sepharad
The Holocaust Museum of Oporto
The Jewish Museum - Entebbe Operation Room
The Jewish Museum - Chain of Merit of the king Peter VI
The Holocaust Museum - Statements
The Holocaust Museum - Testimony of a survivor
David D’Or in Oporto, Portugal
Course of the Jewish Education Center of Oporto
Concert of Sephardic Memory - "Tradition and Modernity"
75th Anniversary of Kadoorie Synagogue (2013)
Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue (2012)
Besides the videography, the main cultural instruments of the Oporto Jewish Community are the following:
1. The Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum of Oporto was created by the Jewish Community of Oporto in partnership with B’nai B’rith International. In his inaugural speech, the president of this Jewish organisation said: “This Jewish Museum will mark the awakening of Jewish life in Portugal and serve as a beacon for the rest of Europe, now darkened by resurging antisemitism”.
The museum is located on Rua de Guerra Junqueiro opposite the synagogue. It tells the story of the Jewish community in the city of Oporto, a history of over a thousand years, with its many joys and sorrows, the expulsion and the Inquisition, and the return of the Jews to Portugal after the Inquisition.
2. The Holocaust Museum
The Holocaust Museum of Oporto was created by the Jewish Community of Oporto in partnership with B’nai B’rith International and Holocaust museums around the world.
In 2021, this museum was the most visited museum in Portugal, with around 40,000 visitors. It is run by members of the Jewish Community of Oporto whose parents, grandparents and other relatives lost their lives in the Holocaust.
The Museum focuses on the general public, particularly on the young, and invests in teaching, in career training for educators, promoting exhibitions and supporting research.
3. Historical Films
To honour its thousand-year old history in the city of Oporto, the community produced a series of films to highlight the important Jewish presence here. The film scripts were first shown to the Bishop of Oporto. The films have received international awards in more than fifty countries and have received praise from Pope Francis, who was delighted to hear of the close relationship between the Jewish and Catholic communities of Oporto. The Community also produced that extensive videography.
4. Centre for Historical Research and painting gallery
The Centre for Historical Research of the Jewish Community of Oporto is responsible for the production of written and audio-visual content on the history of the community and seeks to reconstruct the entire history of the community to the present day, including a painting gallery with 1000 years of story of the Jewish Community in Oporto.
5. The Largest Library in Iberia
The Synagogue of Oporto today has most impressive Jewish library in Europe. The three rooms of the library, which are used for Beit Midrash, include books on Jewish law, books on Jewish history, books on Jewish culture and on many other subjects. The principal languages of the thousands of books in the library are Hebrew, French, Portuguese, English and Spanish.
6. Male choir and other Concerts
The Mekor Haim male choir of the Jewish Community of Oporto sings liturgical music. Other concerts are often organised by the Community at the Jewish Museum and Casa da Música, sometimes in the presence of more than 1000 guests.
7. Online Jewish Newspapers
The newspaper Mazal News is an initiative of the Jewish community of Oporto to share inspiring actions, based on kindness, solidarity and love, and that encourage the construction of a more just and positive world.
The Portuguese Jewish News is a newspaper of the Portuguese Jewish community for the Jewish community, sharing news, reportage, opinions and reviews regarding the Jewish community in general.
