We have reached 2026. What is the situation in Israel today?

The Israeli government observes the global chessboard and the games of conflicting empires, without losing direct contact with all the major players. Strange as it may seem to many people, the Jewish state is the fifth largest diplomatic power on Earth. It bet on quality, not on numbers. Often conflicts between empires are more theatrical than anything else. Multipolar global governance is always at stake to a greater or lesser extent. It does not matter the mistakes and the spectacular actions that may occur for the deception and entertainment of analysts. With friction though, the world is being divided into silence by military empires. We go back to the time of the Assyrians and Babylonians. It has always been like this, without prejudice to the hybrid war between the empires that never ceases. The third parties watch in silence or die.

How does a diaspora community connect with the state of Israel?

The Declaration of Independence imposed a kind of reciprocity in mutual aid and this is never broken. A community can be attacked in its own country, but Israel remains vigilant on a daily basis and acts at the right time. The president of the Jewish state himself contacts the communities if necessary. The Israeli security services start to visit the communities more frequently and each time leave the instructions that must be followed.

And what do the communities do to help Israel?

Each community helps as it can. I can talk about Porto. Keren Hayesod once asked for our support for one of 10 projects it had developed for the Jewish state. We help everyone. The kolelim of Jerusalem were short of resources and we were there. The largest Mikvaot Center in Jerusalem needed help and we helped. The massacre of October 7 caused many Israeli families and associations to ask for our financial help and we were there. We even sponsored a documentary.

Ambassador Oren Rozenblat arrived a year ago. How do you evaluate his performance?

I echo the words of a relative of Netanyahu who was here last year, referring to the ambassador and to his wife. It is very difficult to find a couple as dignified, cultured, beautiful and courageous as them, who have the great value of defending Israel and the Jewish world. They are not only Israelis, they clearly see themselves as Israeli Jews and defend the Shabbat and the IDF with equal intensity. This is very rare in today's Israeli diplomatic environment. The embassy is a source of pride. We are well aware of the hostility it faces. I presume that each day starts with compiling the slanders spread since the previous day, which are so many and from such diverse sources that it is difficult to give an answer to them all.

How do the Jewish communities of different diaspora countries relate to each other and what is Israel's role in all this?

Each community helps the others as it can. Chabad Lubavitch needed help in 14 countries and we helped from Porto. Chabad Portugal wanted to build the largest Chabad Center in Europe and we helped. There were communities on the different continents that did not have a mikvah and we were there. The same was true of cemeteries, schools, and Shabbat meals. These examples speak well about what the Jewish world is all about, based on global aid.

But what is Israel's role in all this?

Israel is a uniting factor, it is the spiritual homeland of every Jew. A community that needs help knows that it can count on Israel. In addition, the current Israeli government has founded a daily group contact with the leaders of the communities of 50 countries. The main focus of this activity is what is happening in relation to the Jewish state, but from this point on another effective brotherhood has been created that works in real time.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently declared that Israel will protect Judeo-Christian civilization. How do you interpret this statement? What is its scope?

Potentially, Christians, or rather, people of Christian culture, are our greatest allies for the world to come. Europe, America, Eurasia, Oceania, and much of Africa are all Christian-based. I was in Jerusalem in December, and it's impressive how many Christians are there celebrating their traditions safely. Israel must use all its strength and diplomatic power with the military empires to regenerate Judeo-Christian civilization in values and in practice. This civilization was undone for half a century by a perverse union of opposing forces that are not worth talking about now.

European citizens are already begging to be allowed to celebrate public Christmas parties. In Africa they are slaughtered in the face of the indifference of the world. Is it a duty to defend them?

Yes, it is. Pay attention to the case of Europe. The histories of European nations, for which Jews and Christians were the building blocks, are today viewed with repugnance. We live the culture of the end, led by elites who are not the product of any intellectual elite, but were born from the lowest layers of societies, so they drag their painful selves through the most corrupt and irresponsible politics, without having acquired any knowledge of the history and diplomacy of millennia, without a minimum understanding of the philosophical and geopolitical dimensions of the world and much less of the global hybrid power that combines finance, covert diplomacy, and military force. Only by a miracle could they have transformed a valid thought into any tangible reality for the benefit of the whole.

What is Jewish life like in the midst of all this?

Against this backdrop, it is obvious that Jewish life is considered worthless. Jewish success, Jewish culture, the Jewish religion, Jewish history, productive Jews, real Jewish life, laws for the benefit of Jews, and the Jewish state are permanently dishonored and vilified. The Jews have long since ceased to count except as useful stooges, "Jews for peace," or else to be sold as oppressors or full-fledged thieves.

How do you evaluate the present of the Jewish Community of Porto founded by the Portuguese Dreyfus in 1923?

A Jewish community that wants to resurrect anywhere in the world should study the example of Porto. The mission of a religious community in the diaspora is complex, because it is not limited to religion, but extends to the promotion of Jewish culture and history, the teaching of the Holocaust and Jewish human rights.

Which achievements stand out the most?

Today it is difficult to give a simple answer. We have done the best we can. We are on our way to having a minyan for 11 consecutive years in the central synagogue and we have a study center operating at the same time with a daily minyan. In terms of the promotion of Jewish culture, there is no community in Europe that is even close in achievements and value. To the teaching of the Holocaust, we brought a new vision, which focuses on young people and meets them at home. In Jewish human rights, we have joined an international observatory, the Catholic Church, the army, young Jews from 40 countries, and the Israeli embassy in Portugal. Basically, that's it. We even established a cemetery for our burtials. Life is for doing useful things. It is not for wasting time on useless things. We were unable to do more.