My aunt is really jealous. Decree Law No. On the other hand, the power of the final decision whether it is an approval or a request for more documents that corroborates your sephardic origins is solely taken by theCommission of Analysis. Find Portugalist on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram I highly recommend! They are always answering questions and support during the process. I am interested in finding some good lawyers who speak English. International Association of Jewish Genealogy Associations. The choice was either convert, try living as a Jew in secret as many did in places like Belmonte, or leave the Iberian Peninsula altogether. James, thank you for sending lawyer recommendations to others. Adi Berger was a wonderful advocate for me and I am deeply grateful for her help! Despite the expulsion and the persecution of their ancestral territory, they have kept, along with their descendants, not only the Portuguese language, in some cases, but also the traditional rites of the ancient Jewish worship in Portugal, saving their surnames over generations, objects and documents proving their Portuguese origin, along with a strong memorial connection to Portugal. LISBON. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Was 100% satisfied. Always ready to assist without regard to the time it takes. In 1904 the Shaare Tikvah (Gates of Hope) Synagogue, still in use today, opened in Lisbon. If youre not sure whether youre your surname is potentially Sephardic or not, take a look at Sephardim.co. Shaar Tikvah S ynagogue. Ultimately, your goal is to put together clear evidence that you have Sephardic Jewish heritage. These records, along with church books for the rest of the population, made up civil registration; however, when such books have been microfilmed . Close to 40 years after the Rebbe asked that the Tanya be printed in every city where a Yid lives, the 8,000th edition of Tanya came rolling off the press. These were mostly marketers, from Gibraltar and Morocco (Tangier, Tetouan and Mogador) and some of their names still expressed the connection with their places of origin in the Iberian Peninsula, before the expulsion period. Today, although smaller in number and with a tendency for gradual assimilation, the community keeps its essential services running: Synagogue, Cemetery, Social Center, Somej Nophlim Charitable Association. Under the impulse of Isaac Levy and Simo Anahory a process is started culminating in the creation, in 1897, of a committee for the edification of a unique synagogue, and the election of the 1st Committee of the Jewish community of Lisbon, whose honorary president is Abraham Bensade and the effective president Simo Anahory. Josh has been helping me on and off for a few years now. Jonah personally has helped five people in these groups with their applications. Her surname was Bair, which is a German-Jewish surname and she was 3/4 Ashkenazi, but he had to look a bit further before he found the Sephardic connection. Kaplan became inspired about the topic while researching her 2008 book, Dominican Haven: The Jewish Refugee Settlement in Sosua, 1940-1945, which chronicles the eventual path taken by German Jews who had been able to cross the Atlantic by way of Lisbon.Expanding upon that focus, she sought out diaries, letters, and other archives housed at the USC Shoah Foundation, the Fortunoff Archive at . We found Decker, Pex, Ofir & Co. On the internet and began working with Ariel in late November 2021. There are 7 steps involved, and you will be able to see what stage your application is at. The service is very professional and efficient, the price is right. During the inquisition period, Jews were persecuted in Spain and Portugal. Those who wish to apply for a Sephardic heritage certificate can apply online at . Some hid their practice of Judaism over the years and are generally designated as secret, hidden or crypto-Jews. Rua Alexandre Herculano, 59 Lisbon 1250-010. In case of the Israelite Community of Porto, the amount of such donations is 250. Gratitude, God has blessed us with wonderful beings who have accompanied us, including a "precious angel" who touched our hearts, our excellent and fantastic lawyer: Maria Chernin Dekel, sweet and wonderful human being, who has guided us and stayed On our side. Joshua Pex was both an amazing human being and an inspiring human rights attorney. We heard of Advocate Pex through a friend of a friend. Documents that show the Ladino language being used by your ancestors. This document indicates that the Portuguese Jewish community recognizes the individual as having Portuguese heritage. In addition to the first Jewish quarter, in Pedreira neighbourhood . Trevor Lewis, whos from the US and lives in London with his husband, was unaware of his Portuguese background until he started looking into his grandmothers family tree. Can you suggest any genealogist and lawyers we can use? Dont scrimp on the paperwork either: in Portugal, the rule is always the more paperwork the better. Issue. The secret community was discovered in 1917 by a Polish Jewish mining engineer named Samuel Schwartz. The family tree should be as complete as possible, based in the submitted documentation. The following documents are required for the preparation of applications in our offices: 1. They also both provide a bullet-point list to guide you through the application. Thanks in advance. Right now a lot of people are rethinking whether its worth having a second passport.. We hereby, clarify that, a first opinion by e-mail is not binding. Once Portuguese citizenship has been granted, the Portuguese Central Registry Office will send a Portuguese birth certificate to your address. The smaller Jewish communities of Lisbon and Porto are the only organizations that can approve applications, which must show ties to one of them. There is no such requirement concerning the issuing of Jewish Community of Lisbons certification and our community has neither a special partnership with any law office nor shall recommend any specific one. The Jewish Canadian Community Portuguese Citizenship Eligibility, The Portuguese Jewish community in Germany Entitlement to Portugal Citizenship, The Moroccan Expellee Community and Portuguese Citizenship, The Jewish community in Portugal Recommendation letter, Jewish Portuguese Citizenship for Spouses and Children, Multiple Names When Applying for Jewish Portuguese Citizenship, Applying for Jewish Portuguese Citizenship with a Criminal Record, Cost for Jewish Descendants to Obtain Portuguese Citizenship, How Long It Takes to Get Jewish Portuguese Citizenship, Documents for Jewish Portuguese Citizenship, Algerian Jewish expellees communities and eligibility for Portuguese citizenship, Greek Jews Spanish Jewish Expellees Eligible for Portuguese Citizenship, Famous Jews of Sephardic or Portuguese descent obtaining Portuguese citizenship. Jewish Community of Lisbon Tel: +351 213 931 130; sephardi.naturalization@comunidadeisraelitalisboa.org; www.cilisboa.org. The designation of Sephardic Jews refers to the descendants of the ancient Jews and traditional Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (SefaradorHispania), that is, Portugal and Spain. Following a Russian oligarch scandal in 2022[1]https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60724509window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() { jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_15863_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_15863_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });});, the rules were tightened and this will ultimately make it more difficult for many people to claim their heritage this way. Thank you for such an excellent article. We had a pleasure of working with Irena Rosenberg who assisted in getting our two U.S. born children registered in Israel and supported visa process for my wife in 2021. We highly recommend Adv. Another decisive step towards the constitution of the present Jewish community of Lisbon was given in 1894 with the holding of a General Assembly of the Jews of Lisbon in order to unify the services of Shehit (ritual slaughtering and provisioning of cacher meat). I couldnt dealt with my situation without their professionalism and effectiveness. A simple copy of a valid passport (page containing personal data, picture and signature) expiring date larger than 6 months. While he was approved in November of 2018, around 3 years after he began the process, it wasnt until August of 2019 when he received his birth certificate and was able to apply for his passport. We reiterate the importance of using this model in order to simplify the analysis. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. The team at Decker, Pex, Ofir & Co have been awesome to work with in helping our US company establish banking in Israel and in providing counsel for legal needs in Israel. When you hear Decker,Pex,Ofir &Co, you hear 10+ class services, luxurious professionals, confidentiality and exclusive attention to your needs. Theres a lot of waiting involved. Both used as many resources as they could find, citing Ancestry.com as one of the most helpful along with other sites like JewishGen. Ariel did a superb job of leading us through the process, helping us to understand which documents were essential, which would most likely be required, and which, though included on the list of required documents, were rarely required. Public liability and personal accidents insurance. Registering a Public-Benefit Company in Israel, UAE NGO Permits to the Palestinian Territories, Registration for Foreign NGOs Operating in Israel. You will need a lot more than that. They really care about helping their customers without any other interest But since the turn of the 21st century it has been experiencing a renaissance of its Jewish life. He had just married his wife, Agatha Barbasch, in April 1914, in Odessa. Usually, we expect a pre-approval from the Porto Jewish Community roughly around 48 hours after the Lisbon Jewish Community roughly around 45 days after applying. Officials in Washington and Spain have. Lisbon prosecutors and police searched Oporto's synagogue, the Jewish Museum and the houses of Jewish leaders. I really recommend the law office's services. His husband also speaks Portuguese, having lived in Brazil. Trevors law firm also spoke to the Portuguese government and were able to allow him to submit his application without obtaining a criminal records check from Kenya, which would only have added more complications. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 150 Menachem Begin st., Tel Aviv, 6492105, Israel, Tel: (+972)3-3724722, Fax: (+972)774702790. Sephardic Community Allliance. Until the 60s the community remained demographically stable, but the creation of the State of Israel and the outbreak of the Colonial War lead to the departure of some families. I am exploring the DIY route first and I'm hoping the Facebook groups you suggested might help me. Both communities have records from the time and will be able to verify whether you are, in fact, of Sephardic heritage. One of the country's most interesting remote villages is Belmonte, 3 hours by car from Lisbon, where in 1917, a Polish mining engineer named Samuel Schwarz discovered a community of Jews still living in secret for over 500 years. Proof of residence such as electricity bills. Working in European market and international now, I couldnt dare to let myself wide my wings on countries unknown to me. Thanks for all you do! We contacted Mr. Pex and he was ready to help us when he heard of our situation. He was also able to find letters between old family members, one of which contained a hand-drawn family tree. Such is the case of Conqui (from Cuenca, Cuenca Province) or Cardoso (from Cardoso, district of Viseu). Only three of them will be mentioned: SOMEJ-NOPHLIM(Amparo dos Pobres): Created in 1865 by Simo Anahory with the purpose of helping the poor. We found them online; they were the only law firm from all of our searchings which were completely honest and NOT gave us just what we wanted to hear A surname is definitely a good place to start, but be aware that having a Portuguese or Spanish-sounding surname isnt enough. You may be represented by a third party in your application and you neither have to come or reside in Portugal nor to speak Portuguese. Born in Brazil, Rabbi Peres grew up in New York and received ordination there as well as from Chacham Pinchas . You can either apply yourself or use a specialist service who will help you with the application and make sure that you have all the necessary documents. The Jewish Community of Prague (JCP) unites persons of Jewish religion, nationality or lineage who have a permanent residence in the sphere of JCPs territorial authority or are in other kind of relation to Prague and who are not members of any other religious denominations or non-Jewish religious communities. I dont think this law will be around forever, says Jonah. I will take a look at all of the Facebook groups you mentioned. Inaugurated in 1904 and designed by Miguel Ventura Terra, the synagogue was the first synagogue to be built in Portugal since the 15th century. He says finding someone else who has done it is key, and will signiciatnly cut down your own research time significantly. General Support Specific Projects Planned Giving Wall of Honor. He slowly gained the trust of Belmonte's crypto-Jews when he recited the Shema Yisrael prayer and uttered the . He first contacted the Portuguese Law Firm in the Autumn of 2015 and then, once he had carried out sufficient research, was able to submit his application around a year later. Located at the number 59 of Alexandre Herculano Street, it had to be built inside a walled yard, since it was not allowed the construction with frontage to the public road of temples not of Catholic religion, then the official religion of the State. These last two Jewish quarters were located in the vicinities of commercial ports and shipyards. Links to external websites do not constitute an endorsement. Take advantage of this while you can to regain your heritage and have the opportunity to travel in a place that was your home., Very interesting. Contact us. The official recognition of the community and the construction of the synagogue brought a new impulse to the community life in Lisbon. It meant that people from all over the world could easily obtain a second passport, many of whom had never been to Portugal. I believe my son can get all necessary documents to qualify for. After the massacre the crown softened its New Christian stance for a time, allowing migration. Private Historical Jewish Tour of Lisbon 74 Reviews Lisbon, Portugal Share Save to Wishlist From $136.15 Price varies by group size Lowest Price Guarantee Select Date and Travelers Check Availability Reserve Now & Pay Later Free cancellation Up to 24 hours in advance. I just found this website! He is completely trustworthy and high caliber in his work. How do you get the access code if you are posting off documents? The political opening of the post-April revolution and of the borders, with the entry of Portugal in the European Union, has provided the arrival to our country of Jewish Citizens from different countries, from Europe and Brazil. The rabbi was able to look at his parents ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) and was able to confirm that it was Sephardic. Portuguese ID documents, such as passports, may then be issued by the nearest Portuguese Consulate. But let's just quick gather the facts in few words: Portugal became an independent country back in 1143, almost one thousand years old, but the Jewish population already existed in Portugal for a long time. highly recommended. Cristina. Thank you Portugal was one of the first world powers to recognize the Jewish people and has served as an important home for the community ever since. Wander through Shaare Tikva, Lisbon's synagogue, and learn about the history of various religions in the city. I've got Austrian citizenship in 4 months for all family members which consists of 12 people! The Jewish Community of Lisbon. Portuguese citizenship comes with a number of benefits, not least a Portuguese passport which gives you the right to live and work in Portugal and other EU countries. Naturally, there are costs to all of this, especially when you start getting lawyers involved, but there are other benefits to using a law firm as well. Go to the Junta da Freguesia. Lisbon - Conquered from the Moors in 1147 by Dom Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, the Castle of Sao Jorge stands proudly atop one of the city's seven hills. The first step towards the official recognition of the Hebrew Community of Lisbon dates back to 1868, when a license is conceded by the Government, through a charter from D.Lus giving the "Jews of Lisbon permission to install a cemetery for the burial of their coreligionists". Any documents used to create that family tree. [More Info]. JDC Lisbon List of Polish Jewish Passengers to . Their dedication to every legal aspect and their drive its how a true lawyer house can be! These donations will be used in the development and maintenance of our services and activities which guarantee the continuation of culture and traditions in our jewish community, as well as in the Portuguese society in general, through several solidarity programs with whom the community contributes. Unfortunately, a right to live in Portugal doesnt necessarily mean that people are able to move to Portugal as wages and opportunities are often lower here than in other Western countries. The first company Jonah worked with were incredibly impersonal and ended up firing him as a client, but at least it gave him lots of information and pointed him in the right direction. Since March 2015, several thousands of foreign citizens were granted Portuguese nationality under this law amendment and only a very small number were refused, mostly due to legal and technical reasons or lack of documentation. Once recognition is obtained, the task of granting the status of a Portuguese citizen falls to the government of Portugal. Jonah paid around $1350, which also included his flight to Washington, DC, where the Portuguese embassy is located which was essential as he was applying from the US. Not included. EU PASSPORT ! After a little bit more research, we realised that it was a Portuguese-Jewish surname., For Jonah Salita, also from the US and living in London, it was less of a surprise. The sumptuous Synagogue of Shaar Tikva is a must-see when you want to meet Lisbon's Jewish community. 1 - applying for certification at the jewish community of lisbon (cil) By Decree-Law, it is mandatory to hold a certificate issued by the Portuguese Jewish Communities - duly registered locally under the status of religious legal entities, that is, the Jewish Communities of Lisbon (CIL) and of Porto (CIP). I'm British, English Speaking with a full family tree demonstrating Sephardic connection. Otherwise you will loose hours/days/weeks with things that they can solve in minutes. The service is amazing! As of February 2020, the Israeli Community of Lisbon requires the payment of a donation amounting 500 for the first certificate application and 250 for the applications of any other members of the same family. Could you please also send me a list of the lawyers you recommend. I think I paid around 2,000 in the end, says Trevor, which isnt nothing, but I would rather know that this is going to happen rather than being stuck in limbo forever.. Irena is knowledgeable, reliable and competent lawyer who always had answers to all our questions which made us feel confident that everything would be fine with her assistance. If Im going to have this citizenship, I think its my responsibility to speak the language of that country, he says. Thank you for your guidance and support. The Portuguese Government may grant nationality to descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews [over 18 years old] who demonstrate a traditional connection to a Community with Portuguese Sephardic origins, based on proven objective requirements of a connection with Portugal, such as family names, family language, direct or collateral ancestry.. Home; About Us; Contact. I am delighted to report that my wife and I have just obtained our Israeli citizenship. A part of the application involves submitting a letter in which you describe your motivations for obtaining Portuguese citizenship and your connections to Portugal. I have been receiving services from this Law Firm for several years now and I want to say THANK YOU to the team, especially Joshua Pex. They helped me to obtain my expert working visa in Israel and even after that they responded further questions and gave me advices related to administrative issues in Israel which saved me a lot of time. I recommend to everyone. The first step to apply for a certificate of residence in Portugal is, as often, to go to the Junta da Freguesia, in other words, the Borough Hall closest to your home. During the pandemic, my wife and I decided to move to Israel where I am originally from after living in the U.S. for over 20 years, but we had no idea how to go about securing visas before and after arriving in Israel. The registration certificate is mandatory for European Union and other citizens (*) intending to stay in Portugal for longer than 3 months. I have found a firm that sounds good, though, charges 5,000 euros for the whole process. A big thank you to Irina especially from the Jerusalem office. Its not longer enough to simply have Sephardic Jewish heritage; you now need to show ties to Portugal such as inherited property or regular trips to Portugal throughout your life. The team of lawyers and assistants are incredibly professional. For Trevor, the process was a long one. Just found your page and it is fantastic! Therefore, the certificate must be provided with the genealogical tree indicating dates and places of ancestors birth, death and marriage. Financed by Joint and other international Jewish institutions, the community kept the Economic Kitchen/cuisine?? When we started looking into her family, we saw her grandmother [Trevors great great grandmother] had the surname De Pinna and we thought maybe she wasnt entirely Jewish or maybe she was Italian? The most popular Jewish Quarter of Lisbon is located in Alfama. All files sent digitally must be accompanied by a SINGLE file with the necessary documents, in PDF, A4 format, Trevor was able to obtain the records via UCLA, who had copies of the records, but has since visited Bevis Marks and says that theyre very open to working with people who are trying to trace their heritage. Both communities have records from the time and will be able to verify whether you are, in fact, of Sephardic heritage. A while ago, visitors who eat only kosher food were required to bring back from home their own products to eat. He was able to get his application expedited to less than 6 months as he was living in London, citing Brexit as the reason. This group of Jews, mostly Poles, would play a remarkable role in the dynamization of this religious space, a singular synagogue, characterized by its openness to the outside, tolerance and understanding for Jews . For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. She didnt talk about her background very much, so we didnt know many details about her background. Do I have to speak Portuguese? . The Jewish community in Kobe, Japan compiled this list of European refugees and their relatives overseas, so that JDC can solicit aid from family members. Bat Mitzvah Certificate 10-pack. Explore the historic sites of vora and Belmonte, then make your way to the Douro Valley for a wine tasting and a river cruise. As well as documents relating to his family tree, Jonah also submitted photos of his Bar Mitzvah, recipes that had been passed down through his family, and any other customs he could think of. So it is time to get your application in to the Portuguese government now, while the process is understood and well navigated, and your chances of receiving the necessary recommendation can be easily evaluated.
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