The Jewish community in Portugal was whipped into a tizzy after a leading local newspaper accused Jews in the city of Porto of abusing legislation that grants citizenship to descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who were exiled in medieval times, to enrich themselves.
The lengthy report, published in daily newspapers Público, features harsh criticism that gives off a whiff of antisemitism.
It stated that up until a decade ago, Porto's modest Jewish community couldn't pool together enough resources to hire the services of a rabbi or even fix the roof of the local synagogue.
But its fortunes seemed to have drastically shifted by 2019, as the community now runs a kosher hotel, a mikveh [a ritual bath] and finished the construction of a new museum while also hiring a cantor for the synagogue and security detail.
Público further claimed that the local Jewish community earns €250 for each citizenship application it examines, and that community members own other lucrative satellite businesses that also turn a profit on the industry, such as real estate investments.
"What began as a gesture of goodwill and correction of a historical wrong eventually became a business with huge profits for the Jewish community of Porto," the newspaper claimed.
The article came in the context of the community's recognition of Russian-born Jewish billionaire Roman Abramovich — the primary owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC and owner of English Premier League soccer club Chelsea who also holds Israeli citizenship — as a descendant of exiled Spanish and Portuguese Jews.
Owing to the same, Portugal's Justice Ministry granted Abramovich citizenship in a decision that earned broad criticism. Police launched an investigation into the affair. The Jewish community and the ministry denied any wrongdoing.
The Portuguese government passed the citizenship law in 2015 to allow the descendants of Jewish families deported from the Iberian Peninsula some 500 years ago to receive Portuguese citizenship. It is estimated that some 40,000 Israelis were given citizenship under the law, and many others are entitled to it.
As part of the investigation, Portuguese authorities published last week official numbers pertaining to the law, showing that over the last seven years (March 2015 to January 2022), Portugal has granted citizenship to 56,685 descendants of exiled Spanish and Portuguese Jews on top of 80,102 requests that were still being processed.