Posts by Rob Hoffman
8 posts
I had the honor to be one of the guides for this Jewish history of Madeira. https://youtu.be/q57Tuc0IgFc?si=PpJRGdQeAl1E0gIs
A few days ago, we celebrated the eighth and final night of Chanukah in Madeira.
You may or may not be aware of the dramatic reenactment of the life of Samuel Nunes, my eighth grandfather and his family’s journey from Lisbon to Savannah, Georgia. It just launched its second season. In addition to the regular episodes, I recommend listening to the supplementary interviews which are chock full of historical information.
One of the reasons I recently traveled from Madeira to Amsterdam: To visit the gravesite of a (possible) Madeira Native and Portuguese secret Jew Who Impacted the World: Menasseh Ben Israel.
Now that I live in Portugal, I’m always looking for connections to my crypto-Jewish links within the country.
The story of my eighth great grandfather, Dr. Samuel Nunes, and how I wound up back in his homeland.
From last week’s ceremony: Madeira Memorializes the Courage of Aristides de Sousa Mendes
This was a rather remarkable event to which I was honored to be invited this past Thursday. The city of Funchal dedicated a bust honoring Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who defied orders and issued exit visas to Jews and others fleeing the Nazis during WW2. Though he might have saved as many as 30,000 people, he died in dishonor and near poverty in 1954. In 1966, Israel made him ...