Yossi Geller

Frédéric Brenner's New Christians Celebrating Passover in the Attic (1989)Frédéric Brenner, a French photographer renowned for documenting Jewish communities globally, journeyed to Belmonte, Portugal in 1989 to capture images of the Crypto-Jews residing there.In this photograph, a Jewish family discreetly observes Passover within the confines of their attic, symbolically honoring the Converso trad...

New Christians and Wool (Part 2)Jews settled in Beira Interior region (north-east Portugal) as early as the 12th century and formed one of the region's most formative communities. Their skills in trade, crafts, and especially wool-working would weave them into the very fabric of the region. Over time, their expertise helped transform towns such as Covilha and others into a major textile center. Ev...

The New Christians and Wool (Part 1)Across the Beira Interior—particularly in Guarda, Fundão, Belmonte, and Covilhã—New-Christian families became deeply embedded in textile production, commerce, and artisan trades. The Inquisition did not eliminate economic specialization; rather, it reinforced it. Restricted access to certain institutional offices often redirected New Christians toward commercial...

Hebrew Manuscripts in PortugalThe “Hebrew Manuscripts in Portugal” project (Tiago Moita,2017) identified 23 Hebrew manuscripts and fragments, most produced between the 14th and 15th centuries. Although numerically modest, the Hebrew manuscripts preserved in Portugal represent a rich and culturally significant heritage, spanning biblical scholarship, rabbinic law, liturgy, grammar, mysticism, and m...

Portugal, Coat of Arms and Jewish SymbolsA coat of arms can tell you a surprising amount about a location — but you must know how to “read” heraldry. They are symbolic, not literal maps. They encode history, power, geography, economy, religion, and political identity.I surveyed ChatGPT about Portuguese communal coat of arms and Jewish references. Chat stated that in Portugal, “municipal coats of a...

MarvãoLocated at one of the highest elevations within the Serra de São Mamede Natural Park (central - east Portugal) sits the village of Marvão. Recent excavations in the area have uncovered a second-century ring stone featuring Jewish symbols such as a Menorah, Shofar, Lulav, and Etrog.This discovery provides evidence of a Jewish presence in the area as early as the 2nd century CE, long before th...

Does Size Matter?Belmonte serves as the heart of the Crypto-Jewish community, representing the epicenter of Jewish revival in northeastern Portugal during the 1920s. The narrative of Belmonte—marked by ritual preservation, oral tradition, and an unwavering commitment to Jewish identity—is indeed a compelling one.When Samuel Schwartz rediscovered the Crypto-Jews of Belmonte in 1925, approximately 3...

The Spanish Inquisition Vs. The Portuguese Inquisition The Spanish and Portuguese “Inquisition” is often treated as a single, monolithic occurrence, when it was multiple systems operating differently across time and empires. They had different legal structures; targeted different populations and peaked in different centuries. Here is a simplified view:Spanish Inquisition• Time period: 1478 - 1834...

Fritos de Natal or SufganiyotFritos de Natal (Christmas fritters) or Sonhos (Doughnuts) in Portugal are sometimes suggested to be a crypto Jewish survival of Hanukkah fried sweets, preserved by New Christians after the Inquisition.The theory says that Jewish families kept the custom of frying dough in oil-central to Hanukkah-but rebranded it as a Christian Christmas food to avoid persecution. Whil...

Happy Hanukkah (Natal Pequeno)In inquisitorial trial records from Portugal historians have found references to Natal Pequeno (little Christmas). Scholars generally agree that these references point to Hanukkah, not Christmas itself.Several reasons make Hanukkah especially suitable for this disguise: The obvious reasons were calendar proximity, light symbolism, and domestic celebration (at home). C...

Crypto Jews Vs. New Christians The two concepts - Crypto Jews and New Christians are often intertwined. Although there is some overlap, the terms are to some degree different: Crypto-Jews (Secret Jews) - Definition: Individuals of Jewish heritage who publicly identified as Christians while secretly upholding Jewish customs, beliefs, and practices (such as lighting Shabbat candles and refraining f...

Joshua Benoliel (1873–1932) Joshua Benoliel was a Portuguese photojournalist, widely regarded as the founding father of modern photojournalism in Portugal. Born in Lisbon to a family of Jewish–Gibraltarian origin, he became famous for his dynamic and candid photographic style at a time when photography was still a slow, staged medium.Benoliel was known for his Spontaneous, “on-the-spot” shots rath...

Crypto-Jewish IdentityPortuguese Crypto-Judaism was not uniform across the country. While the Inquisition and forced conversion created a shared structural condition, regional social, economic, geographical, and demographic factors produced distinct identity trajectories. Thus, while there were commonalities, identity in Northern Portugal, Upper Beira, Lower Beira, and the Alentejo region evolved...

The New Christians - TerminologyAfter the forced conversions of 1497, the Jews of Portugal were officially transformed into cristãos-novos (New Christians), regardless of their personal conviction or degree of adherence to Catholicism. The term cristão-novo was originally intended to be temporary, referring only to those who had undergone baptism in 1497. However, in practice, the designation came...

Ha-Tikvah and Crypto Jews“Ha-Tikvah” is the national anthem of the State of Israel and is a powerful symbol of the Jewish people's yearning to return to their ancestral homeland, and establish a free and sovereign nation. Ha-Tikvah was written by Naftali Herz Imber (1877), and Samuel Cohen (1888) composed the melody. In Portugal, in the late 1920s, Ha-Tikvah was sung at the Rosh Pina Jewish school...

Crypto Jews and The First RepublicThe period of the first republic (1910–1926) was an untypically hopeful period for Beira Crypto Jews. After centuries of fear, secrecy and oppression, the first republic brought a "reawakening" of the Jewish presence in the region.Crypto Jews were not predominantly involved in the rise of the Portuguese First Republic, however their descendants, ideas, and cultura...

Polysemy, Crypto Jews and Smoked SausagePolysemicism (from polysemy) refers to the phenomenon where a single word, symbol, or sign carries multiple meanings that coexist rather than replace each other.In essence, polysemy in the context of Crypto Jews is used to explore how Jewish identity and "secret messages" are "encoded" within texts, symbols, rituals and even food. Polysemicism became a survi...

Orfeão da CovilhãIf you walk the streets of Covilha, Portugal you will see multiple “Star of David” symbols throughout the town. Some will say the symbol is of the Estrela (star) mountain which is adjacent to Covilha. However, another theory may be that Crypto-Jews who were influential in the industrial town durring the early 19C clandestinely placed Jewish/Zionist symbols everywhere. Yes, the “St...

Portugal and Israeli FootballersMore than 40 Israeli footballers have been granted Portuguese nationality under Sephardic law, which allows descendants of Jews to obtain citizenship. Of the more than 40 footballers granted Portuguese nationality, 12 are international. Among them are Manor Solomon, who currently plays for Villarreal CF in Spain, and Shon Weismann who is at FC Blau-Weiß Linz in the ...

Crypto Jews and Early Zionism Were the Crypto Jews of the early 20 Century exposed to Zionist thought? The answer is yes. Samuel Shwartz, the “father” of Crypto Judaism attended the 11th Zionist Conference in 1913 (Vienna), and it appears that he imported early Zionism to the Beira region. In 1930 we also see Barros Basto, in the Porto based Jewish Publication “Ha-Lapid” referring to Weitzmann an...

New Year, New Horizon שנה טובה.

The invasion of the JewsPortugal in the time of the First Republic (1910 - 1928) was not exempt from antisemitism. Mario Saa and his book “The Invasion of the Jews” spewed hate. Saa was a Portuguese journalist and writer known for his anti-Semitic views and writings. His work reflected prejudiced stereotypes and conspiracy theories about Jewish people, which contributed to perpetuating anti-Semi...

“A Honra de ser Judeu”“Honor of being Jewish” was the title of the June 1927 edition of Ha-Lapid. Ha-Lapid (“The Torch" in Hebrew) was a Portuguese newspaper, part of the Jewish community of Porto. It was founded and directed by Artur Carlos de Barros Basto, one the fathers of the resurrection of the New Christians. The first issue was published in April 1927 and the last in 1958. Initially, the...

“the Jew” António José da Silva (1705–1739), often called "the Jew" (o Judeu), was a Portuguese writer whose comedies, farces, and operettas briefly revitalized the Portuguese theatre in a period of dramatic decadence.António José da Silva’s Jewish identity and the oppressive atmosphere of the Inquisition deeply shaped his plays, though he had to veil it in allegory and satire. His comedies often ...

Portugal, Beira FiresMy 2nd home, Covilha, and the surrounding area are engulfed by wildfire. Summer wildfires are not new to the Beira region, but it appears that in recent years this phenomenon is exacerbating.Beira is and was the home of many Cristo-novos. Towns like Belmonte, Trancoso, Sebugal, Seia and others had vibrant Jewish communities. Let’s pray that the fires subside and that the grea...