The community’s previous cemetery was destroyed in 1497 in the wake of the Edict that banned Judaism in Portugal. “We do not forget in the past we were robbed of all our assets, houses, even the cemetery was destroyed”, said Rabbi Asaf Portal, one of Oporto’s rabbis.

The Jewish Community of Oporto recently inaugurated its new cemetery during a ceremony presided over by rabbis from Portugal, Israel, the USA and the UK, and attended by leaders of different religions. 

The community’s previous cemetery was destroyed in 1497 in the wake of the Edict that banned Judaism in Portugal. “We do not forget in the past we were robbed of all our assets, houses, even the cemetery was destroyed”, said Rabbi Asaf Portal, one of Oporto’s rabbis.

The name of the cemetery is Isaac Aboab Field of Equality who was the last Gaon of Castile who lived and died in Oporto following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. “Unfortunately, we do not even know where the last Gaon is buried, because the persecution destroyed all traces of the Jewish community of the time”, stated Daniel Litvak, the Oporto Head Rabbi.

The cemetery is located in Maia, 8 km from Oporto. Rabbi Yoel Zekriexplained that “It would be impossible in Oporto to build a private cemetery in a quiet, discreet location. The community decided to buy land outside the city, in a quiet location.’’

The mayor of Maia, António Silva Tiago, who was present at the inauguration, said that, “Jews are and will always be very well received in Maia, which is a city close to Oporto, with a long Jewish tradition and which is currently increasingly cosmopolitan and thriving.”

The new cemetery has about 300 individual graves as well as family vaults and a purification house.

The President of Chabad Portugal, Rabbi Eli Rosenfeld, said that the new  cemetery ‘’is proof that the Jews always regenerate. Having a Jewish burial is something of utmost importance in Jewish tradition. The dedication of the new Jewish cemetery is therefore truly a monumentos occasion.”