Upcoming Virtual Lecture:How the Jews of Iberia Changed the Course of World History
Join Qesher for an extraordinary virtual journey into Portugal’s largely unknown, yet utterly fascinating, Jewish history. Acclaimed art and travel writer Irene Shaland, an internationally published historian and author, will transport you through time, from Roman and Visigoth eras to the brilliant Age of Discoveries, and right up to today’s blossoming community. Discover the resilient spirit and secret traditions that survived centuries of Inquisition and persecution, making Portugal a unique safe haven during World War II.
Would you like to know more about the specific dates and times for this virtual event, or perhaps details about Irene Shaland’s books on the topic?
Date: Thursday, January 29 – 3 pm Eastern Time
Duration: 65-75 minutes for presentation, 90 minutes total with Q&A
Irene Shaland is an internationally published art and travel writer and educator, with 7 books and over 30 magazine articles published in the US, Canada, and the UK. She is a contributing author and lecturer at academic institutions such as the Siegal College of Jewish Studies and Touro Law School in New York, and Center for Jewish History Research, as well as museums and cultural institutions, such as Museum of Jewish Heritage in Cleveland and New York, Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, BZD, Qesher, and other communal organizations focusing on Jewish history.
Step into the hidden world of Sephardic resilience and rediscovery! If you’re a Jewish history enthusiast—or planning a meaningful journey to Portugal—this virtual lecture is your gateway to a rich, little-known chapter of Jewish heritage.
Join renowned scholar Irene Shaland for her newest presentation in the “Saga of Sefarad” series: “Porto and the North: Resilience and Defiance.” From the majestic synagogue and museums of Porto to the mysterious villages “Behind the Mountains,” where Crypto-Jews secretly practiced their faith, this immersive experience will transport you through centuries of courage, ingenuity, and spiritual defiance.
Whether you’re tracing ancestral roots or mapping your next travel adventure, this lecture promises revelations you won’t find in guidebooks. Registration is open—don’t miss your chance to uncover the untold stories of Sephardic Portugal.
Lecture Title: “Porto and the North: Resilience and Defiance”
Presented by: Jewish Historian and Author Irene Shaland
Hosted by: New City Library, New York
Date and Time: Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM EST
Place: Zoom virtual event
This virtual event is free, but registration is required to receive the link to attend this lecture.
We begin our journey in Porto: visits to Portugal would not be complete without your immersion in the history and sites of this great city. No matter why you love to travel and whether you are passionate about the arts, music, architecture, rivers, bridges, or wine, Porto offers everything for everyone!
Specifically, for the Jewish history sleuths, we will explore Porto’s fascinating Jewish narrative by unveiling one site at a time. We will also visit Porto’s beautiful synagogue, the city’s two museums dedicated to Jewish history and the Holocaust, and discuss an amazing story of Porto’s Jewish community development throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
From Porto, we will travel to small towns and villages like Braganza, Chaves, Carcão, and Guimarães, to name just a few in the region called Terras de Trás-os-Montes or “Behind the Mountains.” We will “deep-dive” into the largely unknown outside of Portugal and little-researched Jewish narratives. There, Conversos or forcibly converted to Christianity Jews, risked their lives but secretly followed their ancestral religion by ingeniously modifying it to avoid the neighbors’ suspicion.
In the small ancient city of Bragança, we visit two unique Jewish organizations where the stories of the long-gone, forgotten, and hidden “behind the mountains” Jews are preserved: The Sephardic Culture Interpretation Center and The Sephardic Memorial and Documentation Center.
In Guimarães, we will learn why this fascinating city is widely regarded as “The Birthplace of the Nation.”
But it will be in the village of Carcão, where we will discover something extraordinary: the stories of its people’s astonishing defiance of the Inquisition, and see the village’s coat of arms that has a mezuzah and a menorah!
Our journey of discoveries through the unknown Jewish history in Terras de Trás-os-Montes concludes in Tui, Spanish Galicia, where we see the only preserved collection of Sanbenitos, or the Iberian Inquisition’s clothes of shame.
New Book Release: Shaland’s Porto & Northern Portugal: An Illustrated Guide to Jewish History and Sites in Northern Portugal, Its Capital Porto, and Select Sites in Central Portugal
The new addition to Shaland’s Portugal Series
Planning a trip to Portugal and looking for sites related to the history of the Jews in Iberia? Love reading stories of Jewish existence in Europe? The Jewish story of Portugal is not complete without a deep dive into the past and present of Porto and the north of the country—part of human history that, for the most part, remained hidden for centuries.
Not anymore! Now, with this unique guidebook in hand, you can travel in time and space to explore the Jewish sites in Porto, Batalha, Tomar, Guarda, Bragança, Carção, Chaves,Guimarães, and Tui.
Read heroic stories of Jewish resilience, ingenuity, and survival in the face of the relentless Inquisition, ruthless monarchs, and the watchful eyes of neighbors. Follow the wandering Jews of Iberia on the run from expulsions, forced conversions, executions, and outright massacres to short periods of relative calm and then packing up and fleeing again.
This travel guide will help you carefully plan an itinerary that best fits your interests and the time of your stay. After browsing through pages filled with insightful, fascinating stories, practical information, maps, and well over 200 gorgeous color photos, you will be ready for the journey of a lifetime.
Once you arrive in Portugal, we will guide you, step by step, to historical monuments, former Jewish quarters and ghettos, synagogues, and Jewish museums, helping you learn about the Jewish communities of Portugal from biblical times to the present day.As you turn the pages of this richly illustrated guide, you’ll have no trouble finding each site and learning about its history right then and there.
