The object that stops many visitors cold is an Inquisition prison cart, kept here in a large glass case. It was made for the film 1618, produced for Porto’s Jewish community, but its presence gives a physical weight to a history often encountered only in documents. Museu Judaico do Porto opened in 2019 through a partnership between the Porto Jewish Community and B’nai B’rith International.
Its purpose is active as well as historical: the museum forms part of the community’s work against antisemitism. In the garden, a stone memorial honours Chief Rabbi Isaac Aboab, the leading religious authority of the fifteenth century. After Jews were expelled from Spain, he lived out his life in Porto; the mathematician and astronomer Abraham Zacuto buried him here.
The museum stands opposite the synagogue, and its entrance carries a Hebrew appeal for mutual aid between Portuguese people and Jews. Inside, ritual objects including Torah scrolls, a shofar, Talmud volumes and a model of Jerusalem’s Temple introduce Jewish religious life. The story then follows Jewish life in Iberia, expulsion and Inquisition, migration around the world, and the rebuilding of Porto’s community. A newer gallery, opened in 2021, examines Operation Entebbe.
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