Following its neighbor Spain's lead, Portugal is planning to
grant citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews banished in the 15th
century, the country's tourism minister said over the weekend.
The draft Portuguese legislation is identical to the bill
recently passed in Spain, Minister Adolfo Mesquita Nunes told Israel's Channel
1 on Saturday.
Under Spain's draft legislation, the country would offer
citizenship to Jews whose Sephardic origins can be verified. The bill requires
approval from the Spanish Parliament for it to become law.
Nunes said the Portuguese bill's wording and criteria for
receiving a passport would soon be finalized, although its principles were
approved by the country's parliament last May.
He also said that Portugal wants to preserve its Jewish
heritage.
Portugal initially granted Jews refuge following the 1492
expulsion from Spain, but less than a year later also began persecuting its
Jewish community, deporting, killing or forcing them to convert to
Christianity.
Nunes was in Israel last week to boost Israeli tourism to
his country, Israeli media reported.
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