Lisbon Jewish Community (CIL) issues opinion on changes to the Nationality Law

The recent letter issued by the Jewish Community of Lisbon (CIL) marked a crucial moment in the debate over the future of the Sephardic route to Portuguese nationality. As a central and highly respected entity in the process of validating this nationality, the CIL reaffirmed the historical and moral importance of keeping this possibility open to descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews.

CIL's firm stance

The CIL Board, with clarity and authority, declared itself against the government proposal that foresees the immediate end of this route:

“The CIL Management, as already established, opposes the option taken to eliminate, in the Government Bill under analysis, extinguishing – with immediate effect from the date of entry into force of the Law resulting from this Bill – the possibility of granting nationality by naturalization to descendants of Portuguese Sephardic Jews.”

Historical reparation: justice and reconciliation

The letter highlights that:

“Having opened – and rightly so! – the door to historical reparation, it is the duty of the Portuguese State not to close it, but rather to ensure that only those who effectively have the proven right to enter enter through it.”

And also:

“The historical reparation to Sephardic Jews is not an immigration policy, but is, without question, a gesture of justice, of recovering legacy and memory and, above all, of national reconciliation with a painful, albeit distant, past.”

Requests submitted by CIL

The letter also includes constructive proposals to improve and strengthen the process, ensuring its integrity and credibility:

• Introduce into the Law a term of validity of no less than three years.

• Eliminate the residency criterion.

• Eliminate the Evaluation Committee for the purposes of certificate approval (or, alternatively, reconfigure it to approve procedures, rather than individual processes).

• Include specific standards for regular audits and inspections, including by Parliament.

• Introduce the criterion of knowledge of the Portuguese language and approval in the National Integration and Citizenship Test.

It is worth noting that these proposals are not effective, but demonstrate the institution's position regarding the scenario under debate.

A call for political responsibility

The letter closes with a striking phrase that resonates as an appeal to policymakers:

"Doing what's easy may be tempting. But doing what's right is what truly distinguishes statesmen from mere managers of the situation."

To read the full letter and check out our complete analysis, visit:

English (unofficial translation) | Portuguese

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