JEWISH WORLD NEWS

Residents of Lisbon, Portugal, are complaining that there is too much construction related to two Jewish museums which opened in the area, and another even larger one is in the works. They also claim that nobody consulted with them prior to building. In the northeastern city of Braganca, the municipality opened a two-story Sephardi Interpretive Center that focuses on the life of Jews under persecution in 15th and 16th centuries. A smaller Jewish Memorial Center opened in the town of Vila Cova à Coelheira east of the northern city of Porto. This is in addition to the four-story Jewish Museum of Lisbon, which is being built in the same area. Residents are protesting that the structure houses a large Star of David, which “breaks with the neighborhood’s tradition,” spokeswoman Maria de Lurdes Pibheiro said in a statement. Residents claim that the area of Sao Miguel Square is not an appropriate location for the museums since it doesn’t fit with the atmosphere of the neighborhood, which consists primarily of boutiques, restaurants and other tourist attractions. Lisbon is one of the only capital cities in Western Europe that doesn’t have a Jewish museum despite strong lobbying from Portuguese Jews. It was only recently that they were granted approval. Jaime Ayash, the vice president of the Jewish community of Lisbon, said the center’s opening was the latest demonstration of modern Portugal’s immunity to rising anti-Semitism elsewhere in Western Europe.

A rare autobiography of Luis de Carvajal dating from 1595 will finally be returned to Mexico’s national archives after being missing for seven decades. Luis de Carvajal was governor of the Spanish province of Nuevo Leo’n in present-day Mexico, and was the first Spanish subject known to have entered Texas from Mexico. It is reported that Carvajal was a Jewish “converso” (forced convert to Catholicism) who died during the Inquisition while being burned at the stake in 1596. He also denounced more than 120 other secretly-practicing Jews, according to the New York Historical Society, which is where the manuscript was on sale. The documents is said to be the oldest Jewish document of the New World and shows that there was Jewish life on the American continent. Carvajal’s “Memorias” manuscript, which was written under a pseudonym, consists of his memoirs, a book of psalms and commandments, and a collection of prayers. The consulate said the manuscript would be returned to Mexico’s Museum of Memory and Tolerance.

A U.S. delegation, led by Congressman Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, briefly visited Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to further investigate the possibility of relocating the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something President Trump has promised to do once elected. The delegation also exploring potential sites to house the embassy, so that they can return to the U.S. “with an accurate analysis of the matter, in order to update the U.S. administration and Congress.” The move is met with opposition from Palestinian and Jordanian leaders who have warned the U.S. that moving the embassy could initiate violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as in other Middle East areas.

Starting June 1^st, Israel will be issuing new eight digit license plates. Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said the updated plates will only be for new vehicles, and that all other vehicles will continue to carry the old seven digit license plates. Current civil registration numbers consist of seven digits, which are separated by dashes: one between the second and third digits and another between the fifth and sixth digits. Older registration numbers, which are still seen in Israel, consist of five or six digits with one dash placed prior to the last three digits. The reason for this change is to keep up with Israel’s booming demand. 300, 000 new vehicles are registered in Israel’s Vehicle Registration Authority every year, and it is predicted that the country will run out of seven digit license plates within six months.