My Summer of Paradoxes 2022

By MISHA KEYVANFAR | Junior Reporter

I spent my summer in the beautiful, sunny, and adventurous Portugal. The streets were amplified with music and lined with little old bakeries, welcoming restaurants, colorful stores, and booming night clubs.

I woke up each morning with the fresh scent of Portuguese Nata pastries, straight out of the oven, seeping through my window. The warm sun lit up each tiny blue tile that lines the many small alleyways.

Portugal seemed like an absolute dream. A place where there was only sun and no room for darkness.

This sunny feeling, however, came to a screeching end when I learned that the Spanish Inquisition had reached Portugal in 1536 and began 300 years of persecution, torture and murder of 1/4 of its population: Jews and Muslims. One of the darkest times in history that seems forgotten.

The Inquisition, known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, in Portugal was established with the help of the Pope. I learned that 300,000 Jews were given the choice of converting to Catholicism or being killed.

Once converted, the Inquisition targeted the converted “New Christians” if they suspected them of secretly practicing their Judaism. Some other groups, such as Muslims, Africans who were practicing their home religions were also targeted. This horror did not end until 1821.

The streets that I, together with thousands of tourists now dance through, used to be a place of fear and terror. Every morsel of knowledge about the Portuguese Inquisition that I acquired weighed me down again and again.

It was hard to walk through the neighborhoods that used to be thriving Jewish neighborhoods, but were now filled with fun cafes, pubs and clubbing, with no trace of its history.

How is it that a whole segment of a country was wiped from their identity? I was distraught. My body was weighted by a blanket of anger, sadness, and fear.

But within that heavy blanket of negativity, there was one emotion that started to grow. Gratefulness. I am so grateful my ancestors didn’t give up and that I am here today.

I am so grateful I live in a free country. I am grateful that I live in a democracy with checks and balances. I am grateful there is a separation between Church and State.

I am grateful for my Jewish identity. And as they say in Hebrew, “Baruch Hashem,” Thank God.