ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question: What international support did Barros Basto receive in his efforts to bring crypto-Jews in Portugal back to normative Judaism?
Artur Carlos de Barros Basto was a captain in the Portuguese army and decorated for his acts of bravery and honor during World War I. After discovering his Jewish ancestry, he became an important leader, helping to establish the Jewish community in Porto and encouraging Marranos to return to normative Judaism.
Ami Barr is an Israeli archaeologist and historian who is a specialist in Iberian Jewish history. This week he is speaking with us about Barros Basto, his importance to the Jewish community in Portugal, and how he fell into disgrace on trumped up charges, causing him to become known as “the Portuguese Dreyfus”.
