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After their synagogue is vandalized, Porto Jews brace for antisemitism during Israel-Hamas war
(JTA) — Gabriel Senderowicz woke up on Wednesday to see his synagogue in Portugal’s small coastal city of Porto was vandalized overnight.
Black graffiti scrawled over the white gate to the Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue read “Free Palestine” and “End Israel Apartheid.” The largest synagogue on the Iberian Peninsula and among the largest in Europe, Kadoorie serves a tight-knit community of about 1,000 Porto Jews, including many with familial ties to Israel. The graffiti was removed the same day and no arrest has been made.
Porto has braced for flaring tensions as the brutal and rapidly escalating Israel-Hamas war splits communities around the world. Since Hamas militants rampaged Israeli towns on Saturday, more than 1,400 Israelis and nearly 2,700 Palestinians have been killed. Israel declared a complete siege on the enclave and hundreds of thousands have fled south ahead of an expected ground invasion.
European leaders have increased security around synagogues and Jewish neighborhoods to prepare for antisemitic threats in the wake of the conflict. A spate of incidents last week across the globe included a vandalism campaign that marked Stars of David on apartment buildings where Jews lived in Berlin and a rally in Australia that included “gas the Jews” chants.
Senderowicz, who is president of the Jewish Community of Porto, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that many Porto Jews anticipate becoming the most prominent target for antisemitism in their country. The community has visibly flourished in recent years, growing from about 40 Jews in 2012 to roughly 1,000 today. Though Porto and Lisbon have similarly-sized Jewish populations, Porto has the largest synagogue and more Jewish institutions, including a Jewish museum, a Holocaust Museum and several kosher restaurants.
Senderowicz said he was not surprised by the appearance of graffiti on his synagogue. He expected some form of retaliation after a vigil for victims of the Hamas attack the previous night, which drew about 400 people to Porto’s city hall. The building was illuminated in the colors of the Israeli flag.
The synagogue was also vandalized in 2021 by a left-wing German group that accused Porto Jews of being “fascists.”
For many members of the community, the Hamas assault hit close to home. One Israeli resident of Porto had a niece at the Tribe of Nova music festival near the Gaza Strip, where she was among the 260 people murdered by Hamas gunmen. Another Israeli who lives in Porto was called in for reserve duty, leaving his wife and children behind. Senderowicz himself has a cousin and an uncle currently serving in the Israeli army.
After discovering the graffiti on Wednesday, Senderowicz met with representatives of the city’s Catholic and Muslim communities about protecting against violence.
“We met in the city hall to make sure that the relationship between our communities is safe, it’s solid,” he told JTA. “This doesn’t have consequences for our relationship.”
Nonetheless, the community is prepared for a spike in antisemitic threats. Porto police have reinforced their presence around the synagogue and other Jewish institutions, while Jewish leaders are avoiding in-person events. Senderowicz canceled attending a conference in Zagreb this week, both for security reasons and to support the Jews in his city.
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The post After their synagogue is vandalized, Porto Jews brace for antisemitism during Israel-Hamas war appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.