(Monday, June 9, 2025) – At an event held in Porto, B’nai Brith Portugal and the International Observatory on Human Rights issued a stark warning: the human rights of Jews across the globe are under urgent and unprecedented threat.
Against this backdrop, the organizations honored former Israeli ambassador to Portugal, Colette Avital, for her lifelong commitment to defending human rights, particularly those of Jews, a commitment now more vital than ever.
Avital speaking at the event Credit: Courtesy
Luis Andrade, president of the Observatory, praised Avital’s decades-long efforts to uphold universal and Jewish human rights, which he described as “so often forgotten, ignored, or violated across history, and now again in the present moment, with frightening intensity.”
Avital reflected on her long diplomatic career, including her work as Consul General of Israel in New York, her dedication to Holocaust survivors, and her persistent fight against antisemitism. Her message resonated strongly given the surge in anti-Jewish violence and rhetoric following the October 7 massacre in Israel and its global aftermath.
“Human rights have been talked about in the modern era, but it is worth remembering that B’nai B’rith advocated for human rights for all in the 19th century and continues to do so today not only in the United States but in many countries,” said Avital.
Gabriela Cantergi, president of Bnai Brith Portugal, delivered a sobering message: “We are living through a moment in which basic human rights—life, dignity, and security—are being denied to Jews around the world. It is no longer theoretical. Jewish people are being hunted, burned, stabbed, and shot. The myth of Jewish privilege is used to justify barbarism. Jewish practice and tradition are being criminalized, while global opinion leaders rationalize terror. Israel has become the ‘Jew among nations’—scorned, misrepresented, and isolated.”
Dale Jeffries, from the Jewish community of Porto, echoed these concerns with painful clarity. “In the hours after the October 7 terror attacks, before Israel even responded, U.S. campuses erupted with rallies glorifying the massacre and calling for the eradication of the Jewish state. A Holocaust survivor and educator I know broke down and said, ‘Here we go again.’”
Jeffries added that Zionism, a simple call for Jewish self-determination, has been wrongly equated with extremism. “Now, every Jew is made to choose. But what the enemies of Israel failed to anticipate was the Jewish awakening. We are no longer silent. Jews across the world, young and old, are standing up, organizing, educating, and resisting.”
Portuguese journalist Miriam Assor offered a personal reflection on Avital’s legacy, recalling her father, Rabbi Abraham Assor, who was Portugal’s only rabbi for 50 years. “Ambassador Avital inspired an entire generation with her strength, convictions, and commitment to justice. At this perilous moment for Jews worldwide, her example is more needed than ever.”
As antisemitism intensifies globally in both rhetoric and violence, Bnai Brith Portugal’s event served as both a tribute and a call to action: Jewish rights are human rights—and they are in immediate peril.
