Vivian Salama <vivsalama@...> wrote:

In the previous posts, the Montreal Spanish and Portuguese synagogue is
mentioned as one of the proofs of being of Sephardic background....
Would these Jews not count in an attempt for citizenship offered
by Portugal and Spain?

Vivian, I am not sure I understand what your question is.

The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal is explicitly
mentioned in the Portuguese citizenship law as an example of a
synagogue or organization with traditionally Sephardic ties. So are
the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, Shearith Israel in New York,
Bevis Marks in London, the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island,
and Kahal Tzur Israel in Recife -- among others, as well as the
communities in Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Balkans,
Brazil, North Africa, the USA, and so on.

You can read the unofficial English translation of the actual
Portuguese law here, in PDF format:
https://www.portaldascomunidades.mne.pt/images/GADG/Not%C3%ADcias/cdnjs/eng/DL-%20EN.pdf
[or http://tinyurl.com/jslwmro --Mod.]

Or you can look it up online yourself; the law is "Decree Number 30 --
A/2015", which passed on February 25, 2015, and went into effect on
February 27, 2015.

So, if your question is "can I apply for Portuguese citizenship?" then
yes, your family's membership in that synagogue and your family names
would indeed be considered as supporting evidence of Sephardic lineage
-- but there is no guarantee that merely checking off those two boxes
would satisfy the conditions for citizenship. You have to submit a
whole packet of proof to qualify, and they look at each case
individually.

Good luck!

- Brooke Schreier Ganz
Mill Valley, California