The Jewish museum of Oporto, Portugal, recently created a special permanent exhibit room dedicated to Operation Entebbe, with the aim of bringing young Jews closer to Israel, whether they belong to the local Jewish community or they simply visit the city throughout the year.

B'nai B'rith Portugal's President Gabriela Cantergi explained that, "the room that has just opened is dedicated to young Jews who have no awareness of the many counter-terrorist actions that the IDF and Mossad have faced in the past, and certainly are prepared to face in the future as well."

Cantergi added: "The idea of building a room dedicated to the Entebbe operation came from an event that brought together young Jewish leaders of various nationalities in Oporto last June."

"The young people's main concern was whether Israel could stop a new Holocaust in any country in the world, to which the Israeli ambassador, president and CEO of B'nai B'rith International, present at the event, clearly replied that they could."

Regarding the new room, whose conceptualization he personally followed, the Israeli ambassador to Portugal, Raphael Gamzou, said: "This room dedicated to Operation Yonatan teaches us that distance, logistics or any other challenge, would never be an excuse for Israel not to do the most in order to save the lives of its citizens."

Daniel Mariaschin, CEO of B’nai B’rith International, said: "The hostage rescue in Entebbe exemplifies Israel's strength and resolve. Dedicating an exhibit to that historic moment enables all visitors to the museum to know that Israel protects its people, wherever they may be."

Besides the Entebbe operation room, the Jewish Museum of Oporto shows millennia of the history of Jewish people, the Golden Age in Sefarad, the expulsion from Spain and Portugal, the Portuguese Inquisition, the arrival in Oporto of an Ashkenazi community in the 19th and 20th centuries, the failed rescue attempt of the "Bnei Anousim" in the 1930s, and the current flourishing of the Oporto Jewish community that is essentially composed of Sephardic families who for centuries lived in Balkan, Arab, or Muslim countries.

The local Jewish community includes about 500 Jews originally from more than thirty countries and has a Beit Din (Jewish court), synagogues, mikva'ot (ritual baths), kosher restaurants, a Jewish Museum, a Holocaust Museum of Oporto, and cooperation protocols with the Israeli Embassy to Portugal, Keren Hayesod, B’nai B’rith International and the Anti-Defamation League.

Operation Entebbe room at Oporto's museum
Operation Entebbe room at Oporto's museumCourtesy of CIP
Operation Entebbe room at Oporto's museum
Operation Entebbe room at Oporto's museumCourtesy of CIP