In 1497, following the Spanish Inquisition, Portuguese Jews, like other Jews of the Iberian Peninsula, were forced to either convert to Christianity or to leave their country. A Jewish presence, however, remained constant in Portugal, but Jewish traditions had to be kept secret until the end of the 19th century. In 1902 the land where the synagogue stands today was donated to the Israeli Committee in Lisbon and the synagogue was inaugurated in 1904.
Portuguese law in the 19th century forbade non-Catholic religious temples from facing the street, therefore the synagogue stands behind a fence and a wall, and the main façade faces an inner courtyard. The synagogue is named Shaaré Tikvá, which means Gates of Hope. Besides being a symbol of Jewish religious revival in Lisbon, the synagogue also served as a place of asylum for many Jewish refugees during the Second World War.
Answer the question below:
What do you think is the role of the synagogues in the community?