João Taborda da Gama is the new Portuguese coordinator of the European Strategy to Combat Antisemitism and Promote Jewish Life.
The Portuguese government is committed to combating antisemitism and developing a prevention strategy in response to the growing threats of discrimination against the Jewish community and culture.
A lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the Portuguese Catholic University since 2009, João Taborda da Gama is a lawyer, arbitrator, and legal consultant.
He is also a member of the Practice Council of the ITP at New York University.
He previously served as Secretary of State for Local Administration (20th Constitutional Government) and was a member of the Supreme Council of Administrative and Tax Courts, elected by the Assembly of the Republic (2017-2021).
At the end of January 2025, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, represented the Portuguese state in Auschwitz on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp, where he paid tribute, on behalf of the Portuguese people, to those who perished and suffered at the hands of antisemitism. “Evil and hatred cannot be a path, even when there are differences. We cannot take differences and turn them into a tool for evil, for hate speech. A dehumanised community is a profoundly wrong path and cannot be an instrument of politics,” António Leitão Amaro stated on that occasion.
In 2021, the European Commission presented the European Union Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life 2021-2030. In October 2024, the Council of the European Union adopted a declaration on supporting Jewish life and combating antisemitism, taking into account the alarming levels of antisemitism across the Union.
