(May 25, 2025 / JNS) A new documentary titled 'The 2,000 Kidnapped Jewish Children' has been released for free on YouTube by the HispanoJewish Foundation of Madrid and the Jewish Community of Porto. The 30-minute film explores a little-known but haunting chapter in Jewish history and is dedicated to the families of the hostages abducted during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The film tells the story of Jewish children—aged eight and under—who were seized in 1493 by order of King João II of Portugal. Their families, who had fled Spain following the 1492 expulsion of Jews, were unable to pay the exorbitant ransom demanded by the Portuguese crown. As punishment, the children were forcibly taken from their parents and deported to the remote and uninhabited island of São Tomé, some 7,500 kilometers from their homes.

“When we hear European leaders rewarding terrorism and encouraging the killing of Jews and Israelis everywhere, it becomes imperative to remember what European Jewish life has been like for centuries,” said Gabriel Senderowicz, president of the Oporto Jewish community. “This film aims to recall a historical episode, similar to many others, that is not even mentioned in school curricula in any European country.”