From bullfights to Euro 2024, Spain’s overt Gaza support sparks fear in some Jews
The country, one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israel’s war in the Strip, is home to a Jewish community that reports feeling an increasingly hostile environment
MADRID — Among those rooting for Spain in its Euro 2024 victory over England on Sunday were Gazans hunkering down to watch the game from tents in the Strip, according to news site Al Jazeera.
“Since this genocide started, Spain’s solidarity with us has been amazing — be it recognizing Palestine’s statehood or backing South Africa in its International Court of Justice case against Israel,” 36-year-old UNRWA math teacher Omar Ghayyad told Al Jazeera last week.
“We can see how passionate Spanish fans are [about Gaza] when they wave the Palestinian flag during their football matches,” said Ghayyad.
Likewise, during the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, members of penas (festive groups) unfolded a Palestinian flag at the beginning of the fifth bullfight on Thursday. Dating back to medieval times, the annual festival also features religious processions, folk dancing, concerts, round-the-clock drinking — and at least this year, political protests.
It is this perceived steadfast Spanish allegiance to the Gazans’ cause that is currently creating an uneasy situation for Jews in Spain, a country in which the Inquisition was formally abolished only in 1834.
When Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, read the historic declaration on May 28 that his country was recognizing a Palestinian state, he said that it was “not a decision against anyone.” But the government announcement sparked fear in some of Spain’s Jewish community and the Israeli expats who live there.
“It’s only for votes, it’s a game, [Sanchez] doesn’t really care,” said Ilana O’Malley, an Israeli who has lived in Malaga for more than 20 years. “There is a strong disconnection between politics and reality. I can tell you that I got a lot of support from the Spanish people. I feel a lot of love here.”
However, another Israeli woman who has lived in Madrid for a decade said, “It’s shameful what happened, honestly… I think the Spanish don’t care, they have other priorities like the cost of living and unemployment. It’s really like smoke trying to cover burning issues.”
Diplomatic tensions erupted in recent weeks when Spanish second deputy prime minister Yolande Diaz ended a speech with “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles described Israel’s military operation in Gaza as “true genocide.” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz replied with a video on X that interspersed images of Hamas terrorists attacking Israel on October 7 and flamenco dancers.
“The way both governments have reacted is very poor and is not contributing to a two-state solution. It’s a very poor way to handle the situation on both sides,” said Yakir Waynberg, an Israeli who has lived in Madrid for almost two years.
In response to Spain’s recognition of Palestine, Katz threatened to shut down the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem if it continued to offer services to Palestinians. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares responded that Spain’s consulate in Jerusalem had been operational long before the State of Israel was established.
Some Israelis interviewed by The Times of Israel are particularly concerned about growing tensions and diplomatic risks. What would happen if the Israeli Embassy closed its doors in Spain? Could a rift in diplomatic relations complicate bureaucracy for Israeli expats in the future?
“My cousin wants to move to Madrid. He will need to go to the embassy, but will that still be possible?” wondered Sivan Bar-oz Ortega, an Israeli who has lived in Catalonia for five years.
“It would be very bad if something like that happened, the entire Israeli community would suffer,” said Waynberg.
Rise in antisemitism
As in other European countries, antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed since Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, brutally murdering 1,200 people, kidnapping 251 to the Gaza Strip, and sparking the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“Jews are really scared, especially women. I went to buy pepper spray like many others. We didn’t invent this fear, we live it,” said Bar-oz Ortega.
She described tensions with the Arabic population in the Barcelona region — assaults, graffiti, conflicts at school, and police who do nothing about it.
Due to the climate of fear, Bar-oz Ortega decided to move to Madrid. She’s now feeling much safer.
“Here I can breathe, I don’t have to hide my identity,” she said, particularly because the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso from the People’s Party, has positioned herself against the Spanish government, which she accuses of using the tensions for electoral purposes.
One Israeli who has lived in Bilbao for several years believes that media coverage and the extent of the Spain-Israel tensions are fueling antisemitism. They requested anonymity as they have already been subject to harassment due to their nationality.
“The Spanish media have been talking about [the Palestine declaration] for weeks and weeks, often with biased coverage. I have received a lot of hateful comments since then, either at work or on social media — much more than after October 7. It’s a dangerous game, it fuels hatred of Jews,” they said.
More than 50 groups have already sent a letter calling on the Spanish government to combat anti-Semitism in recent months, saying that “well-known Spanish political representatives, including high-ranking government officials, are participating alongside anti-Semitic organizations” and encouraging it.
The end of reconciliation?
Spain introduced in 2015 a citizenship law for descendants of Sephardic Jews who were expelled during the Spanish Inquisition as a way to redress the “historical mistake” it committed when it forced its Jewish population to convert to Christianity or go into exile beginning in 1492.
The government granted citizenship to applicants of Sephardic Jewish descent who could prove a Jewish ancestor had been expelled, demonstrate their ability to speak Spanish, and pass a citizenship test. Spain received at least 153,000 applications for citizenship by 2021 and has granted citizenship to 36,000 applicants.
Even prior to that, in 2007 the Spanish government launched the Centro Sefarad-Israel cultural center in Madrid to educate locals about Jewish history and culture, the Holocaust, and Israel in the spirit of reconciliation.
But since October 7 all that has changed, as Spain has been one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israel’s war in Gaza. A survey for the Real Elcano Institute, a think tank based in Madrid, found that 78 percent of Spaniards favored recognizing a Palestinian state, while dozens of Spanish universities have announced the suspension of all ties with Israeli institutions and research centers.
The Palestinian issue divides the national political scene. On May 28, as Spain officially declared its recognition of Palestine, the head of the far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal, traveled to Israel in protest.
“Sanchez is an ignoramus who knows nothing of Israel’s history,” Abascal said at the time.
Tensions are far from over. On June 6, Spain applied to join South Africa’s Gaza genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. The case accuses Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention in its intervention in Gaza. Spain is the first EU nation to back the case.
