Antisemitic incidents up 14.5% in Spain in 2025, Jewish group says

Antisemitic incidents in Spain rose 14.5% in 2025, according to a new report, as Jewish community leaders warned that anti-Jewish hatred is becoming increasingly normalized in daily life.

The report by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain and the Movement Against Intolerance documented 221 antisemitic incidents last year, up from 193 in 2024.

The sustained rise in hostility that began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack has spread into the country’s social, educational, cultural and online spaces, the report finds. It also warns that antisemitism can become entrenched when it is tolerated or downplayed.

“Spanish Jews have had to attend our gathering places under special security measures,” FCJE president David Obadía says. “Our children are the only ones who go to school with a police presence, and insults and discrimination are part of everyday life.”

The country is home to an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 Jews who identify as Jewish or have Jewish parents, as well as tens of thousands of people with Jewish ancestry, the report says.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has become one of Europe’s sharpest critics of Israel and its military action in Gaza, which he says constitutes genocide — a charge that Israel vehemently denies. Spain imposed a total arms embargo on Israel in 2025 and permanently withdrew its ambassador in March 2026, following Israel’s withdrawal of its ambassador to Spain in 2024.

In June, Spain’s government reported lower numbers of antisemitic hate crimes using different criteria. Spain’s Interior Ministry recorded 69 such crimes in 2025, up from 37 in 2024 and 23 in 2023.