Spain reports 86% rise in antisemitism as total hate incidents soar to all-time high

Spanish government defines antisemitic incidents as acts of hatred or violence targeting Jews and Israelis, even as Madrid cements itself as one of Europe’s harshest Israel critics

JTA — Antisemitic offenses in Spain rose 86% last year, the country’s worst year for hate incidents on record, according to a report from the Spanish government.

Jews were targeted in 69 hate crimes and incidents in 2025, up from 37 in 2024, according to a report released last week by Spain’s Interior Ministry. Islamophobic attacks also increased from 15 to 35 incidents.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said in a video posted on Facebook that his office documented 2,417 total hate incidents last year, the highest figure since it began recording in 2014. Spain is home to about 70,000 Jews, according to the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain.

The ministry defined antisemitism as any act of hatred, violence or discrimination directed against Jews or “nationals of the State of Israel.”

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 which 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.

The Interior Ministry said hate crimes motivated by racism and xenophobia accounted for the largest number of offenses at 934. Grande-Marlaska called out “public officials” for rhetoric and policies that he said inflamed xenophobic sentiment.

Demonstrators march with a banner reading in Catalan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will win!” during an protest in Barcelona, on October 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)

Grande-Marlaska released his report as Spain’s far-right, anti-immigration Vox party advocated for a “national priority” policy that favors Spaniards over others in access to public aid and benefits, such as subsidized housing and healthcare. Vox recently struck deals with the conservative People’s Party to insert the “national priority” clause into coalition agreements in the regions of Extremadura, Aragón and Castile and León.

“The national priority is xenophobia,” Grande-Marlaska said. “It is institutionalized xenophobia, protected and promoted by public officials who legitimize and amplify hate speech that, in the past, would have been condemned when it entered the public sphere.”

Vox is strongly supportive of Israel, whose government has allied with the party despite a history of neo-Nazis in its ranks. Vox leader Santiago Abascal visited Israel in 2024 to show his support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Sánchez recognized a Palestinian state.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.