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Spain-Israel tensions flare and multiple Spanish synagogues are hit with anti-Israel graffiti
MADRID (JTA) — Political tensions escalated between Israel and Spain this past week as Spanish Jews reeled from a series of incidents outside synagogues.
Ione Belarra, Spain’s acting social rights minister, called to “urgently suspend diplomatic relations with the state of Israel” on Wednesday, citing Israel’s response in Gaza to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks that killed over 1,400.
“We ask our partner that, as the Government of Spain, we bring Netanyahu before the International Criminal Court for war crimes,” she said earlier in the week in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Without using specific names, the Israeli embassy in Madrid called on Spanish President Pedro Sanchez to condemn the “shameful statements” of some members of his government who have chosen to “align themselves with the terrorism” of Hamas.
The statement added that some in government have endangered “the security of the Jewish communities in Spain, exposing them to the risk of a greater number of antisemitic incidents and attacks.”
Multiple Spanish synagogues have been hit with graffiti tied to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has also led to thousands of deaths in Gaza. Madrid’s main synagogue in the heart of the Chamberí district was defaced with graffiti that read “Free Palestine” next to a crossed-out Star of David the day after the Oct. 7 attacks. “Free Palestine” was also sprayed throughout a medieval Jewish neighborhood in Catalonia, which is home to Barcelona.
In Melilla, a small Spanish enclave nestled on the North African coast near Morocco, a group of protesters gathered in front of a synagogue shouting “murderous Israel” and “freedom for the Muslim people” while burning an Israeli flag, forcing police to intervene.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares summoned Israel’s ambassador to Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon, on Monday afternoon, expressing his government’s displeasure over the Israeli embassy’s statement, as El Pais reported. Albares termed the statement an “unfriendly gesture.”
Albares’ ministry also issued a statement in response, asserting that they “categorically reject the falsehoods expressed in the Israeli Embassy’s statement about some of its members and does not accept unfounded insinuations about them.”
“In any case, the position of the Government of Spain as a whole with respect to the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas is clear: categorical condemnation, demand for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself within the limits set by International Law and International Humanitarian Law,” the statement continued.
Despite Albares’ statements, Belarra, who is part of the left-wing populist Podemos party, continued to sharply condemn Israel’s policies throughout the week. Yolanda Diaz, acting second vice president and leader of the left-wing Sumar party, said that recognition of a Palestinian state should be one of the first measures of the country’s next political coalition, which no party has successfully formed since July elections.
In a statement condemning the protests in Melilla, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain wrote in a news release that anti-Israel graffiti has also been found in the Jewish quarter of the medieval town of Besalú, on the door of a synagogue in Girona and outside the house of a Jewish family in Madrid.
Historically, Melilla has been known for its sizable Jewish population, and they have been targeted by protesters in past flare-ups in the Middle East. Many of Melilla’s residents, however, have prided themselves on a culture of peaceful cultural and religious coexistence between Jews, Muslims and Christians for more than a century and a half.
The mayor of Melilla, Juan José Imbroda, said he hopes that the “exemplary coexistence” of the city’s different cultures is not affected by “external conflicts.”
Rates of antisemitism, while historically high in Spain, have dropped significantly in recent years. According to a 2023 report from the Anti-Defamation League, Spain now boasts one of the lowest rates of antisemitic incidents in Europe.
The president of Colombia has also sharply condemned Israel online in the past week and floated the possibility of completely cutting ties with Jerusalem.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.