Israel has accused Spain of anti-Semitism after a giant effigy of Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up at a street festival.
The Israeli foreign ministry summoned Spain’s ambassador for a reprimand following the incident in a town near Málaga on April 5.
The seven-metre effigy of the Israeli prime minister was blown up with 14kg of gunpowder in El Burgo as part of a traditional ceremony, according to María Dolores Narváez, the city’s mayor.
The Israeli foreign ministry said the “appalling anti-Semitic hatred on display” was a “direct result” of “systemic incitement” by the government of Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain.
A Spanish foreign ministry source told Reuters that the government was “committed to fighting against anti-Semitism and any form of hate or discrimination. As such, we totally reject ⁠any insidious allegation which suggests the contrary”.
The effigy incident is the latest in a series of diplomatic spats between Israel and Spain, which began following the terror attack on Oct 7.
On Friday, Mr Netanyahu ordered the removal of Spain’s representatives from the Gaza ceasefire co-ordination centre in Kiryat Gat in central Israel.
“Israel will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us. Spain has defamed our heroes, the soldiers of the IDF, the soldiers of the most moral army in the world,” Mr Netanyahu said.
The prime minister said that those who attacked Israel instead of “terrorist regimes will not be our partners regarding the future of the region”.
He added: “I am not willing to tolerate this hypocrisy and hostility. I do not intend to allow any country to wage a diplomatic war against us without paying an immediate price.”
Pro-Palestinian activists carry an effigy of Mr Netanyahu and a banner reading ‘murderers’ in Barcelona on Sunday – Josep LAGO / AFP via Getty Images
Spain has been among the most vocal critics of Israel’s war against Hamas as well as the American-Israeli war against Iran.
In June 2024, Spain joined South Africa in the genocide accusations case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
It also recognised Palestine as a state along with Ireland and Norway in 2024.
Critics say that anti-Semitism has spiralled in Spain since the Hamas attack on Oct 7.
“We have seen how, at demonstrations, online and on the street, hate speech against Jews became routine. Then signs appeared across the city. Later, posters were hung on public buildings with slogans,” the Jewish community in Barcelona said, following desecrations of graves at a Jewish cemetery in the coastal city in January.
“After that, a map was published marking Jewish targets, including a school. And now, the desecration of graves. This is not random. This is an escalation. From slogans to marking. From marking to threats. And from threats to action.”