Three museum elderly visitors, includinh a Holocaust survivor, were unable to display Jewish symbols.
According to ACOM CEO Angel Mas the Reina Sofía Museum ‘’has ceased to be a space for culture and has become a loudspeaker for antisemitic hatred.’’ ‘’We will not tolerate a public institution funded by all Spaniards being used to stigmatize the State of Israel and the Jewish people.’’
A pro-Israel group that fights antisemitism in Spain has filed a criminal complaint before the Hate Crimes and Discrimination Section of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Madrid against the director of the Reina Sofía art musem, for an alleged offense of incitement to hatred which is punishable under Article 510 of the Spanish Criminal Code.
In a statement, ACOM (Action and Communication on the Middle East) explained that the complaint ‘’documents a systematic, repeated and institutionalized pattern of actions, allocation of space, and active tolerance which, from the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023, through February 2026, have turned the Reina Sofía Museum—a public institution funded by all Spanish taxpayers—into a platform for the demonization, delegitimization, and hostility against the State of Israel and the Jewish people.’’
Among the most serious facts documented in the complaint is the organization and promotion by the Museum of the series “From the river to the sea. International solidarity with Palestine”, which is considered as a genocidal slogan that explicitly calls for the elimination of the State of Israel and the Jewish people from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
The series included the display of the Palestinian flag on the museum’s façade. ‘’This demonstrates a repugnant double standard: while any individual displaying a Jewish symbol or one identifying with Israel is harassed, insulted, and ultimately expelled from the premises,’’ ACOM said in a reference to the fact that three elderly Israeli women were expelled from the premises for wearing Jewish symbols, including a necklace with the Star of David and an Israeli flag. According to Spanish media, one of the women was a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor.
They were verbally harassed by other visitors who insulted them by calling them “genocidal,” “murderers,” and “child killers.” Instead of protecting them, museum staff demanded that they leave the premises or conceal their Jewish symbols. One of the individuals who directly experienced this harassment for wearing Jewish symbols is among the complainants.
ACOM also mentioned ‘’a continuous succession of one-sided events—screenings, recitals, debates, and conferences—in which messages of explicit support for the Palestinian “resistance” were conveyed.’’
The group also mentions public statements by the Museum’s Director Manuel Segade, in which he acknowledges and even justifies “a lot of actions” of this kind against Israel within the institution.The complaint calls for the immediate opening of investigative proceedings, the securing of evidence (documentary, audiovisual, and testimonial), and the identification of responsibilities, both institutional and personal, including that of Director Manuel Segade.
ACOM considers that these actions do not constitute mere “political criticism,” but rather ‘’a deliberate construction of a discriminatory, intimidating, and humiliating environment that trivializes antisemitism from within a leading cultural institution.’’
ACOM CEO Angela Mas said the Reina Sofía Museum ‘’has ceased to be a space for culture and has become a loudspeaker for antisemitic hatred.’’ ‘’We will not tolerate a public institution funded by all Spaniards being used to stigmatize the State of Israel and the Jewish people.’’
We demand that the Prosecutor’s Office act with the firmness required by law and that all responsibilities be fully established.”
ACOM reiterates its firm commitment to defending the dignity and security of the Jewish community in Spain and to an uncompromising fight against all forms of antisemitism, without concessions, regardless of where it comes from.