The Great Synagogue of Barcelona was hit with anti-Israel graffiti ahead of Yom Hashoah, or Israel’s Holocaust remembrance day.
The graffiti found read: “Free Palestine from the river to the sea. Solidarity with the Palestinian people.” Vandals also left letters nearby that said Israel commits “genocide against the Palestinian people” and criticized “Catalan elites” for supporting Israel.
Jewish groups around the world criticized the graffiti and said the fact that pro-Palestinian activists targeted a synagogue shows that anti-Zionism is antisemitic, a contention that is disputed.
“Outrageous! We utterly condemn the antisemitic graffiti on the facade of Barcelona’s synagogue,” the European Jewish Congress tweeted. “This graffiti is yet more evidence that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.”
Colau had said that Israel is guilty of “apartheid,” as well as “flagrant and systematic violation of human rights.” The Barcelona-Tel Aviv twin city relationship had begun in 1998.
