‘Destroy Israel’ Banner at Spain’s San Fermín Festival Sparks Outrage From Jewish Leaders and Officials
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by Ailin Vilches Arguello
A banner reading “Destroy Israel” was displayed above a crowd during the opening celebrations of Spain’s San Fermín festival in Pamplona, sparking outrage from Jewish leaders and political figures who condemned the message as antisemitic. Photo: Screenshot
A banner calling for Israel’s destruction displayed during one of Spain’s most internationally recognized cultural celebrations has drawn condemnation from Jewish organizations and political figures, who accused organizers of allowing antisemitic rhetoric to enter the public sphere.
The annual San Fermín bull-running festival opened on Monday in Pamplona, a city in the country’s northern Navarre region, marking the start of the weeklong event known worldwide for its traditional bull runs and large crowds of visitors. During the opening celebrations, demonstrators displayed a large banner reading “Destroy Israel” above the thousands of participants gathered in the city.
Social media videos showed the banner stretched over the crowd, featuring the antisemitic message alongside an image of a crossed-out Israeli flag and the initials EHKS, which refer to a far-left socialist organization associated with the Basque Socialist Movement.
The European Jewish Congress (EJC) strongly condemned the display, warning that such messages cross the line from political criticism into incitement and contribute to the growing normalization of antisemitism across Europe.
“Calls for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state go far beyond legitimate political expression. Such rhetoric promotes hatred, fuels hostility and contributes to an environment in which antisemitism is increasingly normalized,” the EJC wrote in a post on X.
Israeli officials also denounced the banner, accusing those behind it of reviving antisemitic rhetoric and targeting the Jewish state in a public setting.
“Five hundred years after the Inquisition, calls for the destruction of the Jewish state in the streets of Spain. Shame on you,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote on X.
A banner reading “Destroy Israel” was displayed before thousands of people during the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, Spain,
Calls for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state go far beyond legitimate political expression. Such rhetoric promotes hatred, fuels hostility… pic.twitter.com/gM8FbfGlof
— European Jewish Congress (@eurojewcong) July 7, 2026
Like most countries across Europe and the broader Western world, Spain has seen a rise in antisemitic incidents over the past two years, following the invasion of and massacre across southern Israel by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
Spain stands out as one of the most extreme cases, however, with experts warning that antisemitic violence and anti-Zionist rhetoric have moved beyond a social phenomenon to being, in many instances, state-promoted and legitimized as a political tool. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and several members of his Socialist Party have come under mounting criticism from some of the country’s political and Jewish leaders, who accuse them of fueling antisemitic hostility.
Last week, a group of French Jewish tourists was reportedly chased and harassed by a crowd shouting antisemitic insults after leaving a synagogue in Barcelona. Following Shabbat services, the tourists, who were wearing kippahs, were walking back to their hotel through the city’s beachfront Olympic Village area when a woman wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh allegedly shouted antisemitic slurs at them and repeatedly spat in their direction.
The harassment reportedly escalated as dozens of others gradually joined in, some arriving on bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles, surrounding the group and cutting off its path forward. Members of the crowd shouted, “Jews are not welcome in Barcelona,” “Baby killers,” and “Israeli genocide,” according to the victims.
Last month, Spanish authorities launched an investigation into a public school in Madrid’s Puente de Vallecas district after 10-year-old students performed a pro-Palestinian play dressed in military-style uniforms resembling those of Hamas terrorists, wearing balaclavas and carrying toy rifles. During the play, the children could be heard chanting phrases such as “With strength and courage, we will not surrender,” while some girls wearing keffiyehs chanted lines including “Resistance and freedom.”
Education authorities in Madrid initiated an inspection into the school over allegations that it may have violated the political neutrality required in Spain’s public education system.
