Suspicion of anti-Semitism: Jewish tourists were expelled from the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid

The women, pensioners, one of whom is the daughter of parents of Hungarian origin who suffered from Nazi persecution, came to tour the museum accompanied by a local woman. During the visit, other visitors began to call them harsh insults, including “murderers” and “perpetrators of genocide”, due to the fact that they wore necklaces with the Star of David or carried the Israeli flag.

According to the report and a video that documented the incident, instead of the security team protecting the attacked women, a responsible person at the museum ordered the security guard to evacuate them. The security guard demanded that the women, who suffer from mobility difficulties due to their age, hide the Jewish symbols or leave the compound. When the Spanish escort protested to him and pointed out that carrying religious symbols is not a violation of the law, the security guard replied that they should evacuate because “there are people in the crowd that bother them.”

The escort, who spoke to OKDIARIO anonymously, defined the incident as “unbearable racism on the part of civil servants”. The report highlights the absurdity of the museum’s conduct, which in the past allowed protests by anti-Israel organizations to take place on its premises without interference, but chose to act firmly against elderly tourism. It should be noted that the criminal law in Spain stipulates severe penalties for hate crimes and anti-Semitism, and the lender is now considering filing an official complaint against the institution.