“Being Jewish is a religion of risk, but no one will stop us from going to synagogue or from celebrating and commemorating our holidays as Jews,” Estrella Bengio, president of the Jewish Community of Madrid, told JNS on Wednesday.
Bengio was attending the Yael Foundation’s fourth annual education summit in Vienna, which this year focused on resilience, innovation, leadership, Jewish identity and the challenges of modern education.
Lectures at the summit included, on Tuesday: “Positive Leadership: The Science of Happiness” by Tal Ben-Shahar, examining the intersection of leadership, psychology and well-being, and on Wednesday, “Harnessing the Hacker Mindset” by Keren Elazari, linking cybersecurity, innovation and leadership, and “Igniting Excellence in the Next Generation,” outlining the vision of Yael Foundation CEO Chaya Yosovich.
Bengio described Spain’s Jewish community—particularly in Madrid—as young, growing and vibrant.
After more than a thousand years of Jewish presence in Spain came the Inquisition, followed by nearly five centuries with virtually no Jewish life. The Jewish community of Madrid is now just over a hundred years old, with its most significant growth occurring between the world wars, when families arrived from Eastern Europe, and again in the 1960s, with immigration from North Africa and Argentina.
Madrid’s Jewish kindergarten was established in 1965 with just four children, during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The main synagogue was built in 1968, and the community’s school opened in 1977.
From that point on, Bengio said, the community steadily expanded. The school grew from a primary institution into a full high school, and today it serves students from ages 3 to 18, offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
“Since 2021, Madrid has become a hub,” Bengio said. “We have seen people arriving from Latin America, the United States, Europe and Israel, and we feel it in the school. Enrollment has grown by nearly 100 children in a short period—growth that previously took three decades. There is more life and plurality in the community.
“It is an opportunity,” she added, “but also a major challenge, requiring us to adapt our services and facilities to new realities.”
Bengio noted that Spain’s 2015 law granting citizenship to descendants of Sephardi Jews expelled during the Inquisition played an important role in the community’s growth and has had a very positive impact.
Regional support
Addressing Spain’s approach to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, Bengio said she is grateful for the support the Jewish community has received from the regional government of Madrid, despite what she described as fierce anti-Israel rhetoric and policies at the national level.
In June 2024, Spain announced its decision to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Two weeks earlier, the Spanish government recognized “Palestine” as a state, alongside Ireland and Norway.
In October 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez urged the European Union to suspend its free-trade agreement with Israel over Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.
In September 2025, while announcing a series of anti-Israel measures aimed at “preventing genocide in Gaza,” Sánchez said Spain lacked the means to halt the war against Hamas on its own.
“Spain does not have nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers or vast oil reserves,” Sánchez said in a national address. “On our own, we cannot stop the Israeli offensive. But that does not mean we will stop trying.”
The following month, the Spanish parliament approved an arms embargo on Israel.
“I don’t need to list everything the national government and the prime minister have done,” Bengio said. “Spain has 17 regional governments, and the president of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has been very strong in the fight against antisemitism and in her support for Israel, even before Oct. 7.”
She also highlighted the backing of Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
“The mayor is extremely supportive of our community,” Bengio said. “We celebrated Chanukah in the streets. We commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day at Madrid City Hall and in other municipalities, and the speeches are always extremely supportive.”
Bengio noted that in May 2024, the Jewish Community of Madrid was awarded the City of Madrid’s Medal of Honor by the mayor.
“At a time when antisemitism was rising worldwide—and continues to rise—he presented that award with great pride,” she said.
“While the government may say one thing, the voice of the people often says another,” Bengio added. “When the Medal of Honor was awarded to us, my neighbors sent me messages of congratulations, telling me they stand with us.”
Bengio stressed that while Madrid is a very safe city, the Jewish community must ensure its continued protection. “We are under the special protection of the national government’s security forces, and they are excellent,” she said.
Community growth, she emphasized, began before Oct. 7, 2023, and has continued since. “That doesn’t mean there are no antisemitic incidents,” Bengio said, “but the difference is that the president of the regional government is close to us and makes sure we are able to live as normally as possible.”
Bengio added that local and municipal governments supportive of the Jewish state also have a national presence and could one day be elected at the national level.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” she said, “but they are prepared, they have the structure, and they could reach that level.”
