A leader of Spanish Jews said last week that the country’s deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, must face “real political and legal consequences” for saying “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” during a speech last year.
The statement by Raymond Forado, president of the Jewish Community of Barcelona, was unusual for a communal leader in speaking about a top official. He made the remark at the European Jewish Association’s annual conference in Madrid on May 13.
Díaz, who is also Spain’s minister of labor and social policy, made the controversial statement in May 2024. The slogan she repeated refers to the space between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and it is widely seen as a call to ethnically cleanse Israel of Jews.
The phrase is “hate speech that calls for Israel’s erasure,” said Forado, according to a report of the panel discussion on the news site Enfoque Judio, adding that the Spanish government’s failure to respond has legitimized antisemitism.
“If the deputy prime minister of the Spanish government, in her official capacity, with the flag of Spain and the European Union flying behind her, calmly says ‘from the river to the sea,’ there are consequences that should happen,” added Forado. “If legislation isn’t strong enough to address the current climate of hatred, a case must be opened with the European courts,” he said.
Speaking on a panel focused on civil society cooperation against Jew-hatred, Forado also said Spain’s Jews have faced unprecedented ostracism since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. “We’ve become radioactive,” he told delegates. “No one—politicians, universities, even civil groups—wants to be seen with us.”
Forado criticized what he called institutional neglect, claiming that officials issue hollow statements with no follow-up. “They say they are in the IHRA, but there is no real will to behave accordingly or to support us,” he said.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is an international forum that also has a working definition of antisemitism. It includes examples of “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” and “applying double standards” toward Israel.
On Wednesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for the first time publicly called Israel a “genocidal state,” prompting allegations that he was legitimizing antisemitism.
Díaz is a member of the far-left Sumar Party, which is a coalition partner of Sanchez’s Socialist Party. Spain is one of three European countries, along with Ireland and Norway, that recognized a Palestinian state in 2024. Spain and Ireland have also accused Israel before the International Criminal Court of committing genocide in Gaza, a claim disputed by Israel, the United States and other allies of the Jewish state.
Barcelona’s historic synagogue, the first reestablished after the Inquisition, has been snubbed by local leadership, noted Forado, who represents the largest Jewish community in the Spanish province of Catalonia.
Salvador Illa, the president of the government of Catalonia, did not respond to a recent invitation to visit the synagogue, according to Forado.
Forado warned that both right- and left-wing parties have exploited Jews for political gain. “We are a game piece between the right and the left,” he said. “Antisemitism is organized and funded. And we are not.”
If Spanish law cannot address the current climate of incitement, he urged European Jewish institutions to file legal action with European courts.
He ended his remarks by calling on larger Jewish organizations to act where governments have failed. “We are doing everything backwards. And we cannot change this situation alone.”
In the concluding session of the two-day EJA conference, titled “Building or Leaving: Decision Time for Europe’s Jews,” over 150 Jewish leaders passed an emergency resolution declaring European inaction on antisemitism “unforgivable.” The resolution includes a six-point plan that calls for binding E.U. laws against antisemitism, sanctions on non-compliant universities, and coordinated legal and security strategies across the continent.
New survey data presented at the event revealed 65% of Europeans believe the war in the Middle East has worsened public attitudes toward Jews, with nearly one in five blaming Jews in their own countries for the conflict. “This is not about incidents,” said EJA advocacy head David Lega. “This is systemic collapse.”
In closing, EJA Director Rabbi Menachem Margolin told delegates: “No more vague declarations. No more soft condemnations. No more meaningless gestures. We are demanding our rights—and we’re ready to lead where others have failed.”
