Anti-Jewish sentiment and historical violence in Spain
Antisemitism in Spain is the expression through words or actions of an ideology of hatred towards Jews on Spanish soil.
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Antisemitism in Spain is the expression through words or actions of an ideology of hatred towards Jews on Spanish soil.
Christian anti-Judaism began with the expansion of Christianity on the Iberian Peninsula during the rule of the Roman Empire. Its first violent manifestation occurred in the persecution of Jews in Visigothic Hispania. During the Middle Ages, Jews in Islamic Iberia, Al-Andalus, were designated as dhimmis , and, despite occasional violent outbursts such as the 1066 Granada massacre, they were granted protection to profess their religion in exchange of abiding to certain conditions that limited their rights in relation to Muslims. [2] After the Almoravid invasion in the 11th century, the situation of the Jewish population in Muslim territory worsened, [2] and during the Almohad invasion of the peninsula, many Jews fled to the northern Christian kingdoms, the eastern Mediterranean and the more tolerant Muslim areas in North Africa. [3]
Iberian Jews lived in relative peace next to their Christian neighbors. The kings, especially those of Aragon, regarded the Jews as their property and it was in their own interest to protect them. During this time the Jews enjoyed relative political freedom, they had posts in the courts and were merchants and businessmen. The Jews used to live separately in juderías (Jewish neighbourhoods). The dynastic change entailed by the ascension of the Trastámara dynasty after the Castilian Civil War saw a radicalization of the antisemitic sentiment across the aforementioned crown of Castile, with a convergence of religious doctrinal anti-Judaism, aristocratic political antisemitism, and popular antisemitism exacerbated by the ongoing economic and social crisis, which had its climax in the 1391 pogroms. [4]
Blood libel accusations were spreading and decrees were imposed on the Jewish people. The situation peaked with the massacres of 1391, in which entire communities were murdered and many were forcibly converted. [5]
In 1492, via the Alhambra Decree, the Catholic Monarchs ordered the expulsion of a disputed number of Jews from the Crowns of Castile and Aragon, ranging from 45,000 to 200,000, [6] [7] and thus put an end to the largest communities in Europe. The expulsion of the Jews from Navarre followed suit in 1498. [8] The coerced baptisms eventually produced the phenomenon of the conversos , the Inquisition and statutes of limpieza de sangre .
Conspiracionism about conversos featured in a notable number of vernacular works printed in the territory of current-day Spain (as well as the wider Iberian World) throughout the Early Modern Period, underpinning the image of Judaizing conversos as the quintessential "folk devils". [9]
Modern antisemitism came to Spain through France. [10] Édouard Drumont's antisemitic tract La France juive was edited in Spain as early as 1889, translated by Pelegrín Casabó y Pagés, who also published an analogous La España judía in 1891. [11] The brand of antisemitism imbued of the Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory increased in Catholic publications after 1898. [12]
Following the Soviet Revolution and the founding of the Spanish Communist Party in 1920, such "anti-Spanish forces" were primarily identified with the "destructive communist virus", which was often considered to be guided by the Jews. [13]
The 1931–45 period saw the peak of modern antisemitism in Spain, which was primarily embraced by the extreme right. [14] In a country with few Jews, this discourse was functional from an ideological standpoint to the rallying of the conservative forces against republicanism and the workers' movement rather than the minuscule Jewish community. [15] The Francoist winning side emerging from the 1936–39 Civil War repressed nonetheless the Jews, prohibiting their worship and their organizations except in North Africa. [15]
It was during the 1960s that the first Spanish neo-Nazi groups appeared, such as CEDADE. Later on, Spanish Neo-Nazis attempted to use antisemitic discourse to explain the political transition to democracy (1976–1982) after the death of Franco. It drew on the same ideas that had been expressed in 1931 when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed; political revolutions could be explained as the result of various "intrigues". In 1978, Jews were recognised as full citizens in Spain, and today the Jewish population numbers about 40,000, approximately 0.1% of Spain's population, 20,000 of whom are registered in the Jewish communities. Most live in the larger cities of Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa or the islands. [16]
 | This Section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia.(November 2023) |
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet | - | 1 | 2 |
| Media | 10 | 3 | 7 |
| Attacks on property | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Attacks on persons | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Trivialisation of the Holocaust | - | 1 | 3 |
| Delegitimizing Israel | - | - | 5 |
| Incidents | - | 1 | 1 |
| Instigation to antisemitism | - | 1 | 2 |
| Legal decisions | - | 6 | - |
| Total | 19 | 12 | 30 |
Surveys from the 1980s and 1990s showed that the Spanish image of the Jews was ambivalent: pejorative stereotypes such as avariciousness, treachery and deicide contrasted with positive evaluations such as their work ethic and their sense of responsibility. [18] In 1998, a survey conducted of 6,000 students in 145 Spanish schools showed a slight increase in racist attitudes compared with 1993 - 14.9 percent would expel the Jews compared with 12.5 percent in 1993. [19] In spring 2002, many EU member states, including Spain, experienced a wave of antisemitic incidents which started with the 'Al-Aqsa-Intifada' in October 2000 and was fueled by the conflict in the Middle East. During the first half of 2002, the rise of antisemitism reached a climax in the period between the end of March and mid-May, running parallel to the escalation of the Middle East Conflict. [20]
According to a September 2008 study published by the Pew Research Center of Washington DC, nearly half of all Spaniards have negative views of Jews, a statistic that marks Spain as one of the most antisemitic countries in Europe. According to Pew, 46% of Spaniards held negative opinions of Jews, more than double the 21% of Spaniards with such views in 2005. Spain was also the only country in Europe where negative views of Jews outweighed positive views; only 37% of Spaniards thought favorably about Jews. [21] [22]
In September 2009, the ADL published a special report titled "Polluting the Public Square: Anti-Semitic Discourse In Spain." Following the report, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said, "We are deeply concerned about the mainstreaming of anti-Semitism in Spain, with more public expressions and greater public acceptance of classic stereotypes. Among the major European countries, only in Spain have we seen viciously anti-Semitic cartoons in the mainstream media, and street protests where Israel is accused of genocide and Jews are vilified and compared to Nazis [...] Opinion makers in Spain are crossing the line that separates legitimate criticism of Israeli actions from anti-Semitism, and the results are evident. Our polling shows an alarming rise in anti-Semitic attitudes." [23]
| Trends in Anti-Semitic Attitudes in Spain [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] |
|---|
| Percent responding “probably true” |
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Jews are more loyal to Israel than to this country Jews have too much power in the business world Jews have too much power in international financial markets Jews still talk too much about the Holocaust
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According to the "Report on Anti-Semitism in Spain in 2010" which was jointly produced by the Observatory on Anti-Semitism in Spain and a nongovernmental organization called the Movement against Intolerance in 2010, while Spain was mired in the worst economic recession in its modern history, it emerged as one of the most antisemitic countries in the EU. [29] According to a poll commissioned by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 58.4% of Spaniards believe that "the Jews were powerful because they controlled the economy and the mass media. This number reached 62.2% among university students and 70.5% among those who are "interested in politics." More than 60% of Spanish university students said they did not want Jewish classmates. In other polling data, more than one-third (34.6%) of Spanish people had an unfavorable or completely unfavorable opinion of Jewish people. Another interesting finding is that antisemitism was more prevalent in the political left than it is on the political right - 34% of those on the far right said they are hostile to Jews, while 37.7% of those on the center-left were hostile to Jews. Sympathy for Jews among the extreme right (4.9 on a scale of 1–10) is above the average for the population as a whole (4.6). Among those who recognized themselves as having "antipathy for the Jewish people," only 17% says this was due to the "conflict in the Middle East." Nearly 30% of those surveyed said their dislike of Jews had to do with "their religion," "their customs," and "their way of life," while early 20% of Spaniards said they dislike Jews although they do not know why. [30]
During 2010, Casa Sefarad-Israel decided to carry out a detailed sociological study (both qualitative and quantitative), with the following main goals: [31]
The qualitative study showed there has been a decline in traditional antisemitic attitudes, which were still present in some sectors, and an increase in those of a political and/or economic type. [32] According to the quantitative study, in April 2010, 34.6% of the Spanish population expressed an unfavorable opinion on Jews, while 48% expressed a favorable opinion on Jews. It is noteworthy that the unfavorable attitudes towards Jews were at the same level as those regarding other groups addressed, including Orthodox Christians and Protestants. It is particularly significant that as a source of problems in Spain, Jews were considered to be at the same level as were Catholics. The results obtained from segmentation of the study population confirmed the existence of fairly homogeneous attitudes – both favorable and unfavorable – towards all religious groups in general, rather than any differentiated opinion with respect to the Jews. [33] Among the reasons cited by the respondents for expressing unfavorable attitudes towards Jews, 17.5% pointed to Israel's role in the Middle East conflict, while 31.3% pointed to this factor as the reason why Jews are perceived as creating problems in the world. These findings confirmed that a significant proportion of the negative evaluation of Jews and Jewishness among the Spanish population was due to a perceived association between Jews as a religious group and the State of Israel and its policies. Among the reasons cited by those who consider Jews to create problems in Spain, the most significant one (cited by 11.4% of respondents) was the association with issues that are characteristic of immigration in general. This confirmed that part of the population in Spain viewed the Jews as an alien group, and extended its negative perceptions of this group toward the difference in general, concerning both its origin and its religion. Regarding opinions on Israel and the Middle East, both Israel and Palestine were viewed unfavorably by the majority of the study population. Regarding the perception of the Middle East conflict, 67.2% of those interviewed held both parties to be responsible to some degree. Similarly, the questions on the Middle East conflict produced a majority of results clearly recognizing the legitimacy of the State of Israel. [31]
According to some, [34] derived from the fact that almost all Spaniards are Catholic, and Spain remains one of the most homogeneous Western countries, Spanish Judeophobia reflects a national obsession with religious and ethnic unity which is based on the conception of an imaginary "internal enemy" plotting the downfall of the Catholic religion and the traditional social order. [20] However, that assumption clashes with the fact that 21st-century Spain is one of the most secularised countries in Europe, [35] [36] with only 3% of Spaniards considering religion as one of their three most important values [37] and thus not linking it to their national or personal identity. Furthermore, in modern Spain there is not an "internal enemy" scare but in far-right circles, which are more often focused against Muslim immigration as well as Catalan and Basque separatism, way more visible phenomena. Modern antisemitic-like attitudes in Spain utilizes perceived abusive policies of the State of Israel against Palestinians and in the international scene rather than to any kind of religious or identity obsession as a justification for anti-Jewish sentiments, [38] [39] [20] and it has been defined by Jewish authors as an "antisemitism without antisemites" despite such rhetoric still being ostensibly antisemitic. [39]
| This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia.(November 2023) |
Some important elements differentiate the Spanish media from its European counterparts:
During the past decade, historical Catholic antisemitic stereotypes returned in the media when it came to the Middle East coverage. Medieval antisemitic tropes rooted in the religious tradition emerged from time to time in the representation of the Israeli-Arab conflict in the mainstream press. During the years of the Second Intifada and throughout the Lebanon war in 2006, Spanish newspapers and magazines published cartoons in which Israelis, Israel as a whole, or Jewish symbols were linked to the killing of children, themes of vengeance and cruelty, echoing ancient anti-Jewish imagery. Likewise, this merges with newer stereotypes such as charges of sowing disorder, subjugation of others, and the analogies between Israelis and Nazis - sometimes through direct comparisons, while other times through indirect comparisons by referring to "the Palestinian Holocaust" or making an analogy between Gaza and concentration camps or the ghettos. [23] [41] For example, on 23 April 2002, at the height of Operation Defensive Shield, the highly satirical magazine El Jueves (Thursday) displayed on its front page a caricature of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon with a pig's face, a skull cap, a swastika and the caption "This wild animal." [42]
A contemporary example of Antisemitism in the Spanish Media is the posting of 17,500 antisemitic tweets following Israeli basketball team, Maccabi Tel Aviv's win of the Euro-league on 18.05.2014. Angry Spanish supporters created an expletive antisemitic hashtag in their messages after the match, which briefly became one of the most popular keywords on Twitter in Spain. Twelve Jewish associations filed a judicial complaint after seeing references in some messages to death camps and the mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust. The organizations singled out five people who were identified by their real names on Twitter, accusing them of “incitement to hatred and discrimination” — a crime punishable by up to three years’ jail in Spain. [43]
Modern antisemitic-like attitudes in Spain are mostly related to the perceived abusive policies of the State of Israel against Palestinians and in the international scene, [38] [39] [20] and it has been defined by Jewish authors as an "antisemitism without antisemites." [39]
Antisemitism is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. This sentiment is a form of racism, and a person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Though antisemitism is overwhelmingly perpetrated by non-Jews, it may occasionally be perpetrated by Jews in a phenomenon known as auto-antisemitism. Primarily, antisemitic tendencies may be motivated by negative sentiment towards Jews as a people or by negative sentiment towards Jews with regard to Judaism. In the former case, usually presented as racial antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by the belief that Jews constitute a distinct race with inherent traits or characteristics that are repulsive or inferior to the preferred traits or characteristics within that person's society. In the latter case, known as religious antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by their religion's perception of Jews and Judaism, typically encompassing doctrines of supersession that expect or demand Jews to turn away from Judaism and submit to the religion presenting itself as Judaism's successor faith—this is a common theme within the other Abrahamic religions. The development of racial and religious antisemitism has historically been encouraged by anti-Judaism, though the concept itself is distinct from antisemitism.
Scholars have studied and debated Muslim attitudes towards Jews, as well as the treatment of Jews in Islamic thought and societies throughout the history of Islam. Parts of the Islamic literary sources give mention to certain Jewish groups present in the past or present, which has led to debates. Some of this overlaps with Islamic remarks on non-Muslim religious groups in general.
New antisemitism is the concept that a new form of antisemitism which developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, tends to manifest itself as anti-Zionism and criticism of the Israeli government. The concept is included in some definitions of antisemitism, such as the working definition of antisemitism and the 3D test of antisemitism. The concept dates to the early 1970s, although the identification of anti-Zionism with antisemitism has "long been de rigueur in Jewish communal and broader pro-Israel circles".
After the fall of Communism in Poland in 1989, Jewish cultural, social, and religious life has experienced a revival. Many historical issues related to the Holocaust and the period of Soviet domination (1945–1989) in the country – suppressed by Communist censorship – have been reevaluated and publicly discussed leading to better understanding and visible improvement in Polish–Jewish relations. In 1990, there were 3,800 Jews in Poland, 0.01% of Poland’s population, compared to 3,250,000 before 1939. The number had dropped to 3,200 in 2010.
Racial antisemitism is prejudice against Jews based on a belief or assertion that Jews constitute a distinct race that has inherent traits or characteristics that appear in some way abhorrent or inherently inferior or otherwise different from the traits or characteristics of the rest of a society. The abhorrence may find expression in the form of discrimination, stereotypes or caricatures. Racial antisemitism may present Jews, as a group, as a threat in some way to the values or safety of a society. Racial antisemitism can seem deeper-rooted than religious antisemitism, because for religious antisemites conversion of Jews remains an option and once converted the "Jew" is gone. In the context of racial antisemitism Jews cannot get rid of their Jewishness.
This is a list of countries where antisemitic sentiment has been experienced.
The history of the Jews in Belgium goes back to the 1st century CE until today. The Jewish community numbered 66,000 on the eve of the Second World War but after the war and The Holocaust, now is less than half that number.
Different opinions exist among historians regarding the extent of antisemitism in American history and how American antisemitism contrasted with its European counterpart. Earlier students of American Jewish life minimized the presence of antisemitism in the United States, which they considered a late and alien phenomenon that arose on the American scene in the late 19th century. More recently however, scholars have asserted that no period in American Jewish history was free from antisemitism. The debate about the significance of antisemitism during different periods of American history has continued to the present day.
Antisemitism —prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews— has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christian and pre-Christian civilizations of Europe.
Antisemitism has existed for centuries in the United States. Most Jewish community relations agencies in the United States draw distinctions between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors, and the security and status of American Jews, which are both measured by the occurrence of specific incidents. FBI data shows that in every year since 1991, Jews were the most frequent victims of religiously motivated hate crimes, according to a report which was published by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019. Evidence suggests that the true number of hate crimes against Jews is underreported, as is the case for many other targeted groups. In an attempt to combat anti-Semitism, the Biden administration launched the United States’ first-ever comprehensive U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism on May 25, 2023.
Antisemitism in Canada is the manifestation of hostility, prejudice or discrimination against the Canadian Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, ethnic or racial group. This form of racism has affected Jews since Canada's Jewish community was established in the 18th century.
Antisemitism in Turkey refers to acts of hostility against Jews in the Republic of Turkey, as well as the promotion of antisemitic views and beliefs in that country.
Antisemitism in France has become heightened since the late 20th century and into the 21st century. In the early 21st century, most Jews in France, like most Muslims in France, are of North African origin. France has the largest population of Jews in the diaspora after the United States—an estimated 500,000–600,000 persons. Paris has the highest population, followed by Marseilles, which has 70,000 Jews. Expressions of antisemitism were seen to rise during the Six-Day War of 1967 and the French anti-Zionist campaign of the 1970s and 1980s. Following the electoral successes achieved by the extreme right-wing National Front and an increasing denial of the Holocaust among some persons in the 1990s, surveys showed an increase in stereotypical antisemitic beliefs among the general French population.
Since World War II, antisemitic prejudice in Italy has seldom taken on aggressive forms.
Antisemitism in contemporary Hungary principally takes the form of negative stereotypes relating to Jews, although historically it manifested itself more violently. Studies show antisemitism has become more prevalent since the fall of Communism, particularly among the younger generations. Surveys performed from 2009 and beyond have consistently found high levels of antisemitic feelings amongst the general population.
Antisemitism in the United Kingdom signifies hatred of and discrimination against Jews in the United Kingdom. Discrimination and hostility against the community since its establishment in 1070 resulted in a series of massacres on several occasions and their expulsion from the country in 1290. They were readmitted by Oliver Cromwell in 1655.
Antisemitism in Greece manifests itself in religious, political and media discourse. The 2009–2018 Greek government-debt crisis has facilitated the rise of far right groups in Greece, most notably the formerly obscure Golden Dawn.
Evidence for the presence of Jewish communities in the geographical area today covered by Austria can be traced back to the 12th century. In 1848 Jews were granted civil rights and the right to establish an autonomous religious community, but full citizenship rights were given only in 1867. In an atmosphere of economic, religious and social freedom, the Jewish population grew from 6,000 in 1860 to almost 185,000 in 1938. In March 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany and thousands of Austrians and Austrian Jews who opposed Nazi rule were sent to concentration camps. Of the 65,000 Viennese Jews deported to concentration camps, only about 2,000 survived, while around 800 survived World War II in hiding.
The Jewish Archive was the name given to a collection of documents compiled by the regime of Francisco Franco in Spain during the Second World War. In accordance with instructions of the Directorate of General Security the provincial governors of Spain assembled records of all Jews who lived in Spain, whether or not they were Spanish. Jorge Martínez Reverte has suggested that the resulting list, which recorded 6,000 Jews living in Spain, was handed to Heinrich Himmler's SS in 1941 and was included in Adolf Eichmann's Jewish Population Census, tabled at the Wannsee Conference, chaired by Reinhard Heydrich, in January 1942.
Zionist antisemitism is the phenomenon in which individuals, groups, or governments support the Zionist movement and the State of Israel while simultaneously holding antisemitic views about Jews. In some cases, Zionism may be promoted for explicitly antisemitic reasons. The prevalence of antisemitism has been widely noted within the Christian Zionist movement, whose adherents may hold antisemitic beliefs about Jews while also supporting Zionism for eschatological reasons. Antisemitic right-wing nationalists, particularly in Europe and the United States, sometimes support the Zionist movement because they wish for Jews to be expelled, or for Jews to emigrate to Israel, or because they view Israel as a supremacist ethno-state to be admired and held up as a model for their own countries.
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