After Netanyahu effigy is blown up during Spanish Easter festival, Israel reprimands gov't for anti-Israel bias

After a Spanish town burned an effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an Easter festival last week, the Israeli government issued a strong rebuke to Spain. The incident took place in El Burgo during the traditional “Burning of Judas” ceremony, where effigies of unpopular figures are destroyed.

In previous years, figures such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump have been depicted, while this year’s event featured Netanyahu.

El Burgo Mayor María Dolores Narváez defended the act, claiming it is an established tradition and intended as an anti-war protest. She said the 23-foot ‌figure of Netanyahu was packed with 14 kilograms (31 pounds) of gunpowder and detonated during a festival attended by both locals and tourists.

✝️🇪🇸🇮🇱 On Easter Sunday, an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was burned at a "Burning of Judas" ritual in Malaga, Spain. pic.twitter.com/7FPWSCPD1a

— The Daily News (@DailyNewsJustIn) April 7, 2026

“This is an anti-war message; every year we choose a different figure that represents evil in our eyes,” she stated. 

The Israeli embassy in Spain condemned the incident, saying, “The real evil is terror; this display of hatred is an act that incites violence.” 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry also condemned the display in a post on 𝕏, calling it an example of “appalling antisemitic hatred.” 

“The appalling antisemitic hatred on display here is a direct result of [Prime Minister Sanchez's] government’s systemic incitement,” the ministry wrote. “ And even now, the Spanish government remains silent.” 

The Foreign Ministry summoned the Spanish chargé d’affaires over the incident. 

The International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ) also condemned the display, noting that it represented “a centuries‑old tradition found in some Catholic and Orthodox communities that originated in medieval Europe” in which Jews are portrayed as “greedy, Christ‑killers, or inherently evil.” 

Such displays “have no place in our modern world, and should be universally banned by the Catholic Church in keeping with the major reforms of the Vatican II Council,” the ICEJ said in a statement. 

“The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ) denounces this outrageous antisemitic display carried out during the most sacred celebration in the Christian calendar, that of Easter,” the statement continued. “We call upon the Catholic Church in Spain to issue a clear and unequivocal condemnation and apology for this reprehensible deviation from Christian teaching. Furthermore, we urge the Church of Rome to exercise moral leadership by instructing its global constituency to refrain from perpetuating such antisemitic practices in the future.” 

Relations between the two countries, which have been tense in the past, have deteriorated significantly since the Sánchez government came to power in 2018. During the most recent Iran conflict, Spain closed its airspace to U.S. aircraft supporting the war effort against Iran. 

On Friday, Israel, with the support of the U.S., expelled Spanish representatives from the U.S. Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in the Israeli town of Kiryat Gat, citing what they described as Madrid’s “obsessive anti-Israel bias.” 

Netanyahu said the decision came "after Spain has chosen repeatedly to stand against Israel.” 

During the Iran war in early March, Spain withdrew its ambassador over the worsening ties. The country also imposed trade restrictions on Israeli products in January, and Prime Minister Sánchez has publicly accused Israel of being a “genocidal state.”