French Jews say they were chased by mob in Barcelona chanting ‘baby murderers’

A group of French Jewish visitors to Barcelona was reportedly harassed by a street mob that chanted antisemitic and anti-Israel slogans as they followed them through the streets, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FJCE) said in a statement Monday.

The group was subjected to “hostile stares, insults, and harassment” for about an hour and a half as they walked back to their hotel from a synagogue, it said.

If confirmed, “this would be one of the most serious episodes of anti-Semitic harassment recorded in Barcelona in recent years,” the FJCE said.

Citing testimony from members of the group, the statement said the incident began on Friday night as the group left a synagogue in the city after prayers and dinner.

Two members of the group were wearing kippot, and one of them was wearing traditional Hasidic garb, according to the statement.

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People in the street showed open hostility toward them, the FCJE said, and then a woman wearing a Palestinian scarf began following them while shouting anti-Israel and antisemitic slogans. She also allegedly spat at them.

As the group made their way back to their hotel, dozens of other people joined the woman, some riding bicycles, electric scooters, or motorcycles.

They shouted “Jews are not wanted in Barcelona,” “baby murderers,” and “Israeli genocide,” a reference to Israel’s military action in the Gaza Strip during the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people.

The mob also prevented the Jewish group from “walking normally” and left its members in fear of physical assault during the hour and a half it took them to reach their lodgings at the Hotel Arts Barcelona, where security guards prevented the crowd from entering the premises.

There were no reports of physical injury.

The FCJE said that together with the Jewish Community of Barcelona, it is gathering information and is considering filing a complaint with authorities, though the victims chose not to file a police report.

It asked that any eyewitnesses or those who may have video of the incident contact the Jewish community.

“This episode adds to an escalation of anti-Semitic incidents that have been reported for months: the desecration of the Jewish cemetery in Montjuïc, graffiti and acts of vandalism, intimidating gatherings and threats against members of the community,” the FCJE said in its statement.

The FCJE called on the authorities “to abandon any passivity in the face of this trend because antisemitism is not a problem of the Jewish community. It is a problem for all of democracy.”

Last month, two Jewish American women were denied entry to an LGBTQ sauna in Barcelona because they were wearing Star of David necklaces.

A report released in June by the Spanish government found that antisemitic offenses in Spain rose 86 percent last year, the country’s worst year for hate incidents on record.

Jews were targeted in 69 hate crimes and incidents in 2025, up from 37 in 2024, according to the report released by Spain’s Interior Ministry. Islamophobic attacks also increased, from 15 to 35 incidents.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has become one of Europe’s sharpest critics of Israel and its military action in Gaza, which he says constitutes genocide — a charge that Israel vehemently denies. Spain imposed a total arms embargo on Israel in 2025 and permanently withdrew its ambassador in March 2026, following Israel’s withdrawal of its ambassador to Spain in 2024.

JTA contributed to this report.