Several acts of antisemitic violence was discovered in a Spanish village Mota de Judíos.
On Monday, December 6, acts of antisemitic violence were discovered on buildings in the Spanish village Mota de Judíos (“Jews’ Hill Camp), formerly called Matajudíos, meaning “Kill Jews”. Allegedly, the original name of the village was Mota de Judíos, because it was founded by a group of Sephardic Jews in the 11th century. The 52 residents of the village voted to change back to the original name in 2014, also planning to build a Sephardic history and memory centre.
The vandalism was strongly condemned by the village’s mayor, Lorenzo Rodríguez, who shared pictures on social media of the antisemitic slogans painted on the entrance of the town hall. The graffities said “the mayor who sold out to the Jewish murderers,” accompanied by crossed out Star of David. Other slogans included “Juden Raus” (German for “Jews Out”), “Long Live the Catholic Monarchs” and references to Tomas de Torquemada, the first Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition that resulted in the mass expulsion of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula.
Mayor Rodríguez reported the destruction to the police and condemned the “cowardly, disgusting, violent and intolerant” attack, confirming that it won’t prevent the opening of the Sephardic centre next year. He added that those behind the attack had carried out a “direct assault on democracy, on ideas, and on the individual and collective freedom of a village.”, reports the Algemeiner.
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain denounces the antisemitic vandalism and said it was “unacceptable and show the danger of the ideologies that led Europe to disaster.”, adding that they support the mayor of Mota de Judíos and encourage him to recover the Jewish past of the village.
Photo credit: Mayor Lorenzo Rodriguez
More News
