Mick Hartley

In Madrid:

Three elderly Israeli women were expelled last Saturday from the Reina Sofía museum in Madrid after staff objected to them carrying items identifying them as Jewish, including an Israeli flag and a Star of David necklace. The incident was reported Monday by the Spanish news site Okdiario. According to the report, the three tourists were aggressively harassed by other museum visitors and were ultimately removed by a security guard who said that “some visitors were disturbed that they are Jewish.”

The Reina Sofía, considered one of the world’s leading cultural institutions, held an exhibition during the Israel-Hamas war titled “From the River to the Sea” in solidarity with Palestinians and has hosted numerous anti-Israel protests in which antisemitic incidents were reported. Okdiario noted that the museum operates under the authority of Spain’s Culture Ministry.