Seven tourists French Jews were victims of a violent antisemitic attack in Barcelona, where a crowd surrounded them, spat at them, and subjected them to insults and threats for about 40 minutes after they left a synagogue.
The incident occurred on the night of July 3, in a port area of the Spanish city. One of the victims, Jimmy Zaghroun, a 41-year-old French citizen residing in Paris, recounted the episode this week to the French news channel CNEWS and stated that the group feared for their lives.
“For 40 minutes, hundreds of people humiliated us and spat at us. There was a huge crowd around us. We feared we would be killed. It was very terrifying”, he said.
A mob surrounded the tourists after leaving the synagogue
According to Zaghroun's account, the episode began when a woman wearing a keffiyeh and a pro-Palestinian flag started shouting at them as they left the synagogue located in the port area of Barcelona.
The woman reportedly made gestures and rhythmic clapping similar to that of a fan in a stadium, which quickly drew the attention of others nearby.
Within minutes, the seven tourists were surrounded by a crowd that quickly grew. What began with shouting ended, according to testimony, in openly antisemitic insults, threats, and physical assaults.
Zaghroun stated that the group members were spat on and subjected to a situation of extreme tension for approximately 40 minutes.
“We are going to kill Jews”: the threats reported
The French tourist recounted that the crowd shouted various slogans against Israel and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but also expressions specifically directed against Jews.
Among the threats he claimed to have heard was one particularly explicit:
“We are going to kill Jews.”
A mob surrounded the tourists after they left the synagogue
Zaghroun explained that they tried to avoid an escalation and clarified that they were French citizens and had no connection to Israel. However, according to his testimony, the explanation did not stop the assaults.
The incident also had a particularly intimidating component for one of the group members, a member of Chabad Lubavitch wearing a black kippah and a long coat, whose appearance made him a particularly visible target to the crowd.
They had to escape and the mob followed them to the hotel
Fearing that the situation would end in an even more serious assault, the seven tourists decided to split up to try to break the encirclement and escape the area.
They eventually managed to reach the hotel where they were staying. However, according to Zaghroun, the attackers followed them to the entrance of the establishment, prolonging the threat even after they left the synagogue area.
The French citizen, whose family has Hispanic-Tunisian ancestry, maintained that the attack was not related to any action taken by the group, but exclusively to their Jewish identity.
Investigating the antisemitic attack in Barcelona
After the incident, Zaghroun filed a formal complaint in France, while Spanish authorities launched an investigation to determine the circumstances of the attack and establish responsibilities.
The case once again puts under scrutiny the rise of antisemitic assaults and expressions in Europe, particularly in a context marked by the war between Israel and Hamas and by the growing polarization surrounding the Middle East conflict.
The complaint from the French tourists also raises a central issue: the use of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians as a justification to harass or attack people solely because of their Jewish identity.
The episode that occurred in Barcelona ended with the seven tourists managing to take refuge in their hotel, but left, according to one victim's testimony, a feeling of extreme vulnerability in front of a crowd that for nearly an hour turned them into targets of insults, spitting, and threats.
