Antisemitic vandals defaced the Ancient Synagogue of Barcelona on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The vandals spray painted on the synagogue, the largest in Spain, “Free Palestine from the river to the sea. Solidarity with the Palestinian people,” according to Combat Antisemitism Movement.
The perpetrators also left a pamphlet nearby in the Catalan language that falsely claimed Israel was committing a “Palestinian genocide” and guilty of “apartheid.”
The leaflet also called Israel a “murderous country that steals land and destroys innocents’ homes.”
The incident came less than a year after the synagogue was previously vandalized in September, during which its mezuzah was pulled off the front door and graffiti was sprayed all over its main wall.
Located in the historical district of the city, the synagogue is considered one of the oldest in Europe, with the building’s original dating back to the third or fourth century. After being used for other purposes for centuries, it reopened as a synagogue and museum in 2022.