French Jew Describes Harrowing Antisemitic Attack in Barcelona Amid Rising Hate Crimes

Jimmy Zagron, a 41-year-old French Jew from Paris, recounted a traumatic antisemitic incident he and six friends experienced in Barcelona on the night of July 3. In an interview with French news channel CNEWS, Zagron described how hundreds of people surrounded them for about 40 minutes, shouting antisemitic slurs, spitting, and threatening their lives. The group had just left a synagogue near Barcelona's port when a woman displaying pro-Palestinian symbols began chanting "Free Palestine," quickly drawing a crowd that escalated into a hostile mob.

The crowd's chants rapidly turned from anti-Israel slogans to explicit antisemitic threats, including "murderers of babies," "Jews are not welcome here," and "we are going to kill Jews." Despite Zagron repeatedly stating he was French and not Israeli, the attackers ignored him. One friend, a Chabad Hasid wearing traditional Jewish attire, became a particular target. The group felt genuinely endangered and split up to avoid being completely surrounded, eventually fleeing back to their hotel with the mob in pursuit.

Zagron, of Spanish-Tunisian descent and a Breslov Hasid, emphasized they were attacked solely for displaying Jewish identity. The incident is part of a disturbing rise in antisemitic acts across Spain since October 7, including assaults, vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, and marking Jewish businesses. The Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain called the Barcelona attack one of the most severe in recent years. Zagron has filed a complaint in France, and Spanish authorities are investigating the case.