A Spanish-Jewish group said on Sunday that it would take legal action against the management of a bathhouse in Barcelona whose staff were filmed interrogating Jewish visitors on their attitudes to Zionism before kicking them out of the establishment.
“ACOM’s legal team immediately initiated all relevant legal actions (criminal, administrative and civil) against Sauna Thermas and the responsible persons, for possible infringement of Law 15/2022 on equal treatment and non-discrimination, the hate crime of article 510 of the Penal Code, articles 14 and 16 of the Spanish Constitution (equality and religious freedom) and the regulations of public establishments and municipal licenses,” the Action and Communication on the Middle East group wrote in a statement about the incident last week.
On Friday, two women filmed another woman asking them: “Are you a Zionist person?” at the bathhouse. One of the two women filming can be heard asking whether the question was in connection with her Star of David pendant.
Sauna Thermas advertises itself as “Gay sauna Barcelona” on its website under the tagline “welcome everybody” and “everyone’s sauna.”
Avui denunciem uns fets que haurien d’avergonyir la nostra societat. Una dona jueva nord-americana i la seva esposa van ser rebutjades ahir a la nit a l’entrada d’un balneari termal pel simple fet de ser jueves.
— Comunitat Jueva/Judía/Jewish de Barcelona (@BarcelonaJudia) May 30, 2026
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“I am not against the star,” one employee said, and another added: “The question is not Jewish, it’s Zionist.” The visitor added: “They’re kind of the same thing,” and the second staffer replied: “Not really.” Noticing that one of the women was recording, that staffer said it was not allowed, leading to other staffers shoving the visitors out despite their protests. One staffer is heard saying, “We don’t condone genocide,” and “Free Palestine, please leave.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry reacted to the incident on X, writing: “Another antisemitic attack in Spain. Let’s be clear: targeting Jews because of Jewish symbols—and demanding they distance themselves from Zionism to be accepted—is blatant antisemitism. Jewish identity and Zionism are inseparable. Authorities must act decisively.”
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE) also condemned the incident in a statement on Sunday.
“The FCJE demands that the competent authorities, both the Catalan Government and the Barcelona City Council, conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the events. We also urge the firm application of current legislation regarding hate crimes and discrimination. Antisemitism cannot be tolerated or normalised anywhere in our country,” the FJCE said.
Spain is one of four European Union member countries that have intervened in South Africa’s 2023 lawsuit for alleged genocide against Israel, widely understood as an endorsement of the suit. The country’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, last year called Israel a “genocidal state.” Israel has accused the Spanish government of fomenting antisemitic hatred with its anti-Israel policies.
The Observatorio de Antisemitismo en España, a watchdog on antisemitism established by FCJE, recorded 207 antisemitic incidents in Spain in 2025, compared to 193 in 2024, 60 in 2023, and 34 in 2022.
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