A poetry book presentation by a Jewish author at a Spanish book fair has been cancelled after hundreds of anti-Israel demonstrators occupied the venue and prevented the event from taking place.
Marcos-Ricardo Barnatán, an Argentine-born Jewish writer, was due to present his latest collection of haiku, The Silver Dollar, alongside his son, Jimmy Barnatán, at the Santander and Cantabria Book Fair (FELISA) on Sunday.
However, shortly before the event was due to begin, dozens of protesters carrying Palestinian flags, banners, and wearing keffiyehs circled the stage in Santander's Plaza Porticada, chanting: "It's not a war, it's a genocide", eventually forcing organisers to cancel the presentation.
The demonstration had been organised after Barnatán's inclusion in the festival programme prompted criticism from pro-Palestinian groups over his public support for Israel and comments he has made on social media.
Sergio Tamayo, a spokesman for the Interpueblos solidarity organisation, described the action as a "cultural boycott" of "a Zionist who says Palestine does not exist".
"We have come here to stage a cultural boycott," he said, arguing that events involving Barnatán helped "whitewash" Israel's image.
Barnatán is an outspoken pro-Israeli advocate and has been critical of the pro-Palestine movement, once calling the Palestinian cause “the Viagra of the impotent Left”.
Reacting to footage of the incident posted online, Israel’s embassy in Spain said on X: “It seems that for some, freedom of speech does not include Jews.
“These images, from the Santander Book Fair, are not acceptable. Harassing a Jewish writer during his presentation is not activism. It is antisemitism.
“Culture must be a space for dialogue, never for finger-pointing and hate.”
Parece que para algunos, la libertad de expresión no incluye a los judíos.
— Israel en España 🇮🇱 (@IsraelinSpain) July 6, 2026
Estás imágenes, de la Feria del Libro de Santander, no son aceptables. Acosar a un escritor judío durante su presentación no es activismo. Es Antisemitismo.
La cultura debe ser un espacio para el… pic.twitter.com/wKgIiPdEUs
The organisers of the fair said they had been aware of the controversy surrounding Barnatán before the event but decided to proceed because the presentation concerned a poetry collection rather than politics and that Barnatán "was not invited to speak about either Israel or Palestine".
ACOM (Action and Communication on the Middle East), a Spanish non-profit organisation that works to strengthen ties between Spain and Israel, described the demonstrators as a “mob” that prevented the presentation “through coercive and intimidating behaviour”.
“These rabble have become accustomed to the impunity of their attacks against coexistence and civilisation, imposing their antisemitic protests through mafia-like methods and intimidation,” the group said in a statement translated from Spanish.
“The fact that a cultural event scheduled to take place in a public space was interrupted and ultimately cancelled because protesters occupied the stage and exerted pressure on the authors is, in itself, abhorrent, as it directly undermines freedom of expression and the right of citizens to participate in cultural life without fear or violent threats.”
ACOM’s statement called on prosecutors in Cantabria to investigate possible offences, including hate incitement, coercion, and antisemitic discrimination, and also called for a review of any public funding received by organisations involved in organising the protest.
“Culture, free speech, and freedom of expression are not to be negotiated with ideological bullies,” it continued. “Anyone who prevents a poet from speaking because of his political opinions or his origin is reproducing the same pattern as the Nazis when they burned books and boycotted Jews in the 1930s. There is no "context" that justifies harassment, intimidation, or censorship.”
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