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Staff at Madrid’s Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía escorted three elderly Israeli women, including a Holocaust survivor, out of the building on Saturday after other visitors verbally attacked them for visibly identifying as Jewish.
The Spanish news outlet Okdiario first reported the incident. According to its account, museumgoers reacted angrily when they noticed the women with a small Israeli flag and wearing a Star of David necklace. Several individuals shouted insults, including the accusation that they were “crazy child killers.”
Instead of intervening against those who initiated the confrontation, museum officials directed security to remove the Israeli visitors.
Guard Cited Objections to Their Jewish Identity
During the exchange, a security guard told the women they had to leave because “some visitors were disturbed that they are Jewish.” He also instructed them to hide their Jewish symbols. He claimed such items could not be displayed inside the museum.
The group’s Spanish companion challenged that claim. She argued that Spanish law allowed individuals to wear religious symbols and carry national flags in public institutions. In her view, staff penalized the women despite the absence of any rule violation.
“It is unacceptable for someone to be punished in this way without having broken any law, in an official institution supported by the Spanish government,” she later said.
The Reina Sofía functions under Spain’s Culture Ministry and holds international stature as a major contemporary art museum. During the Israel-Hamas war, the institution presented an exhibition titled “From the River to the Sea” in solidarity with Palestinians. The museum has also hosted anti-Israel demonstrations.
In this case, staff removed elderly Jewish tourists after other visitors objected to their presence. No action was reported against those who allegedly hurled insults.
The incident has drawn scrutiny because it occurred inside a state-affiliated cultural institution. Rather than shield visitors from harassment, museum personnel escorted out the targets of abuse.
Harassed and called “child killers,” 3 elderly Jewish women were removed by security from Madrid’s Reina Sofía Museum because others were “disturbed that they are Jewish.” One of them is a Holocaust survivor.
Staff told the women to hide their Jewish symbols and forced them out… pic.twitter.com/liM2bmwvA1
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) February 16, 2026
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