Spain's Jewish organizations have come out in defense of renowned journalist and writer Pilar Rahola after the Barcelona Hate Crimes Prosecutor's Office opened preliminary proceedings following a complaint filed by two activists who threw paint at her during a conference in 2024.
In October 2024, activists from the Socialist Youth Organization of Catalonia (OJS) interrupted one of Rahola's talks and threw red paint at her in what they said was a protest against her support for Israel's actions in Gaza.
The same two activists have now filed a complaint alleging that some of Rahola’s public statements, articles, speeches, and social media posts could constitute hate speech against Palestinians or amount to incitement related to alleged crimes in Gaza. Specifically, the OJS activists accuse her of “acting as a paid collaborator of the Zionist regime and being directly involved in the commission of genocide by the State of Israel against the Palestinian population.”
They also said that Rahola “consciously promotes a hate discourse that dehumanizes the victims and whitewashes the perpetrators of genocide, contributing to the creation of a climate of hostility against the Palestinian population.”
As an example of what it calls her “genocide complicity,” the OJS cites Rahola’s article in El Nacional in which she accepted the quote by the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy: “If Israel had wanted to carry out a genocide, it would have taken three days and not three years” to commit. It also highlights her criticism of UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese.
The activists argue that Rahola’s actions contravene articles 510 and 607 of the Penal Code of “incitement to hatred and complicity with genocide.”
As a result, the Barcelona Hate Crimes Prosecutor’s Office opened preliminary proceedings, which means it is examining the complaint to decide whether it has any legal merit.
Jewish Communities of Spain say attack on Rahola is ideological persecution
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE) said it rejects any attempt to turn political debate into an instrument of ideological persecution.
“We respect the work of the Prosecutor’s Office, but we remind everyone that freedom of expression is a non-negotiable pillar of democracy.”
The European Jewish Congress echoed the concerns expressed by the FCJE, saying “While we respect the independence of judicial authorities, political disagreements must be addressed through debate and argument, not through harassment, intimidation or efforts to silence individuals for expressing their views.”
Both FCJE and EJC expressed particular concern regarding the OJS’s references to an alleged “international Zionist conspiracy,” a narrative they said is “rooted in classic antisemitic tropes that have long been used to stigmatize Jews.”
Since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Rahola has been a prominent voice in Spain and Latin America defending Israel. She has consistently challenged accusations of genocide leveled against Israel.
The Jewish Community of Barcelona praised her “firm commitment to freedom, democracy, and coexistence.”
Israel’s head of mission at the Israeli Embassy in Spain, Dana Erlich, expressed the embassy’s “full support to Rahola in the face of those trying to intimidate and silence her.”
Rahola herself said, “If the aim of this persecution is to silence my critical spirit, I warn you that it will not succeed.”
“If they wanted to scare me, they do not scare me. If they thought I would self-censor, I will not. If they think they will make me shut up, they will not succeed. Nor will they prevent me from thinking for myself. And if they believed I would end up following the herd, they are badly mistaken. My freedom of thought is non-negotiable. It defines my human condition.”