Madrid Museum Launches Investigation After Jewish Women Harassed, Kicked Out

A national art museum in Madrid has launched an investigation after three elderly Jewish women — including a Holocaust survivor — who were verbally harassed over their openly displayed Jewish symbols were subsequently forced to leave, fueling criticism that the institution sided with the perpetrators rather than protecting the victims.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Museum Reina Sofía told multiple news outlets that the institution would “immediately launch an independent and transparent internal investigation to clarify what happened,” formally confirming the opening of a probe as scrutiny over the incident intensified.

“The museum wishes to unequivocally express its commitment to equality, religious freedom, and zero tolerance for any type of violence or discrimination related to antisemitism,” the statement read. “The museum’s staff is highly qualified in fundamental rights, conflict management, and the prevention of any type of discrimination.”

“Once again, we would like to highlight the importance that Jewish artists, patrons, and benefactors have had for the institution and its collection, especially in the avant-garde, without whose selfless collaboration the museum as we know it today would be inconceivable,” it continued. “For all these reasons, we will not rest until the unfortunate events that have taken place are clarified.”

Footage of the incident was circulated on social media.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition in 2026, but watch Spain’s shame, as three elderly tourists, including a Holocaust survivor, are harassed & kicked out of Madrid’s state run Reina Sofia museum over Jewish symbols. Staff said visitors were ‘disturbed’ by their presence and… pic.twitter.com/XdAlSlfKzd

— Saul Sadka (@Saul_Sadka) February 16, 2026

First reported by the Spanish news outlet Okdiario, the three women were visiting the museum in central Madrid last Saturday when other visitors spotted them wearing a Star of David necklace and carrying a small Israeli flag.

At that point, a group of people started attacking them verbally, shouting antisemitic insults, and calling them “crazy child killers.”

Rather than intervening against the instigators, museum officials expelled the Israeli women, telling them to leave because “some visitors were disturbed that they are Jewish.”

A security guard also told the group to hide their Jewish symbols, insisting they could not be displayed inside the museum.

Even though one of them pointed out that Spanish law allows people to wear religious symbols and carry national flags in public institutions, they were still forcibly removed from the building despite not breaking any rules.

The Action and Communication on the Middle East (ACOM) group, a leading pro-Israel organization in Spain, announced Monday it will pursue legal action against the Museum Reina Sofía “for discrimination and possible promotion of hatred from a public institution.”

“The legal action will be directed both at the institution and its top official, the museum director, Manuel Segade,” ACOM wrote in a post on X, adding that the museum’s actions reflect “a persistent pattern of using political agendas, engaging in discrimination, and promoting narratives of hate against the State of Israel and the Jewish-Israeli community from a publicly funded institution.”

“A public institution should never be used as a platform for sectarian activism,” the statement continued. 

As a state-affiliated cultural institution under Spain’s Culture Ministry, the Reina Sofía is internationally recognized as one of the country’s leading contemporary art museums.

In the past, the museum has also faced criticism for hosting anti-Israel demonstrations and presenting an exhibition titled “From the River to the Sea,” a popular slogan among pro-Palestinian activists that has been widely interpreted as a genocidal call for the destruction of the Jewish state, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Like most countries across Europe and the broader Western world, Spain has seen a rise in antisemitic incidents over the last two years, in the wake of the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Still, Spain stands out as one of the most extreme cases, with experts warning that antisemitic violence and anti-Zionist rhetoric have moved beyond a social phenomenon to, in many instances, being state-promoted and legitimized as a political tool.

In particular, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and several members of his left-wing party have come under mounting criticism from some of the country’s political and Jewish leaders, who accuse them of fueling antisemitic hostility.