The National Police are investigating another incident involving a Jewish restaurant in Madrid, weeks after an individual, already arrested, tried to burn down a kosher pizzeria with people inside. This second case affects the Barganzo restaurant, the best-known restaurant for the Jewish community in the capital.
According to sources familiar with the police investigation, the incident occurred on April 30, the date on which Yom Hazikaron (Remembrance Day) is commemorated in Israel. It is a day on which the Jewish authorities honor their fallen soldiers and those killed in terrorist attacks. At 7:15 p.m. on April 30, an individual called an employee from an unidentified number while she was working at the establishment and sent her the following message: “You are thieves, you have stolen our food, our culture. We are going to burn down your restaurant.” This is the account gathered by two officers from the Madrid Provincial Intelligence Brigade, accustomed to investigating everything from violent radical groups to terrorist movements. Last Monday, the police took a statement from the person who received the phone threat.
The restaurant owners have filed a formal complaint and informed the officers of other incidents they consider intimidating, which they have suffered for months. One of them occurred at the same establishment. On January 23, the facade of Barganzo appeared with stickers alluding to Israel’s bombing of Gaza: “Genocide. Justice for Palestine. We are all Palestinians.”
‘Criminals Not Welcome’
Furthermore, another establishment owned by the same owners, called De Pita Madre, also appeared in March with stickers bearing the slogan “Criminals Not Welcome.” These incidents follow the attack on a pizzeria in Madrid that serves kosher food, according to Jewish dietary regulations. The individual, arrested a few weeks ago in Murcia, is accused of attempting to burn down the pizzeria by dousing it with gasoline while someone was inside.
Police are aware that the Barganzo restaurant’s activities have in the past generated accusations of squatting by pro-Palestinian sympathizers. They accuse the establishment of serving Palestinian food as if it were from Israel, which has sometimes generated tensions. “Tel Aviv food made with love” is the online description of its menu. It offers everything from hummus to grape leaves to the texture of Jerusalem artichokes, among other Middle Eastern dishes.
These events have set off alarm bells in Madrid’s Jewish community. When the attack on the pizzeria occurred in March, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain and the Jewish Community of Madrid condemned what they described as an “anti-Semitic act whose purpose was to cause casualties, attack public facilities frequented by the Jewish community, and terrorize members of our community.” “This is an act motivated by hate, abject and savage, that threatens the coexistence, freedom, and tolerance that have always characterized the citizens of Madrid,” the statement concluded.
