Press Statement by: David Parsons, ICEJ Senior Vice President & Spokesman

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) strongly condemns the recent Easter ceremony in the town of El Burgo, in southern Spain, in which a seven‑meter effigy depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was publicly burned as a supposed embodiment of evil.

ICEJ President Dr. Jürgen Bühler noted that this outrageous act of the “Burning of Judas” follows a centuries‑old tradition found in some Catholic and Orthodox communities that originated in medieval Europe. Historically, such practices have often been deeply intertwined with antisemitic narratives portraying Jews as greedy, Christ‑killers, or inherently evil. They have no place in our modern world, and should be universally banned by the Catholic Church in keeping with the major reforms of the Vatican II Council.

Regrettably, this harmful tradition persists in parts of Europe and Latin America. In recent years, similar displays have occurred in countries such as Mexico, Poland, or Greece, where antisemitic stereotypes were again invoked. A particularly troubling incident took place several years ago in the Polish town of Pruchnik, where a burning of Judas provoked widespread outrage within the Jewish world. In that case, Judas was depicted as an Orthodox Jew, employing classic antisemitic tropes reminiscent of Julius Streicher’s Der Stürmer, the infamous Nazi propaganda outlet.

The recent incident in Spain is especially alarming given the broader political context. It follows a series of severe public accusations by Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who has wrongly accused Israel of committing genocide and of “exterminating” the Palestinian people, alleging contempt for life and international law. These statements were accompanied by concrete anti‑Israel policies, including calls for arms embargoes, punitive diplomatic measures, and Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state in 2024. The Israeli government therefore rightly views the burning of an effigy of its Prime Minister as part of an Easter celebration as a direct and disturbing consequence of official rhetoric and policy that legitimizes the demonization of Israel.

The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ) denounces this outrageous antisemitic display carried out during the most sacred celebration in the Christian calendar, that of Easter. We call upon the Catholic Church in Spain to issue a clear and unequivocal condemnation and apology for this reprehensible deviation from Christian teaching. Furthermore, we urge the Church of Rome to exercise moral leadership by instructing its global constituency to refrain from perpetuating such antisemitic practices in the future.

We also call on the Vatican to reconsider its one‑sided criticism of Israel. Israel in the past two and a half years has played a decisive role in confronting terrorist entities such as Hamas, Hizbullah, and the Iranian regime—actors that not only openly seek Israel’s destruction but also have repeatedly persecuted and murdered Christians within their spheres of influence.

Instead of condemning Israel and the Jews, Good Friday could be more meaningfully used to remember those Christians who ‘share in Christ’s sufferings’ – for instance, the persecuted churches in northern Nigeria, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Islamist extremist groups are responsible for widespread violence against Christians.

Finally, we call upon all Christian churches and denominations to instruct its grassroots communities to honour the Jewish people, who gave the world the Word of God and the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Easter must never be used as an occasion to disparage Jews. Instead, it should be a time for Christians to stand in solidarity with their Jewish brothers and sisters and to remember the words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman: “Salvation is from the Jews.” (John 4:22)