18 February 2021
At a fascist demonstration in Madrid a speaker, Isabel Medina, said “The enemy will always be the same: the Jew.” In interviews, she claims to study at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Together with the Spanish Union of Jewish Students, FEJJE, we have written a letter to the dean of the university, asking to expel her immediately!
No to Antisemitism!
Find the full text below:
Dear Mr. Goyache,
We, the Federation of Jewish Youth in Spain (FEJJE), an organisation representing Jewish students and young Jews in Spain, together with the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS), the democratic and peer-led representation of 160.000 young Jews across Europe, are outraged and horrifed by the virilently antisemitic acts which took place on Saturday, February 13 in Madrid.
On this day, hundreds of fascists gathered in Madrid, honouring the Nazi collaborators of the División Azul. During the event, Isabel Medina Peralta, a self-proclaimed history student at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, gave a shocking speech, full of antisemitism and hate, including:
- “The enemy will always be the same, although with different masks: the Jew.”
- “For nothing could be truer than this statement: the Jew is the guilty one, the Jew is the guilty one and the Blue Division fought for it”.
- “Communism is a Jewish invention designed to confront workers against each other”.
As the Movement against Intolerance and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE) have already stated, these acts must be condemned and the perpetrators brought to justice.
We have also followed with great concern the interviews Isabel Medina Peralta has given to various Spanish newspapers, using them as a propaganda mouthpiece for her hateful ideology. In these interviews she claims to be a history student at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
We know too well what happens when the force of fascism rears its ugly head. We can never again allow such ideology to be normalized or to take root within our institutions. If we want to ensure that young Jews feel welcome on campus and in our society more broadly, we must act!
We, young people, students, Jews, Spaniards and Europeans, fight every day for universities to be safe and inclusive, free of hate, discrimination and antisemitism. That is why we call on the Universidad Complutense de Madrid to immediately expel Isabel Medina from its student body.
Finally, we would like to invite all student organisations and unions to join us in promoting university spaces freee from discrimination, free from hatred and free from antisemitism.
Not an inch to fascism, not an inch to antisemitism!
Kind regards,
Bini Guttmann, President EUJS
Dina Mouyal, President FEJJE
