Spanish Mayor Sorry for ‘Jewish Dog’ Slur
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
A spokesperson for the mayor of a suburb of Madrid apologized for the mayor’s use of the term “Jewish dog” during her mayoral campaign as representative of the country’s ruling party.
The office of Mariola Vargas, mayor of Collado Villalba, issued on Friday the apology to the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain, or FCJE, in connection with Vargas’ remark during a news conference in which she denied allegations that she has foreign bank accounts and urged listeners to believe her because “I’m no Jewish dog,” as she put it.
“Mariola Vargas apologizes for her remarks on Nov. 12,” a municipal spokesperson wrote in an email to FCJE, which complained to the mayor — a member of Spain’s Popular Party – over the pejorative.
Maria Royo, a spokesperson for FCJE said the apology was appropriate but added that the slur “once again reveals the deep roots that Judeophobia has in our country,” she told JTA, adding that such slurs are offensive to Jews even if they are not intended to insult them. “In other countries, people who make such statements are not permitted to occupy a public office,” Royo added.
Anti-Semitic pejoratives are a divisive issue in Spain, where many use the phrase “kill a Jew” to describe the consumption of alcohol, and where official dictionaries contain the term “Judiada,” which literally means Jewry but whose definition is “Bad action that is considered, with bias, to belong to Jews.”
David Hatchwell, president of the Jewish Community of Madrid, told JTA Monday: “There is anti-Semitism in Spain, feeding on a lot of ignorance about Jews. But there is also a Jewish revival and a government policy to honor Spain’s Jewish heritage. And unlike in Paris, where wearing kippah is an invitation to harassment, you can expect no such problems in Madrid.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
