Vatican investigates Swiss Guard for alleged spitting gesture at Jewish women
The incident took place on the 60th anniversary of a papal event honoring Catholic-Jewish relations
Swiss Guards stand in San Damaso courtyard before the arrival of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican on Nov. 6, 2025. Photo by Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images
(JTA) — The Vatican is investigating a member of its Swiss Guards, who protect the pope, for allegedly making a spitting gesture at two Jewish women.
The women were part of an international Jewish delegation attending a conference with Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 29. The event marked the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the landmark 1965 doctrinal declaration that recognized the legitimacy of non-Christian religions, rejected the centuries-old accusation that the Jews killed Christ and condemned antisemitism.
Michal Govrin, a prominent Israeli writer and theater director, said she and a colleague encountered the guard as they entered St. Peter’s Square. She was with Vivian Liska, the New York City-born director of the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Antwerp.
In an interview with the Austrian news agency Kathpress last week, Govrin said the guard hissed “les juifs” (the Jews) at them with “deep contempt” and made “an act of spitting in our direction.”
Govrin said that she and Liska looked at each other in shock. “Such an incident in the Vatican of all places? A blatant expression of Jew-hatred in stark contrast to the Pope’s words the previous evening,” she said.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Monday that the guard was placed under an internal investigation over the reported incident, in which “elements were observed that could be interpreted as antisemitic.” Bruni also said the alleged incident arose from an argument over a person asking for a photo of the Swiss Guard.
On the same day, Pope Leo said to his audience, “It should not be forgotten that the first focus of Nostra Aetate was towards the Jewish world.” He added to a long applause, “The Church does not tolerate antisemitism and fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself.”
Leo, a Chicago native, was elected in May after the death of Pope Francis. Like his predecessor, he has decried antisemitism while condemning Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinians and the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But he has stopped short of accusing Israel of “genocide,” a charge leveled by Francis that drew the Catholic Church into conflict with Israeli leaders.
The episode comes amid tensions within Catholicism between the mainstream church, which cherishes Nostra Aetate, and a more conservative strain that seeks to preserve the liturgy and ideas of the pre-1965 church.
Govrin said the Nostra Aetate anniversary sparked “much hope and courage” despite her experience with the Swiss Guard.
“I felt that religion can be an enormous and powerful factor in creating a peaceful and accepting world, as it reaches people all over the world and touches the heart of humanity,” she said.
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