13/05/2026
In the small town of El Burgo, near Málaga, Spain, residents participated in a controversial Easter Sunday tradition by burning and detonating a massive 23-foot effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The event is part of a long-standing Holy Week custom known as the “Burning of Judas,” where a figure representing a public ""villain"" or betrayer is destroyed with fire and explosives. This year, the effigy was packed with 14 kilograms of gunpowder, exploding before a cheering crowd as a symbolic protest against Israel’s ongoing military actions in the region.
The spectacle has ignited a fierce diplomatic row, with the Israeli Foreign Ministry formally reprimanding Spain's senior diplomat in Tel Aviv. Israeli officials condemned the event as a display of ""appalling antisemitic hatred"" and blamed the government of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for creating an environment of ""systemic incitement."" In response, Spanish authorities rejected the allegations, maintaining their commitment to fighting all forms of discrimination while defending the local cultural tradition.
The town’s mayor, María Dolores Narváez, defended the selection of the figure, noting that El Burgo has a history of using the ""Burning of Judas"" to critique global political leaders. In previous years, the town has burned effigies of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite the international backlash, local participants view the ritual as a cathartic form of political expression, though the event has deepened the existing rift between Spain and Israel during the complex geopolitical landscape of 2026.