Hateful Messages and Damage of Church Logo at Sestao Church

Case information
Incident date
Country
Spain
Place
Vizcaya
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Threats
  • Vandalism (all)
  • Vandalism of Church
  • Insult or Incitement
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Comments/Written Statements/Gestures/Graffiti
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
  • Unknown
Response of Local Authorities
  • Unknown
Image credit: ObservatorioLibertadReligiosa

Unknown individuals placed offensive stickers on the entrance of the Evangelical Church of Cuerpo de Cristo in Sestao, Vizcaya, displaying anti-Semitic messages and a swastika. The vandals also targeted the church's emblem, which contained Jewish symbols.

During a recent incident at the Church of Cuerpo de Cristo in Sestao, Vizcaya, unknown perpetrators affixed several stickers to the main entrance. The stickers bore the message “fuera sionistas de nuestros barrios” (“Zionists out of our neighborhoods”), accompanied by a Nazi swastika and the flag of Israel. The church’s emblem-a dove, a Star of David, and a fish symbol referencing the early Christians-was directly targeted, making the act both a symbolic and provocative attack on the sacred space.

Source: ObservatorioLibertadReligiosa