Christians Condemn Spain’s Ban on Rosh Hashanah Services in Madrid

The Council of Christian Social Progress of the American Baptist Convention condemned today the action of Madrid police in barring the holding of Rosh Hashanah services by Jews in a private hall of a hotel in that city. At the same time, the Baptist group praised the intercession of the United States Embassy in Madrid with the Spanish authorities to permit the services.

The ban on the hotel service, which was held last year with the permission of the authorities, followed recent publication in the Spanish press of articles and reports from abroad highly critical of Jews. The most outspoken of these anti-Jewish articles were written by Felipe Fernandez Amnesto, press attache of the Spanish Embassy in Washington, who also acts as correspondent for a number of important Spanish newspapers.

Despite protestations in some Spanish circles that the ban on the Jewish services was aimed primarily at the Protestants–who are also barred from public worship under Spanish law–and that it has no anti-Semitic overtones, it is believed here that the regular publication of Senor Amnesto’s articles is an indication that some official circles are sympathetic to his anti-Jewish views.

Last week-end, American Jews in Spain brought to the attention of U.S. Ambassador James C. Dunn the police ban on the hotel services. His inquiries at the Foreign Ministry brought the reply that the Foreign Ministry was out of town and that nothing could be done in his absence.

However, a service was held in a small dwelling in Madrid. It was led by Rabbi Alex Fischel, who came from Paris expressly to conduct the service. In Barcelona this Rosh Hashanah the Jews of that city opened the first synagogue to be erected in Spain since the expulsion of Jews in 1492.