The surge of Europe's hatred for Israel, with Jews kicked out of Spanish sauna, banned from booking German hotel and planes refused permission to land in Slovenia

Europe's growing hostility towards Israel has led to a surge in anti-Semitic incidents across the continent, making it harder for Jewish tourists to travel freely without fear of exclusion.

The problems Jewish holidaymakers are encountering abroad come as the number of anti-Semitic attacks has increased sharply worldwide, with last year seeing the highest number killed in such incidents for 30 years.

But aside from episodes of violence, such as the Hanukkah attack in Sydney and the shooting of two Israeli embassy staff outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC, Jews are also experiencing increasing levels of day-to-day discrimination.

From LGBTQ+ saunas in Spain and German hotels to Slovenian airports, places that purport to welcome all are increasingly shutting their doors to Jewish customers.

'Hate speech, notably antisemitism and Holocaust denial, has reached levels not seen since World War II,' said UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany in a recent report on anti-Semitism in schools.

Additionally, almost half of Europeans believe anti-Semitism has increased in their country over the past five years, especially in the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, according to data from Eurobarometer.

On May 29, a Jewish lesbian couple were thrown out of a Spanish LGBTQ+ sauna after one of the other customers saw one of them wearing a Star of David pendant.

The incident – which Israel has described as an 'anti-Semitic attack' – took place at Sauna Thermas in Barcelona, which on its website advertises itself as a 'gay sauna' that 'welcomes everybody'.

The North American women became involved in a row with other visitors, with one chanting 'free Palestine', before the argument spilt out on to the street 

The North American women became involved in a row with other visitors, with one chanting 'free Palestine', before the argument spilt out onto the street.

The sauna has since condemned the incident, and blamed the organisers of the private event held at its premises that night.

A video of the argument shows one of the women being asked: 'Are you a Zionist person?'

'Why did you ask me that question?' the customer replies, before adding: 'Because I'm wearing a Jewish star?'

Another woman then joined the tense exchange, saying: 'The question is not Jewish, it's Zionist.'

The customer's partner – who recorded the exchange – is then chastised for filming from within the sauna and the couple are promptly escorted out of the premises.

'We don't condone genocide, we are sorry,' someone at the spa says. 'We don't either', the woman recording replies, as she complains of being physically being pushed out.

In the video, the people in the sauna denied pushing the Jewish women.

'Free Palestine, please leave. Free Palestine, please leave,' a woman at the spa says, before another adds: 'You're not welcome, go.'

The couple, standing on the street, attempt to negotiate with a security guard, saying: 'We won't record anything, we just want to go in and have a good time with everyone.

'We're going to put our phones in our lockers, it's just weird as hell to do this.'

The event organisers then threatened to call the police.

The Israeli government described the incident as 'another anti-Semitic attack in Spain' and called for 'determined' action from local authorities.

'Let us be clear: discriminating against Jews for using Jewish symbols – and demanding that they distance themselves from Zionism to be accepted – is blatant anti-Semitism. Jewish identity and Zionism are inseparable,' Israel posted on its official Spanish-language X account.

The Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain expressed its 'deep indignation over the shameful incident'.

Catalan police are investigating a possible hate crime, according to El Periódico, the Barcelona-based newspaper.

Sauna Thermas has since publicly condemned the incident, distancing itself from the event organisers, Bolleras al Vapor, who will no longer be allowed to hold events there.

'We deeply regret and unequivocally condemn the events that took place at our venue,' the company wrote on X. 'We wish to state with absolute clarity that we reject any form of antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, discrimination, or conduct that undermines the dignity of any individual.'

In a written statement, the sauna said the exchange took place 'during a private event held at our premises'.

'We want to make it unequivocally clear that our venue completely disassociates itself from the actions and comments of the organisers of that event, who denied entry to several individuals in a manner that was entirely unacceptable.'

The couple, speaking to Israel's Channel 12, said they had been queuing to enter the event when an organiser challenged them.

'We were a little surprised as we didn’t know anyone and didn’t speak about any controversial subject,' one of the two Americans who called herself Mika said.

'As soon as I heard the word "Zionist", I knew there would be problems,' she said, adding it was disappointing that no one at the sauna had intervened in their defence.

Spain’s Left-wing government has imposed an embargo on arms sales to Israel, demanded that the EU terminate its trade deal with the country, and was one of five states that boycotted this year’s Eurovision Song Contest after Israel was allowed to compete.

The country's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has been one of Israel’s most vocal critics in the EU, having accused Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing genocide in Gaza.

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Israel retaliated by launching a military campaign in the Strip, during which more than 72,950 people have been killed, according to the territory's health ministry.

Mr Sánchez has also denounced the joint US-Israel strikes against Iran as an 'immense error'.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has been one of Israel’s most vocal critics in the EU, having accused Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing genocide in Gaza

An Israir flight scheduled to arrive in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on June 3 was denied permission to land and diverted to Zagreb, Croatia, according to the airline.

The jet arrived at Ljubljana Airport, but air traffic controllers refused to let it touch down, according to Hebrew media reports.

Israel's Foreign Ministry denounced the incident as 'completely unacceptable'.

Israir director Uri Sirkis called it a 'blatant violation of European Union aviation agreements'.

He added that Slovenian authorities are refusing to let any Israeli carriers land, 'because they are strongly opposed, politically, to the Israeli government line'.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Civil Aviation Authority worked to resolve the issue, without success.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev said in a statement that it is 'an invalid political decision that directly impacts Israeli citizens'.

'Anyone who tries to boycott us via aviation needs to understand that there will be consequences,' she added.

Israir has three weekly scheduled flights to Ljubljana, and there are no other carriers offering a similar direct flight, according to The Times of Israel.

Slovenia’s parliament has recently approved the new government of prime minister Janez Jansa, marking a shift to the Right for the country following the Left-wing administration of Robert Golob.

Under Golob, Slovenia recognised a Palestinian state in May 2024, shortly following similar announcements by Spain, Ireland and Norway.

He was one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel and had introduced a ban on imports of goods produced in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

In March, he called on the European Commission to investigate accusations that the Israeli spy firm Black Cube had interfered in the country’s elections, according to Politico.

Black Cube was accused of helping to leak recordings alleging corruption in Mr Golob’s government, as a method of paving the way for a more pro-Israel candidate just days before the major national election.

Mr Jansa, a long-time admirer of US President Donald Trump, has pledged to prioritise the economy, fight against corruption and bureaucracy, tighten border control to reduce irregular migration, and lower taxes for the rich.

A hotel in the southern German state of Bavaria was also heavily condemned for a message refusing a reservation to an Israeli guest.

Israel's consul general to southern Germany, Talya Lador-Fresher, posted the rejection message on X on June 2.

She wrote in German: 'Have we returned to the 1930s?'

A screenshot in her post shows an English-language message from the Hotel zum Hirschen, telling the guest that 'there are no Jews allowed in our hotel'.

The hotel's junior director, Andreas Vogl, told the DPA news agency that the message does not reflect the company's 'world view at all'.

The establishment, located in the Bavarian Forest near the Czech border, has since sent an apology to the recipient and offered him and his family a free one-week holiday, 'to get to know us personally, and to prove to you that we are not bad people who discriminate against others'.

'It was definitely wrong of us to respond in that way in the chat,' the hotel wrote in the email to the guest.

According to the email, the company has been dealing with fake bookings and phishing attempts for some time, with customer data said to have been stolen.

The hotel claimed the request from Israel had also wrongly been assumed to be a fraudulent booking.

The apology letter read: 'It is extremely important to us that you understand that this remark was not directed at people of the Jewish faith, but was made out of frustration at the numerous fake bookings.

'Nevertheless, this was unacceptable and must not happen in a professional business.'

Booking.com has removed the hotel from the platform, according to Mr Vogl.

Following the incident, the Central Council of Jews in Germany called for an investigation.

Its president Josef Schuster told DPA: 'Even though I have taken note of the apology for this unacceptable remark, it remains shocking that someone would not only have such thoughts but also put them down in writing and send them out.'

The tourist also filed a complaint with the Bavarian Justice Ministry's office for combating anti-Semitism, according to Die Welt.

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany has spiked over the past two years, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and the US-Israeli war with Tehran.

Some 8,627 incidents occurred in 2024, an almost 77 per cent increase compared to the previous year, according to the Federal Association of Research and Information Centres on Antisemitism.

Authorities believe an anti-Semitic motive prompted vandalism at an Israeli restaurant in Munich, where the windows were broken in April.

Visuals of the aftermath show that the restaurant is the Jewish-owned Eclipse Grillbar, Munich’s first authentic Israeli restaurant, according to its website.

Investigators believe pyrotechnic devices – potentially fireworks – were thrown into the restaurant, breaking the windows in three places.

The damage is estimated at several thousand euros.

The hostility towards Israel has also entered the world of sport, evident in the booing from the audience that occurred in the friendly match between the country and Albania on June 3

Footage shows audience members shouting aggressively and throwing a pair of trainers at Israeli player Manor Solomon

The hostility towards Israel has also entered the world of sport, evident in the booing from the audience that occurred in the friendly match between the country and Albania in Tirana on June 3.

Israel defeated Albania 1-0, as Ajax's Oscar Gloukh scored the lone goal of the match in the second half, but the game got off to an antagonistic start when audience members booed the the Jewish state's national anthem.

When Gloukh scored the winning goal, he silenced the crowd and pointed to the Israeli emblem on his shirt as a response to the booing at the beginning of the game.

Elseid Hysaj, Albania’s full-back, took exception to the celebration, however, with footage showing him appear to push the goalscorer.

Both squads subsequently got into a shoving match that saw the two players receive yellow cards.

'I couldn’t just ignore being booed during the national anthem,' Gloukh told the Jerusalem Post, explaining his decision to celebrate in the manner he did following his goal.

'We didn’t expect that; it was only a friendly match. I was fired up from the start, and with the emotions and the goal, that was my reaction in the end. I don’t regret it.'

Separate footage shows audience members shouting aggressively and throwing a pair of trainers at Israeli player Manor Solomon.

He can be seen kicking away objects thrown at him from the crowd and ducking as the trainers flew through the air.

Solomon told the Post: 'We played an excellent match in a hostile atmosphere. It’s another step toward our goal… As for the boos during the anthem, we were surprised by it. It was unpleasant, and perhaps the harshest booing we’ve received so far. The Albanians welcomed us warmly, so we didn’t expect it.'

The last few months have seen a number of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, including in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

In several instances, the attacks have been claimed online by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, also known as the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right.

Counter-terrorism officials are now investigating whether the group has ties to Iran – and whether these criminal acts are the latest iteration of asymmetrical warfare by the Islamic Republic, or the work of another shadowy network, determined to instill fear in the Jewish community.

In March, explosive devices were set off at two Jewish institutions in the Netherlands – a school in Amsterdam and a synagogue in Rotterdam – within two days.

The same month saw a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, damaged by an explosion in the early hours of the morning, in what the country’s interior minister called 'an anti-Semitic act'.

April saw two Jewish men, aged 34 and 76, stabbed in north London in what police declared as a terrorist incident.

The attack followed a spate of arson attacks against Jewish property in London, including on ambulances run by medical charity Hatzola which had already left communities fearing for their safety.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the recent spate of attacks against British Jews as 'a crisis' in May.

He said 'every part of society' has a responsibility to tackle anti-Semitism in the UK, and has called on senior figures in the police, the arts, higher education and businesses to confront 'the forces that drive this hatred'.