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A swastika was sprayed on the base of a statue of Maimonides in Córdoba, Spain, sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, July 31 into August 1, according to a local politician. The vandalism has drawn condemnation from local authorities and Jewish communities, and has prompted reflection on the life and teachings of the medieval Jewish philosopher.

Coverage Comparison

The Jerusalem Post reported the incident in two articles. One, by Tobias Holcman, focused on the factual details: the graffiti, the location, and the official responses. The other, an opinion piece by Jeffrey K. Salkin, framed the attack not only as an act of vandalism but as a symbolic assault on Judaism, using Maimonides' own writings to explore the roots of hatred.

Both accounts agree on the essential facts: the swastika was painted on the pedestal of the statue, which stands in the Plaza de Tiberíades in the old Jewish quarter of Córdoba. Local authorities condemned the attack, and the city ordered a sign to be placed over the painted base while cleaning work proceeds.

Key Claims

  • A swastika graffiti was drawn on the base of a statue of the Rambam (Maimonides) in Córdoba, Spain.
  • The graffiti was painted over the base of the statue in the heart of the Jewish quarters of Córdoba, in the Tiberiades plaza.
  • Local authorities condemned the antisemitic attack. Acting mayor Cintia Bustos called it an "attack on heritage" and "a message of hate of extreme gravity."
  • The city's authorities ordered a sign to be placed over the painted base of the statue while cleaning is underway.
  • The Federation of Spanish Jewish Communities and the Barcelona Jewish Community reacted to the attack. The Federation expressed "total repudiation of the targeting with a Nazi symbol of this Jewish, Sephardic, Cordoban, Spanish, universal figure." The Barcelona Jewish Community noted that "Maimónides belongs to the intellectual heritage of all humanity."
  • Maimonides was born in Córdoba around 1135, into a family of rabbinic judges, in a city then ruled by the relatively tolerant Almoravid dynasty.
  • Maimonides had three names: RMBM (an acronym for Rabbi Moses ben Maimon), Maimonides, and Musa ibn Maymun.

Perspectives

Local authorities

Córdoba's city council condemned the vandalism as an attack on heritage and a message of hate. Acting mayor Cintia Bustos ordered the municipal cleaning company Sadeco to send stone-graffiti specialists to clean the statue, and Antonio Hurtado, a local politician and spokesperson for the PSOE, expressed concern about vandalism in the Historic Quarter.

Spanish Jewish communities

The Federation of Spanish Jewish Communities and the Barcelona Jewish Community issued statements of repudiation, emphasizing Maimonides' importance to Jewish, Sephardic, and universal heritage. The Barcelona Jewish Community noted that the Great Synagogue of Barcelona bears the name "Maimónides" in his honor.

Opinion writer Jeffrey K. Salkin

In an opinion piece, Salkin argued that the defacing of the statue was an attack on Judaism itself, not on Israel, noting Maimonides died more than 700 years before the creation of the state. He drew on Maimonides' personal history of persecution under the Almohad dynasty to suggest that Maimonides would have understood hatred but would have urged against letting it take root.

Reflection on Maimonides' Legacy

The incident has also brought attention to Maimonides' own experiences with intolerance. Born in Córdoba around 1135, Maimonides lived under the Almoravid dynasty, which was relatively tolerant, but his world changed when the Almohads, a fundamentalist Berber movement, conquered the city in 1148 and gave non-Muslims an ultimatum: convert or leave. This history, as noted by the opinion piece, is relevant to understanding the symbolism of the attack.

The statue stands as a tribute to a figure whose writings continue to be studied and whose legacy transcends religious and cultural boundaries. The response from Jewish communities emphasizes that attacks on such symbols are attacks on shared history and values.

This article is based on reporting from the Jerusalem Post.