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“I’m not a political person, but it was important to show that we know how to answer back.”
By United with Israel Staff
An Israeli mural artist visiting Barcelona to work with the local Jewish community says he was attacked during an effort to confront what he described as a pervasive climate of antisemitic and anti-Israel expression in the city’s public spaces.
Dudi Shoval, a 34-year-old artist from Ashdod, arrived in Barcelona last week with his wife, Hodiya, at the invitation of a Jewish community organization seeking to counter hostility toward Jews and Israel in the urban environment.
Shoval said the atmosphere was immediately striking.
“There were many drawings of Bibi covered in blood, portraying him as a war criminal, and the constant slogans of ‘genocide in Gaza’ and other horrific things,” he said.
While Shoval stressed that he does not see himself as a political activist, he said the scale and intensity of the messaging prompted him to respond through art.
“I’m not a political person, but it was important to show that we know how to answer back and respond to all the graffiti and drawings portraying Netanyahu and Israelis as war criminals and murderers,” he said.
During his stay, Shoval created several pieces in different parts of the city, including pro-Israel imagery and Jewish symbols. One early mural depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside the words “Viva Israel” drew immediate hostility from passersby.
“I’m so used to receiving love everywhere I paint around the world, and there I received enormous hatred,” Shoval said. “Even older people verbally attacked us. Some came with phones, filmed us, and shouted that it would be erased very soon.”
The mural was later painted over in black, an act Shoval said did not deter him.
“When we discovered the painting had been erased, we didn’t give up and decided to continue in other places around the city,” he said.
Shoval said he later chose a more symbolic visual language.
“On one of the walls I painted menorahs, because we came to illuminate the darkness in Barcelona with our light,” he said.
At another location dominated by anti-Israel slogans and stickers, Shoval painted a Star of David to assert a Jewish presence.
While working at that site, Shoval said a group of migrants confronted him and his companions.
“They shouted, ‘What do you think you’re doing here?’ and since we’re not looking for confrontations with anyone, we decided to go back to the car and not respond,” he said.
According to Shoval, the encounter escalated after they began to leave.
“One of them approached me with a glass bottle in his hand. When he saw I had the spray can, he decided to move toward the photographer and smashed the bottle over his head,” he said.
Shoval said one of the attackers also attempted to touch his wife.
“She screamed while we were confronting them, and the local woman who was with us noticed what was happening and started screaming in Spanish,” he said.
Residents gathered at the scene, and police arrived shortly afterward. Shoval said officers detained and questioned the attackers.
“The police were on our side,” he said. “They understood that we did something legal and that we responded only after we were attacked.”
Police offered the option of filing a formal complaint, but Shoval said he declined.
“We had many more plans in Barcelona, and we didn’t want this to disrupt the trip or what we planned, so we had no interest in moving forward with it and dedicating so much time to it,” he said.
Despite the violence, Shoval said the experience reinforced his determination.
“There were many plans, and I’m happy that we’re showing them that we’re not afraid and we don’t stay silent anywhere,” he said.
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