Andorra carnival sparks outrage after effigy of Israel is put on ‘trial’ and burned

According to local media reports, public and government officials, including the mayor of Encamp and council members, also took part in the ceremony.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

A centuries-old carnival ritual in Andorra erupted into international controversy after an effigy of the State of Israel was symbolically put on “trial,” shot, and set ablaze during the festivities, with local and government officials present.

Part of an annual carnival tradition, the celebration features “Carnestoltes,” a mock king whose effigy is customarily put on trial, hanged, and burned in a symbolic ritual that marks the close of the festivities.

Across Europe, many cities hold carnivals in the weeks before Lent — the Christian season of fasting that begins on Ash Wednesday — often blending centuries-old customs, including the ceremonial judgment or burning of a figure representing excess or wrongdoing.

However, this year marked the first time the effigy incorporated Jewish symbols and imagery associated with Israel — an act the local Jewish community condemned as antisemitic amid an already tense and hostile climate, warning it risks normalizing hatred and violence.

During Monday’s festivities in Encamp, a district of the tiny principality of Andorra between France and Spain, a large blue-and-white effigy marked with a Star of David was hanged, symbolically put on trial, shot, and set ablaze.

Images circulating on social media also captured an air rifle pointed at the hanging effigy, with onlookers gathered around the scene.

According to local media reports, public and government officials, including the mayor of Encamp and council members, also took part in the ceremony.

The president of Andorra’s parliament, Carles Enseñat Reig, strongly condemned the incident, calling it “unacceptable” and warning that it tarnishes the principality’s reputation and threatens the spirit of its traditional celebrations.

The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) — the main representative body of French Jews — also denounced the incident, calling it “unworthy, outrageous, and provocative” and raising the possibility of sanctions or even a boycott of Andorra.

In a press release, the festival committee defended their actions, saying the Carnival King figure was meant to satirize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and draw attention to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

They further explained that the event aimed to spotlight the global rise of far-right movements, while stressing it was never intended to single out any religion.

The European Jewish Congress (EJC) condemned the incident as “outrageous,” warning that such acts not only inflame antisemitism but also pose a serious threat to Jewish communities across Europe.

“Turning a festive tradition into the symbolic execution of imagery associated with the Jewish state is a deeply disturbing act that risks normalizing antisemitism and incitement,” EJC wrote in a post on X.

“Such displays are incompatible with the fundamental European values of dignity, respect, and peaceful coexistence.”

While most countries across Europe and the broader Western world have seen a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Andorra — with its small Jewish community — had until now remained relatively quiet and largely safe.