Maimonides Statue Vandalized in Córdoba's Jewish Quarter
A swastika was spray-painted on the base of a bronze statue of Maimonides in Córdoba, Spain's historic Judería. Spanish authorities opened a hate crime investigation; Jewish organizations condemned the antisemitic vandalism.
A Nazi swastika was spray-painted on the base of a bronze statue of Maimonides in Plaza de Tiberíades in Córdoba's historic Jewish Quarter, Spain, in what authorities are treating as a possible hate crime. According to local reports, the vandalism was discovered around August 1-2, 2026. Spanish National Police opened an investigation into the incident.
The statue honors Maimonides, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, known as the Rambam, one of the most influential Jewish philosophers, physicians, and legal scholars of the Middle Ages. Born in Córdoba in 1135, Maimonides is regarded as a central figure in Jewish intellectual history and a symbol of the city's medieval period of interfaith coexistence.
According to reports from Spanish authorities, acting Mayor Cintia Bustos and politicians from the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) strongly condemned the vandalism as both an attack on the city's historical heritage and a message of hate. Municipal crews planned to begin cleaning the pedestal starting today (Monday), using specialized methods designed to avoid damaging the monument itself.
No suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident. The investigation is ongoing.
Jewish organizations have characterized the act as targeting not only a historical figure but Jewish memory and history itself. According to statements from Jewish leaders, the European Jewish Congress described the vandalism as antisemitic, part of a pattern of attacks on Jewish symbols and heritage across Europe.
The statue in Plaza de Tiberíades sits in the heart of Córdoba's Judería, the medieval Jewish Quarter, which remains one of Spain's most significant repositories of Jewish historical memory. The area reflects centuries of Jewish presence in the city before the expulsion of Spanish Jews in 1492.
Maimonides, who lived from 1135 to 1204, was not only a philosopher but also the personal physician to the Sultan Saladin. His legal codification, the Mishneh Torah, remains foundational to Jewish law and practice. His work bridged Jewish, Islamic, and Christian intellectual traditions during the medieval period, making him a figure of broader historical significance in European thought.