Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente Faces Backlash for Antisemitic Remark Following Vueling Flight Incident

By: Fern Sidman

Spain’s Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, has come under intense criticism after referring to a group of French Jewish teenagers removed from a Vueling Airlines flight as “a couple of Israeli brats.” The comment, posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and swiftly deleted, has ignited accusations of antisemitism from across the political spectrum and Jewish advocacy groups in Europe and beyond.

According to a report that appeared on Sunday at VIN News, the inflammatory remark was made in the context of an ongoing controversy surrounding the ejection of 44 French Jewish teenagers and eight adult chaperones from a Vueling flight last week. The group, identified as members of a French Jewish summer camp, was removed from a scheduled departure from Valencia, Spain, to Paris. Airline staff cited the group’s allegedly disruptive behavior, including failure to comply with safety instructions and interruptions during the pre-flight safety demonstration.

While Vueling maintains that the decision to eject the passengers was based purely on safety protocol and unrelated to religious or ethnic identity, Jewish organizations and French government officials have demanded a full and transparent investigation. The incident, now inflamed by Puente’s remarks, has prompted broader concern about latent antisemitism in public discourse.

And the Spanish Minister of Transportation @oscar_puente_ is calling the French jewish kids “israeli brats”… pic.twitter.com/HMgUiOPmJd

— Leviatan74_14 🎗 (@Leviatan74_14) July 26, 2025

VIN News reported that Yad Vashem’s Spanish-language branch issued a sharply worded rebuke, accusing Minister Puente of advancing antisemitic stereotypes by conflating Jewish identity with the State of Israel. “They are French Jews. Europeans,” the organization stated. “Mr. Óscar Puente, confusing their religious identity with a foreign nationality, is antisemitic. While thousands of Jewish families threatened to flee Europe each year, respect is expected from a public representative, and they should not encourage hatred.”

The minister’s post — which did not distinguish between the children’s French nationality and their Jewish faith — appeared to suggest that their supposed misconduct was somehow emblematic of Israeli behavior. This conflation, according to legal scholars and watchdog groups cited by VIN News, falls squarely within the parameters of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which warns against holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the State of Israel.

French officials, alarmed by the incident and the subsequent rhetoric, have formally requested clarifications from their Spanish counterparts. A spokesperson for the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs told VIN News that “France takes very seriously any reports that could point to discrimination against its citizens, especially when it concerns minors and particularly sensitive contexts such as religious or ethnic identity.”

The Spanish government has not issued an official apology, though sources within the Ministry of Transport have indicated that Puente’s remarks were “not representative of institutional policy.” Still, no public reprimand or disciplinary action has been announced as of this writing.

The fallout from Puente’s comments occurs at a time of rising anxiety within Europe’s Jewish communities. As VIN News has previously reported, antisemitic incidents — both verbal and physical — have increased significantly across the continent, particularly in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war that began in October 2023. Jewish institutions in countries such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have reported a surge in hate speech, threats, and acts of vandalism.

Community leaders are now calling for a broader reckoning with the ways antisemitism can manifest not just through violence but also through casual or rhetorical expressions by those in power. “When a minister of a European government refers to Jewish minors as ‘Israeli brats,’ we are dealing not just with a lapse in judgment, but a deeply ingrained prejudice,” said a senior official at the European Jewish Congress in comments to VIN News. “This is not merely offensive. It is dangerous.”

Vueling, a Spanish low-cost carrier and subsidiary of International Airlines Group (IAG), has thus far stood by its version of events, asserting that its crew followed standard safety procedures in response to what it described as repeated noncompliance and disruptive behavior by the group. “The decision to disembark the passengers was taken solely in the interest of maintaining safety on board,” the airline said in a statement released to VIN News. “At no time did religion or nationality play a role in our assessment.”

However, Jewish advocacy groups have countered that the scale of the removal — 52 passengers in total — raises questions about whether the decision was proportionate or potentially influenced by bias. They are calling for an independent review of the incident, including interviews with crew members and access to cockpit and cabin voice recordings.

In the days since the incident, grassroots Jewish organizations in France and Spain have organized petitions and open letters calling for Puente’s resignation. Others have focused on pressuring Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s administration to issue a formal repudiation of the comment and to reaffirm Spain’s commitment to combating antisemitism.

A joint letter from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and B’nai B’rith International, shared with VIN News, stated: “Spain must not allow a minister to traffic in ethnic stereotypes and then retreat behind deleted posts. Silence from the government will only embolden others.”

Meanwhile, the affected teenagers and their families remain largely silent, though some parents have reportedly filed complaints with French aviation authorities and civil rights groups. Legal action, according to the report at VIN News, has not been ruled out.

For now, Minister Óscar Puente’s brief and now-removed comment has taken center stage in a growing conversation about antisemitism, accountability, and the responsibilities of public office in a climate of increasing social tension. Whether the Spanish government will act — and whether Vueling’s account will withstand scrutiny — remains to be seen. But for Jewish families across Europe, the incident has rekindled old fears in a region still grappling with the legacies of intolerance.