All was quiet on the antisemitic front in Andorra, a tiny country nestled between Spain and France in the Pyrenees Mountains — until now. As in many countries in the region, a carnival marks the period right before Lent with a fairly common tradition of holding a mock judgment of a generic individual who represents wrongdoing and burning it. In Andorra, carnival goers put a mock king on trial, shoot it and burn it in effigy. This year, however, marks the first time a carnival created an effigy with Jewish symbols: The carnival put a blue-and-white effigy bearing a Star of David on trial, then shot and burned it, igniting a wave of alarm among Jewish groups.

The idea of burning the Jewish state in effigy echoes the Inquisition’s grisly practice of burning Jews at the stake, most notably in Spain, which borders Andorra and where Catalan, a language so similar to Spanish that Spanish speakers can understand it, is spoken.

The Jewish community condemned the incident as antisemitic and raised concerns that it normalizes hatred of and violence toward Jews.

“This is a ritual they perform every year as part of carnival, where they mock many things,” said Esther Pujol, a Jewish Andorran. “This time they dressed the effigy in the colors of the Israeli flag, with a Star of David on its face. They put it on trial, sentenced it to death and carried out the sentence by shooting and burning it. It is completely unacceptable.”

Pujol said that the mayor of Encamp, the district where the incident took place, and other council members actively participated in the effigy burning.

“It is very serious,” she said. “We have not reached a stage of violence in Andorra, but this began with an effigy and could worsen. There has never been anything like this here.”

Carles Enseñat Reig, president of Andorra’s parliament, criticized the event and called it “unacceptable.”

In addition, the European Jewish Congress condemned the incident and called for action in a statement on Facebook.

“We are outraged by the events reported at Andorra’s carnival, where an effigy bearing the colours of Israel and a Star of David was publicly put on mock trial, hanged, shot and burned in the presence of local officials,” the group said.

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

“This incident requires unequivocal condemnation, full clarification of responsibilities and concrete measures to ensure that antisemitism is never tolerated in public celebrations or institutions in Andorra or anywhere in Europe,” the group concluded.

Other European Jewish advocacy groups also expressed their dismay, with the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) saying the incident was “unworthy, outrageous, and provocative.” CRIF threatened sanctions and possibly a boycott of Andorra.

Nevertheless, the festival committee doubled down, saying in a press release that the effigy burning merely represents a satirical take on policies and was simply meant to bring attention to the Gaza-Israel conflict and criticize Netanyahu.

Critics weren’t buying it, however.

“When you hang and burn a figure branded with a Jewish symbol, don’t pretend it’s just political satire,” Hen Mazzig, a well-known Israeli social media influencer, posted on X. “We know exactly what that imagery means.”