More than 30 participants at Madrid’s Festival of Ideas demanded that organizers withdraw Allianz’s sponsorship because the company holds Israeli bonds, and the festival ultimately dropped the sponsor. The dispute has pushed political pressure, cultural freedom and the question of who decides what appears on public platforms to the center of Spain’s cultural debate.
Who decides what culture can host?
The Festival of Ideas, organized by the Círculo de Bellas Artes, faced possible collapse as participants pressed for Allianz’s removal. Political scientist Máriam Martínez-Bascuñán signed the letter that led organizers to withdraw the sponsorship. Nerea Pérez de las Heras, author of Fantasma (Alfaguara, 2026), signed it too.
“We are accused of being inconsistent to paralyze us with the excuse that 100% ethical work and consumption under capitalism is impossible when we point to a company like Allianz; obviously we are all subject to survival pressures, but our level of commitment is constant,” Pérez de las Heras said.
The City Council and Madrid regional government framed the dispute as one about “censorship and cancellation.” Mariano de Paco, culture councilor for conservative regional premier Isabel Díaz Ayuso, said: “We condemn any ideological interference both in artistic activities and in their funding, as we have recently seen with Ariana Harwicz or with Allianz at the so-called Festival of Ideas, promoted by the Círculo de Bellas Artes. We deplore that ideological debates substitute persuasion and reasoning with pressure and intimidation.”
The dispute over Argentine writer Ariana Harwicz also split the Cultura Alh festival in Granada. Manifestos circulated on both sides after organizers rescinded her invitation because she denied a genocide in Gaza. More than 500 authors supported writers and students who backed that decision, Pérez de las Heras said. Ayuso invited Harwicz to appear at any forum in Madrid she wished; Argentine booksellers said her books were reportedly enjoying a sales boost in Argentina.
Boycotts, expression and consistency
Opponents of withdrawing the invitation argued that cultural events should make room for competing views. Piedad Bonnett, Maria Negroni, Margo Glantz, Ana María Shua, Valeria Correa Fiz, Karina Sainz Borgo, Fernando Savater, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo and Manuel Valls were among the signatories who said: “Defending freedom of expression only for those who think like us is not defending it: it replaces the free confrontation of ideas with ideological selection.”
Signatories backing a peaceful boycott, including Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Cristina Rivera Garza, Camila Sosa Villada, Alejandro Zambra, Pilar Quintana, Nona Fernández, Andrea Abreu, Alana S. Portero and Marta Sanz, replied: “Organizing a peaceful boycott is not censoring. Criticizing is not censoring, protesting is not censoring.”
Luis Salazar, spokesperson for the cultural area of the Solidarity Network Against the Occupation of Palestine, part of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, said the movement had debated these questions for more than two decades. “These movements are not spontaneous or random; there is coordination with working groups across Europe,” he said. Salazar cited a letter signed by 50 Israeli documentary filmmakers who support boycotts of their country’s institutions, and pointed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as another case in which people sought to exclude intellectuals or athletes from public spaces.
Russia left Eurovision in 2022 after invading Ukraine, in accordance with the competition’s statutes. The European Broadcasting Union didn’t take the same action against Israel. Spain and Ireland withdrew from the contest in protest, while Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE didn’t show the 2026 contest and instead published a message calling for peace and justice for Palestine.
A cultural stage under pressure
The Israeli dance company Batsheva was scheduled to perform Sadeh21 at Madrid’s Teatros del Canal from October 15 to October 17, 2026. The company didn’t answer the newspaper’s inquiry. According to its own accounts, Netanyahu’s government funds it, and it has become a national emblem.
Choreographer and dancer Nacho Duato said, “The [Madrid regional government] uses it to whitewash the genocide.” He added: “If they end up dancing, then let them dance, but this needs to be discussed.” Duato said he spends much of the year dancing in Russia and opposes the war and Putin. He also said Russian artists couldn’t perform outside their country.
The wider debate has put artists’ careers and the vulnerability of cultural institutions in focus. Valerio Rocco, director of the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid and one of the Festival of Ideas organizers, said cultural projects and institutions were fragile when facing attacks, accusations, withdrawn support and pressure. Filmmaker Uri Rosenwaks, a former director of the Israeli Forum of Documentary Directors, said: “We Israelis have become toxic people. Our presence at a conference, a film festival, or a book fair can create problems.”