In Spain, the Israel-Palestine conflict has been followed very closely since the bloody Hamas attack on October 7. The tone quickly rose within the ruling left-wing coalition. On Monday, October 16, the embassy reacted strongly, but a minister responded in the evening that democracy required this freedom of speech.
Unlike certain countries, such as Austria, where the history of the country and the fear of the importation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict make political representatives utter the word “responsibility” and lead them to advocate education to counter rising extremism, other countries are making a completely different voice heard.
In Spain, after the pro-Palestinian speech of certain left-wing members of the outgoing government, accusations between the right and left parties continued to multiply. While on the right, the far-right group, Vox, and the Popular Party have openly sided with Israel, positions are much more divided on the left.
Thus, the interim Minister of Social Rights and leader of Podemos Ione Belarra requested that “faced with the attempted genocide carried out by the State of Israel in Gaza, the Spanish government is prosecuting Benjamin Netanyahu before the International Criminal Court for war crimes”. She specifies “heavy heart”, that this “organized genocide” leaving thousands of civilians destitute and under bombs is carried out “as collective punishment, in defiance of international law.
The left-wing electoral platform Sumar, formed in the hope of countering the right in the next elections in July 2023, condemns the Hamas attack, while criticizing Israel’s retaliation and accusing the European Union of showing “Two weights, two measures” in favor of Israel. As for the Spanish Socialist Party, the head of the outgoing government, Pedro Sánchez, reaffirmed a more balanced position in favor of the recognition of two states which “can coexist in peace and security”.
The Israeli embassy published a statement on Monday, October 16 on the social network “shameful and absolutely immoral statements” of certain members of the Spanish executive, “and which endanger Jewish communities in Spain”. In the evening, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded categorically, “rejecting the untruths of the Israeli embassy statement.” “In a full-fledged democracy like in Spain, any political leader can freely express his positions, as a representative of a political party,” he concludes.