‘Barcelona made big mistake canceling ties with Israel’ - Ayuso

A senior Spanish politician decided to visit Israel to counteract Barcelona’s recent announcement that the city will no longer be twinned with Tel Aviv, citing claims of “apartheid” and “violation of human rights.”

“The city of Barcelona did something that is a big mistake and that doesn’t represent the whole of Spain and it does not represent Madrid,” Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid told The Jerusalem Post during a 48-hour visit this week.

Almost 7 million people live in the autonomous Community of Madrid, of which Ayuso is the senior figure. She is also the president of the Center-Right People’s Party of Madrid.

“My message doesn’t go against anyone. It goes in favor,” she said of the relationship with Israel. “We want to share experiences for start-ups and affordability and also to strengthen the relations between Israel and Madrid.”

How has Ayuso worked to boost relations with Israel and Madrid?

Ayuso shared that she introduced the history of Sephardi Jewry to the local education system of the Madrid region.

“Two years ago, we introduced the history of Sephard to all of our schools.” Now all schools in the region learn about the rich Jewish history in the country as well as about Spanish Jews during the period of the Holocaust, she said.

“We have promoted initiatives against BDS [boycott, divestments and sanctions on Israel], we’ve promoted initiatives against antisemitism at the European Parliament and, of course, we commemorate the Shoah, the Holocaust,” she said, adding that “we also remember the links between us, at every opportunity.”

Ayuso said the Madrid region has a corporate agreement with a Jewish school in Madrid, the only Jewish school in the region. She also proudly shared that she received an award from the Jewish community during a Hanukkah celebration a few years ago.

During her visit to Israel, she met with President Isaac Herzog, Economy Minister Nir Barkat, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahoum and Hadassah Medical Organization ’s director-general, Yoram Weiss.

“For me, the important message is that Madrid is an open place, which fully receives many people, especially Jewish Madridians. Madrid is their home, and Barcelona’s decision does not represent the vast majority of Catalonians and, of course, of Spaniards,” Ayuso said.

A group of businesspeople joined Ayuso in her visit to “promote investments of Israeli companies in Madrid,” she said.

“They’ve met with many different companies. Our region is a good region, it’s a liberal region where taxes are low. It’s an international city, so it’s a good place to invest.”

Regarding Israel’s image overseas, Ayuso shared her perspective that “to justify Israel, very often you reference the Shoah, and this is something I don’t want to do because I don’t think that you have to justify a state always as a victim. I think Israel has a right to [exist in and of itself]; to be a state like every other country in the world.

“I think you have to also take care of your origin. You should not need to explain why Israel exists. I’m sorry we need to [do so]. There is ongoing propaganda working against Israel. The best would be for people to visit Israel because once they see it, as I did, they understand it’s different.”

This was her second visit to Israel. On her first visit, she arrived with a group of politicians and journalists to tour and learn about the country.