Concerns are being raised about the possible ascent to power in the Spanish region of Madrid of far-left, anti-Zionist parties who have a history of ardent support for boycotting Israel and whose leaders have made troubling comments about Israel and the Holocaust.
The regional elections for Madrid which has a population of 6.6 million people including between 15,000 to 17,000 Jews, are scheduled for May 4, with Unidas Podemos and Mas Madrid, two far-left parties polling at 8% and 13% respectively for the elections to the Assembly of Madrid.
Although by themselves they cannot gain power, an alliance with the mainstream left-wing Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) could bring them to positions of influence within a left-wing coalition in the assembly.
Podemos, founded in 2014, is led by Pablo Iglesias who was until recently a deputy prime minister in the government of Pedro Sánchez and his PSOE party.
Under Iglesias, Podemos has led a fierce campaign to pass legislation in Spanish regional and municipal legislatures and authorities boycotting Israel.
These BDS motions advanced in some 100 regional and municipal authorities include provisions banning the municipality or local authority from entering into contracts and agreements with Israeli companies and entities, and even banning business ties and agreements with Spanish citizens who are associated with Israel or Israeli organizations and companies.
Iglesias himself has a history of troubling rhetoric about Jews and Israel.
In a 2009 blog entry he described comments he made in a debate with a professor, saying that “the Holocaust was fundamentally an administrative decision, a mere bureaucratic problem.”
Iglesias has also called Israel “an illegal country,” accused Israel of employing “apartheid” policies, and also hosted a show on HispanTV, an Iranian propaganda outfit, similar to Press TV, which also broadcasts in Cuba, Venezuela.
During one discussion Iglesias hosted on HispanTV, comments made by his hosts included “big financial institutions on Wall Street are basically in the hands of Jews,” and that “the pro-Israel lobby has the power to determine American policies from within.”
The head of Mas Madrid, Monica Garcia, also has a record of extreme rhetoric against Israel.
During the IDF’s Operation Protective Edge in 2014 against Hamas in Gaza, Garcia tweeted: “Those who justify Israel are simply bastards,” in reference to the hostilities in the territory.
ACOM, an organization which has led the fight against Podemos’ boycott campaign, is now campaigning itself to warn the general public about the hostile and discriminatory policies of the party and its ideological twin Mas Madrid.
It has disseminated videos on social media about the parties, and gained exposure in the Spanish press for its campaign, which it insists is not to support any particular party or candidate but to warn of the dangers of some of them.
“That the people of Madrid could elect a paid-propagandist of Iran who is an open antisemite should be unfathomable,” said Angle Mas, president of ACOM.
“Voting for Iglesias and these two parties is voting for the discrimination of Jews and ostracism of Jewish life and the community in a city which is rebuilding itself after 500 years.
“Normalized Jewish life is at risk in these elections. We call on our neighbors who care about decency, non-discrimination and democracy to oppose these parties and those who provide them legitimacy by sitting in a government with them.”
Madrid itself has long been ruled by the conservative, center-right People’s Party and its current leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who serves as the president of the Madrid region, is a strong supporter of Israel, and Madrid’s Jewish community has resisted any attempt to pass boycott legislation in her region, the last of which was proposed last year, and defeated.
“As they successfully did in around 100 Spanish cities and regions, Podemos and Mas Madrid tried to approve a motion in the Madrid parliament for the region to formally join the international BDS campaign,” said Angel.
“That would have made Madrid, the capital region of Spain and center of Spain’s social, political and economic relations, a ghetto that would have excluded the citizens of the Jewish state and any pro-Israel Spanish citizens from any type of commercial, social, cultural or civic relationship with the regional administration. This would have a severe and chilling effect.”