Luis Ayllón/Eduardo González
The Israeli ambassador to Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon, said yesterday that her country had “turned the page” on the diplomatic incident with Spain on Thursday, following the exchange of accusations, as a result of statements made by several members of the government against Israel, but reiterated that some of these statements encourage anti-Semitism.
Rodica Radian-Gordon, who took part in a telematic meeting with Spanish journalists, said when asked about the diplomatic clash: “What we had to say we have already said” and added: “We don’t want to be part of Spanish internal politics”.
Furthermore, the ambassador said that they are “satisfied” with the response offered by the government, after the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, made it clear yesterday that in foreign policy the only “authorised voices” are his own and that of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.
However, without mentioning any member of the government at any time, but in a clear reference to those belonging to Podemos, she said that they are concerned that these statements could encourage “anti-Semitism”. “It is very worrying,” she said, stressing that the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis had already provoked anti-Semitic demonstrations in the past.
Noting the government’s expressed willingness to combat anti-Semitism, she expressed confidence that it would “do everything possible to ensure that there are no more manifestations not only of anti-Semitism, but expressions of hatred and statements that are not appropriate”.
Yesterday, the acting Minister for Social Rights, Ione Belarra, insisted that she also speaks on behalf of the government, and, after pointing out that foreign policy must be agreed by the PSOE with its partners in government, called for the severance of diplomatic relations with Israel, the adoption of sanctions against its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and an arms embargo.
The Israeli ambassador also told reporters that in demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, “it is not always clear whether they are in favour of Hamas”, but she said that “we see many demonstrations in favour of Israel”. “There are hostile statements, but many Spaniards convey other feelings to me, and I am sure that this does not only happen in Spain, but also in other EU countries”, she stressed.
Security at embassies
Meanwhile, since Tuesday, the Ministry of the Interior has implemented several complementary security measures within the level 4 out of 5 anti-terrorist alert, including the reinforcement of security measures at “certain particularly sensitive points” throughout the national territory and an increase in anti-terrorist measures by the State Security Forces and Corps.
This decision, adopted during an extraordinary meeting of the Terrorist Threat Assessment Committee – the body responsible for assessing all the security elements that affect the risk of terrorism in Spain – chaired by the acting Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, includes measures to increase surveillance of the embassies and interests in Spain of Israel, Palestine and eight other countries (Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, France, Sweden, the United States, Denmark and the United Kingdom) “in the face of possible attacks”. The list does not include Iran and Syria, two countries clearly pro-Palestinian and staunch enemies of Israel.
The police measures of “prevention, protection and anti-terrorist response” will be applied both in embassies and in “interests and places of worship, educational, economic or any other type”, and will be carried out in buildings and “events and festivities relevant to religious communities, as well as on days or events designated by terrorist organisations to carry out or carry out any type of violent action”, according to an internal Interior Ministry document published by the newspaper El Confidencial.
More than 200 people gathered yesterday afternoon in front of the Israeli Embassy in Madrid, chanting slogans such as “Long live the struggle of the Palestinian people”, “Zionist state, terrorist state” and “Gaza, hold on, Madrid stands up”.
Among those gathered were representatives of associations in support of the Palestinian people and members of Podemos, such as Rafael Mayoral and Julio Rodríguez, and Izquierda Unida.
