Eduardo González
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares met this Wednesday, December 17, with the president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain, David Obadía, to whom he conveyed his “condolences and solidarity with the Jewish people for the terrorist attack in Sydney.”
“Meeting with David Obadía, president of the FCJE,” the minister reported via social media. “I conveyed my condolences and solidarity with the Jewish people for the terrorist attack in Sydney,” he continued. “We discussed projects to promote the Jewish heritage in Spain and the commitment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the fight against antisemitism,” he added.
According to sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who spoke to The Diplomat, Albares and Obadía also discussed “the needs of the Jewish community in Spain,” “measures against antisemitism,” the projects of the Israel-Sephardic House, and “initiatives for the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Spain and Israel.”
At least fifteen people lost their lives this past Sunday as a result of an attack against the Jewish community in Sydney, Australia. That same day, Albares posted a message on social media in which he declared himself “horrified by the terrorist attack in Sydney against the Jewish community.” “My solidarity with the victims and their families, with the people and government of Australia,” he continued. “Hatred, antisemitism, and violence have no place in our societies,” he concluded.
The following day, the minister expressed his rejection of “any form of antisemitism” in Brussels and reiterated his condemnation of “the antisemitic terrorist attack that took place in Sydney,” stating that “antisemitism, hate speech, and discrimination, in any form, have no place in our societies, and the Spanish government, and I as Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, will always combat it.”
“Antisemitism in any form is always despicable, but in its most violent form, such as a terrorist attack, as we witnessed yesterday, it is utterly condemnable, and I want to reiterate my condolences to the families of the victims, who are in our thoughts, and of course to the government and people of Australia,” he added, speaking to the media upon his arrival at the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting.
“The Spanish government was the first government in our country’s history to formulate a national strategy to combat antisemitism,” he continued in Brussels. “It is certainly very important for us,” he affirmed. “An agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such as the Casa Sefarad-Israel, deals with this very directly, and I do as well, in the regular meetings I have with the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain and its president,” he concluded.
