Foreign Ministry ends Ana Salomon’s turbulent mission as ambassador to Israel

Eduardo González The Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday, at the proposal of Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, the dismissal of Ana Salomon as Spain's ambassador to the State of Israel, "thanking her for her services." Her dismissal coincides with strong criticism from the Spanish government of the US-Israeli coalition's offensive against Iran and after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Spain of "supporting tyrants," referring to the Islamic Republic. With this decision, published this Wednesday in the Official State Gazette (BOE), a mission that began in July 2021 comes to an end. During her tenure, Ana Salomon witnessed firsthand the deterioration of diplomatic relations between Spain and Israel due to the Pedro Sánchez government's firm opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offensive in the Gaza Strip, a diplomatic crisis that reached its peak in May 2024 with Spain's decision to officially recognize the State of Palestine. Born in Kansas (United States) on October 12, 1961, into a Sephardic Jewish family, and a member of the Diplomatic Corps since 1988, Ana Salomon was appointed Ambassador on Special Mission for the Jewish Community and Organizations in May 2005 and was the first Director General of Casa Sefarad-Israel, from 2007 to 2008. She also served as Spain's Ambassador to Cyprus (February 2011–June 2014) and held various positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most recently as Director General for North America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Pacific (2018–2021). In 2021, she was appointed Spain's Ambassador to Israel. After two relatively calm years, Ana Salomon's diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv entered a veritable cycle of summonses and consultations at the end of 2023, following the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on October 7 and the harsh military retaliation by Benjamin Netanyahu's government against the Gaza Strip. November 2023 The first moment of tension occurred in November of that year, when the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the then Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, toured the Middle East. During the tour, Sánchez told Netanyahu that the number of Palestinians killed was "truly unbearable" and, at the Rafah crossing, called for "a lasting ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip. As a result, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen summoned Ana Salomon and her Belgian counterpart the following day to deliver a “strong reprimand” for the statements made by their respective heads of government and accused Pedro Sánchez of “supporting terrorism.” In response, José Manuel Albares summoned the Israeli ambassador to Madrid, Rodica Radian-Gordon, warning her that “the completely false words directed by the Israeli government toward Pedro Sánchez are unacceptable to us and must never be repeated.” To further complicate matters, just one day after Salomon’s summons, Hamas issued a statement thanking Pedro Sánchez for his “clear and bold” stance, words that Eli Cohen described as “shameful and disgraceful.” Following the mutual summons of the two ambassadors, Albares himself declared the diplomatic conflict resolved at the end of November. However, just when everything seemed to be back on track, the situation became complicated again due to new statements by Pedro Sánchez in which he expressed his “frank doubts” that Israel was respecting International Humanitarian Law in Gaza. These words provoked outrage from Netanyahu, who immediately recalled his ambassador to Spain for consultations—an unprecedented Israeli decision regarding a Western country. The recognition of Palestine The bilateral deterioration took another turn months later, specifically on May 28, 2024, when Pedro Sánchez announced to the press that the Council of Ministers had just officially recognized the State of Palestine. Spain's decision was adopted simultaneously by Ireland and Norway and, very shortly afterward, by Slovenia. Since then, significant countries such as the United Kingdom and France have joined them. As a consequence, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, summoned Ana Salomon and the ambassadors of Ireland and Norway to Tel Aviv again to warn them that the recognition of the State of Palestine by their respective governments would have "serious" consequences for bilateral relations. During the meeting, the Israeli Foreign Ministry made the unprecedented decision to show the three ambassadors a video, released by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, depicting the moment five female soldiers (out of a total of 132 hostages) were kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attacks. Recall for consultations The latest major chapter in this diplomatic crisis occurred in September 2025, when Pedro Sánchez announced nine measures to stop Israel's "genocide" in Gaza, including the "urgent" adoption of a Royal Decree-Law to impose an arms embargo on Israel. In response to these nine measures, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the Spanish government "anti-Semitic" and declared them "a clear attempt by Sánchez's corrupt government to distract from serious corruption scandals." He also announced that he would ban the entry into the country of the Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, and the Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego. Following Saar's remarks, the government of Pedro Sánchez categorically rejected the "false and slanderous accusations of anti-Semitism" made by the Israeli government against Spain and Spaniards, as well as "the unacceptable ban on entry to Israel for two members of the Spanish government." Albares summoned Ana Salomon for consultations "in light of the slanderous accusations against Spain and the unacceptable measures against two members of our country's government." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also noted in a statement that “Spain, in recent years, has granted citizenship to 72,000 Sephardic Jews, who are now our fellow citizens,” that “this Government immediately condemned the horrific attack by the Hamas terrorist group and has consistently demanded the release of all hostages,” and that the Executive had approved in January 2023 “the first National Plan against Antisemitism” in Spanish history. Despite this, José Manuel Albares insisted that the Government is not considering severing relations with Israel, a “measure that exists, but is extremely rare in international relations.” Sumar, the junior partner in the coalition government, has repeatedly called for the rupture of diplomatic relations with Israel.

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