Casa Sefarad-Israel hosted an event organized by the Association of Friends of Israel. The event was attended by personalities such as Israel’s Ambassador for Spain and Andorra, Daniel Kutner; The Secretary of State for the Middle East, Manuel Gómez-Acebo or the mayor of Jaén, Javier Márquez.
It was an attempt to give an account of the work done during the last year and to present two more associations. The event was enlivened by the musical intervention of Dani Toledano, Víctor Monge and José Antonio Cano “Chiki”. Juan de la Torre and Eva Garcia-Ron, co-founders of the Association of Friends of Israel in Spain, presented the participants, after reviewing the activities they have organized throughout 2016. Juan de la Torre thanked the newspaper LA RAZON the possibility that they have been given to publish in our blogs.
The first association presented to the two hundred people who filled the halls was the Andalucía-Israel Friendship Association. A long run that was run by its president, Erik Domínguez, deputy mayor of the municipality of Guarromán, and the councilman of the city of Seville, Rafael Belmonte. His aim, he said, is “to foster relations between Andalusia and Israel, to value the Jewish legacy in Andalusia, to combat anti-Semitism and Judeophobia and to honor the memory of the Shoa,” said Domínguez, who also pointed out that Andalusia and Israel “Share their love of culture.” In addition, Domínguez wanted to make clear that the BDS association, which advocates a boycott of Israel and its products and companies, can not be accepted by any public administration, since the Spanish Constitution “does not discriminate on grounds of origin.”
The Israel-Spain friendship, like an old and large leafy tree
For his part, the president of the Basque Association of Friends of Israel (AVAI ILEE), Jon Gotzon Laburu, toured the history of the friendship between the Basque Country and Israel and initiatives that have been carried out, such as calling To a “Plaza Sefarad” square, as well as having a souvenir for those “Basque heroes who helped save Jews”, in whose memory there is even a commemorative plaque in the port of Haifa.
“Putting a flag of Israel in an act in the Basque Country is not easy,” he explained to the audience, who interrupted this degree in Information Sciences and a master’s degree in Business and Communication Management on numerous occasions.
The Israel-Spain friendship, like an old and large leafy tree
The Secretary of State for the Middle East, Manuel Gómez-Acebo, affirmed that “the relationship between Spain and Israel is not only the relationship between two governments, but that it is between societies” and called them “rich and varied”. He also pointed out that “they are sometimes overshadowed by the more political aspect of the matter”. For Gómez-Acebo “there is still much to do, especially to make themselves known to each other.” Thus, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that “in Spain has to shed more and more the image of Israel as a democratic country that is.” He also recalled the regional forum of foreign ministers that took place in January in Barcelona, attended by 43 countries, including Israel. “In Spain we continue working for the idea of respect for the memory of what Sefarad was,” he added.
Israeli ambassador Daniel Kutner said: “Friendship with Israel, which spreads throughout Spain, is like a large, ancient tree. It has roots that at first glance can not be seen, but it also has a trunk Strong and large and small branches. It is a tree to be taken care of, to provide water and fertilizers. “
