Israel–Spain relations
Encyclopedia
Israel–Spain relations refers to diplomatic, cultural and economic relations between Israel
and Spain
. Israel and Spain have maintained diplomatic ties since 1986. Israel has an embassy in Madrid
. Spain has an embassy in Tel Aviv
, an honorary consulate
in Haifa
and a General Consulate in Jerusalem, which is regarded as diplomatic missions to the city of Jerusalem (including both West
and East Jerusalem
), Gaza
and the territories of the Judea and Samaria Area.
and Freemasons
against Spain, the "contubernio judeo-masónico". In 1949, the State of Israel voted against lifting sanctions against Spain in the United Nations General Assembly
due to the Francoist regime's sympathy and material support for the Axis Powers
.Despite the lack of diplomatic ties, the Franco government helped Jewish emigration from Morocco in the 1960s and, during the Six-Day War
in 1967, issued Laissez-Passer documents to Egyptian Jews, enabling them to emigrate.
The pro-Arab dialectic of previous Francoist governments had created a permanent stance that was very difficult to overcome even after the transition to democracy. The first Spanish government after General Franco's death, headed by Adolfo Suárez
, declared that it would not recognize Israel unless it withdrew from the occupied territories
and allowed the creation of a Palestinian homeland.
Following Suárez's resignation in 1982, the new President of the Government of Spain
Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo
seemed inclined to inaugurate relations between Spain and Israel but this had to wait for the next government due to the pro-Arab stance of the Foreign Minister José Pedro Pérez-Llorca.
Nevertheless, small steps were taken towards rapproachment, including informal contacts by Samuel Hadas, the Israeli representative to the United Nations
World Tourism Organization
based in Madrid. Hadas, a member of the Israeli Labor Party, was responsible for the creation of a Spanish Friends of Israel
association and a dialogue group that included several Spanish Socialist Workers Party members of parliament, such as Enrique Múgica Herzog
, as well as members of the ruling party, UCD.
With a view to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, President of the Government Felipe González
who had been elected on a Socialist platform three years earlier, sent a personal letter to secretary general of the Arab League
, Chedli Klibi
, on 25 April 1985, advising him of Spain's plans. Following Operation Wooden Leg
, the Spanish Government issued a strong condemnation of the attack, putting a temporary hold to the recognition process. Further conversations with the Ambassadors from Arab states in Madrid followed in January next year, advising them of Spain forthcoming plans. Both countries established diplomatic relations on 17 January 1986. Samuel Hadas was named Israel Ambassador in Madrid. Spain had joined the European Economic Community
on 1 January. Soon after, a representative office for the PLO
opened in Madrid "as evidence of Spain traditional policy of friendship with the Palestinian people and as an instrument to achieve a lasting, just and global solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict".
In 2000, Spain lifted its veto on Israel's admission to the Western European Group
of the United Nations, on a basis of permanent renewal of temporary full membership, ending Israel administrative limbo, as its membership in the Asian Group had been withheld due to the large majority of Muslim countries in the Asian block opposing.
In additions to both countries being member states of the United Nations
, both countries are members of the Union for the Mediterranean
. The two countries are also involved with various programmes and agreements through the European Union
, of which Spain is a member, and its relations with Israel.
, culturally or ethnically associated with the Iberian Peninsula
from where Jews were expelled
in the late-fifteenth century. Many Israelis are also of Spanish and Portuguese Jewish
origin. Some Israelis live in Spain today, and there is also a small contemporary Spanish Jews community. Many Spanish people
are also of converso
or Marrano
origin, with a recent study estimating the figure to be as high as 20%.. An Israeli newspaper, Maariv, noted that according to Rodríguez Zapatero's own admission, his family is of Jewish descent, probably from a family of Marranos.
In honor of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic and cultural relations between Spain and Israel, the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid loaned a painting by El Greco
to the Israel Museum
in Jerusalem. A special evening was held in the presence of Yitzhak Navon
, the fifth President of the State of Israel and Alvaro Iranzo Gutierrez, ambassador of Spain in Israel.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Israel and Spain have maintained diplomatic ties since 1986. Israel has an embassy in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. Spain has an embassy in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, an honorary consulate
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and a General Consulate in Jerusalem, which is regarded as diplomatic missions to the city of Jerusalem (including both West
West Jerusalem
West Jerusalem refers to:*The section of Jerusalem captured by Israel following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.*The western neighborhoods of Jerusalem today.-Division in 1948:...
and East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
), Gaza
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
and the territories of the Judea and Samaria Area.
History
Francoist Spain did not recognize Israel citing an international confederacy of JewsJews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Freemasons
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
against Spain, the "contubernio judeo-masónico". In 1949, the State of Israel voted against lifting sanctions against Spain in the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
due to the Francoist regime's sympathy and material support for the Axis Powers
Spain in World War II
The Spanish State under General Franco was officially non-belligerent during World War II. This status, although not recognised by international law, was intended to express the regime's sympathy and material support for the Axis Powers, to which Spain offered considerable material, economic, and...
.Despite the lack of diplomatic ties, the Franco government helped Jewish emigration from Morocco in the 1960s and, during the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
in 1967, issued Laissez-Passer documents to Egyptian Jews, enabling them to emigrate.
The pro-Arab dialectic of previous Francoist governments had created a permanent stance that was very difficult to overcome even after the transition to democracy. The first Spanish government after General Franco's death, headed by Adolfo Suárez
Adolfo Suárez
Adolfo Suárez y González, 1st Duke of Suárez, Grandee of Spain, KOGF is a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected prime minister after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and the key figure in the country's transition to democracy.-Parents:He is a son of...
, declared that it would not recognize Israel unless it withdrew from the occupied territories
Israeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
and allowed the creation of a Palestinian homeland.
Following Suárez's resignation in 1982, the new President of the Government of Spain
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo
Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquis of the Ría of Ribadeo and Grandee of Spain was a Spanish political figure and prime minister during the period of transition after the end of Francisco Franco's regime.-Biography:...
seemed inclined to inaugurate relations between Spain and Israel but this had to wait for the next government due to the pro-Arab stance of the Foreign Minister José Pedro Pérez-Llorca.
Nevertheless, small steps were taken towards rapproachment, including informal contacts by Samuel Hadas, the Israeli representative to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
World Tourism Organization
World Tourism Organization
The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...
based in Madrid. Hadas, a member of the Israeli Labor Party, was responsible for the creation of a Spanish Friends of Israel
Friends of Israel
The Friends of Israel Initiative is an international initiative to defend Israel as a crucial bulwark of Western values.Friends of Israel are groups within the three main British political parties that promote close ties between Israel and the United Kingdom...
association and a dialogue group that included several Spanish Socialist Workers Party members of parliament, such as Enrique Múgica Herzog
Enrique Múgica Herzog
Enrique Múgica Herzog is an attorney and Spanish politician. A historical member of the PSOE, former Justice Minister , former congressman and former Ombudsman ....
, as well as members of the ruling party, UCD.
With a view to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, President of the Government Felipe González
Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez is a Spanish socialist politician. He was the General Secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. To date, he remains the longest-serving Prime Minister of Spain, after having served four successive mandates from 1982 to 1996.-Early life:Felipe was...
who had been elected on a Socialist platform three years earlier, sent a personal letter to secretary general of the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
, Chedli Klibi
Chedli Klibi
Chedli Klibi , is a Tunisian politician. He was secretary general of the Arab League, and the only non-Egyptian to hold the post.-Early life:...
, on 25 April 1985, advising him of Spain's plans. Following Operation Wooden Leg
Operation Wooden Leg
Operation Wooden Leg was an attack by Israel on the Palestine Liberation Organization headquarters in Hammam al-Shatt, Tunisia, 12 miles from the capital of Tunis. It took place on October 1, 1985. Taking place 1,280 miles away, this was the furthest operation from Israel undertaken by the...
, the Spanish Government issued a strong condemnation of the attack, putting a temporary hold to the recognition process. Further conversations with the Ambassadors from Arab states in Madrid followed in January next year, advising them of Spain forthcoming plans. Both countries established diplomatic relations on 17 January 1986. Samuel Hadas was named Israel Ambassador in Madrid. Spain had joined the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
on 1 January. Soon after, a representative office for the PLO
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
opened in Madrid "as evidence of Spain traditional policy of friendship with the Palestinian people and as an instrument to achieve a lasting, just and global solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict".
In 2000, Spain lifted its veto on Israel's admission to the Western European Group
Western European and Others Group
The Western European and Others Group is one of several unofficial Regional Groups in the United Nations that act as voting blocs and negotiation forums. Regional voting blocs were formed in 1961 to encourage voting to various UN bodies from regional groups...
of the United Nations, on a basis of permanent renewal of temporary full membership, ending Israel administrative limbo, as its membership in the Asian Group had been withheld due to the large majority of Muslim countries in the Asian block opposing.
In additions to both countries being member states of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, both countries are members of the Union for the Mediterranean
Union for the Mediterranean
The Union for the Mediterranean is a multilateral partnership that encompasses 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 member states of the European Union and 16 Mediterranean partner countries from North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans...
. The two countries are also involved with various programmes and agreements through the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, of which Spain is a member, and its relations with Israel.
Religious and cultural ties
Many Israelis are Sephardi JewsSephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
, culturally or ethnically associated with the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
from where Jews were expelled
Alhambra decree
The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.The edict was formally revoked on 16 December 1968, following the Second...
in the late-fifteenth century. Many Israelis are also of Spanish and Portuguese Jewish
Spanish and Portuguese Jews
Spanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the Jewish communities of the Iberian peninsula and who shaped communities mainly in Western Europe and the Americas from the late 16th century on...
origin. Some Israelis live in Spain today, and there is also a small contemporary Spanish Jews community. Many Spanish people
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
are also of converso
Converso
A converso and its feminine form conversa was a Jew or Muslim—or a descendant of Jews or Muslims—who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. Mass conversions once took place under significant government pressure...
or Marrano
Marrano
Marranos were Jews living in the Iberian peninsula who converted to Christianity rather than be expelled but continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret...
origin, with a recent study estimating the figure to be as high as 20%.. An Israeli newspaper, Maariv, noted that according to Rodríguez Zapatero's own admission, his family is of Jewish descent, probably from a family of Marranos.
In honor of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic and cultural relations between Spain and Israel, the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid loaned a painting by El Greco
El Greco
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...
to the Israel Museum
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
in Jerusalem. A special evening was held in the presence of Yitzhak Navon
Yitzhak Navon
Yitzhak Navon is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and author. He served as the fifth President of Israel between 1978 and 1982 as a member of the center-left Alignment party...
, the fifth President of the State of Israel and Alvaro Iranzo Gutierrez, ambassador of Spain in Israel.
Diplomatic visits
In October 2011, Spanish Crown Prince Felipe and his wife, Princess Letizia, arrived in Israel for a two-day state visit to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and meet with local scientists.Bilateral trade
In 2010, bilateral trade totaled 1.69 billion euros, with 853 million euros of Israeli exports to Spain and 836 million euros of Spanish imports to Israel. José Ranero, the economic and commercial advisor at the Spanish Embassy, said he looked forward to more joint projects, especially in technology.See also
- History of the Jews in SpainHistory of the Jews in SpainSpanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before the majority, together with resident Muslims, were forced to convert to Catholicism, be expelled or be killed when Spain became united under the Catholic Monarchs...
- Alhambra DecreeAlhambra decreeThe Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.The edict was formally revoked on 16 December 1968, following the Second...
of 1492 - International recognition of IsraelInternational recognition of IsraelThe recognition of Israel in the international community remains an outstanding issue of the Arab–Israeli conflict. Pursuant to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, which provided for the establishment of a Jewish state, Israel declared its independence at midnight on 14 May 1948...