The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE) categorically rejects the statements made by Minister Pablo Bustinduy and the General Secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra.
The FCJE strongly condemns the statements made by the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption, and the 2030 Agenda, Pablo Bustinduy, in which he demands that Spanish companies label goods originating from disputed territories as “produced in Israeli settlements” rather than “products of Israel.”
The FCJE considers this demand to be a veiled call for a commercial boycott against Israel, a friendly and allied country. Perhaps the next proposal from the minister will be to once again mark Jews with a yellow star.
According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), of which Spain has been a member since 2008 and whose membership was reaffirmed by the government in 2020, “applying a double standard by expecting Israel to behave in ways not demanded of any other country” is antisemitism.
We also reject and condemn as antisemitic the statements made by the General Secretary of Podemos, Ione Belarra, who compared “what Israel does” to the gas chambers of the Nazis. These remarks were made in the Congress of Deputies, the seat of national sovereignty, without anyone lodging a vigorous protest.
According to the IHRA, “establishing comparisons between Israel’s current policies and those of the Nazis” is antisemitism.
For all these reasons, we urge the authorities responsible for the National Action Plan against Antisemitism to take urgent measures to halt these statements, which are openly antisemitic and contribute to creating a dangerous environment for Jews in Spain.
