Isaac Querub Caro, President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE), the representative organisation of Spanish Jewry and the country’s EJC affiliate, presented the ‘Senador Ángel Pulido’ Award to H.M. King Felipe VI of Spain for the broad and unconditional support that the Spanish Crown has provided for the revival of Jewish and Sephardic life in Spain and in the world, as well as to the mutual friendship between the peoples of Spain and Israel.
Mr. Querub stated that the “Senador Ángel Pulido Award” bears the name of an extraordinary figure who helped bring back Sephardic life in Spain from historical oblivion, emphasising that King Felipe has continued in the same spirit, recognising Sephardic heritage and strengthening ties between Spain and Sephardim, for instance in November 2015, when he said: “We have missed you so much!”
The ‘Senador Ángel Pulido’ award was established in 2005 by the FCJE in order to recognise people or institutions that have stood out for their support of Judaism and Jewish communities in Spain and the world, for freedom of conscience, religious pluralism and in the fight against antisemitism.
The award is named after one of the most outstanding political figures during the “Restauración” period in Spain (1874-1931). Ángel Pulido was a Spanish senator, physician and writer, who he had his first contact with Sephardic Jews in 1893, whilst traveling on a steamer on the Danube.
Afterwards, he began to work intensely to get the descendants of those Sephardim expelled in 1492 closer to the Spanish people and its institutions.
