ACOM noted that Pablo Iglesias, leader of Unidas Podemos, who runs for President of the Madrid regional government, ‘’has a history of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements.’’
Ahead of the regional elections in Madrid, ACOM, the leading organization in the fight against anti-Semitism in Spain, has called voters ‘’to voice their opposition to antisemitic far-Left parties Unidad Podemos and Mas Madrid, as well as to presidential candidate Pablo Iglesias.”
The regional election in Madrid, scheduled to take place on May 4th, will elect the regional parliament, known as the Assembly of the Community of Madrid, and the regional government of six million citizens, including the largest Jewish community of Spain.
ACOM (acronym for Action and Communication on the Middle East) noted that Pablo Iglesias, until recently Spain’s radical Left deputy Prime Minister, leader of Unidas Podemos, who quit his position to run for the position of Madrilenian President, ‘’has a history of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements.’’ These statements include that “the great Wall Street companies are practically all in the hands of Jews”, “the Jewish lobby supports initiatives against the peoples of the world”, “the Holocaust was a mere bureaucratic problem”, “Israel is a criminal state” and “an illegal country”. He also worked for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s propaganda mouthpiece to the Spanish-speaking world Hispan TV.
“That the people of Madrid could elect a paid-propagandist of Iran who is an open anti-Semite should be unfathomable,” said ACOM President, Angel Mas.
“Voting for Iglesias and these two parties is voting for the discrimination of Jews and ostracization of Jewish life and the community in a city which is rebuilding itself after 500 years. Normalized Jewish life is at risk in these elections. We call on our neighbors who care about decency, non-discrimination and democracy to oppose these parties and those who provide them legitimacy by sitting in a government with them,” he said.
Mas mentioned that Podemos and Mas Madrid have tried to approve a motion in the Madrid parliament for the region to formally join the international anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Disinvestment, Snctions) campaign ‘’as they successfully did in around 100 Spanish cities and regions.’’
‘’That would have made Madrid, the capital region of Spain and center of Spain’s social, political and economic relations, a ghetto that would have excluded the citizens of the Jewish state and any pro-Israel Spanish citizens from any type of commercial, social, cultural or civic relationship with the regional administration.’’
ACOM has so far successfully defeated Podemos BDS campaign across the country with over 70 court rulings declaring the pro-BDS resolutions discriminatory and unconstitutional.
According to a recent poll, Spain’s centre-right Popular Party (Partido Popular) looks set to comfortably win the regional election.