National friction as President of Community of Madrid rejects Barcelona’s stance on Israel during visit

THE President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso made a visit to Israel on Monday, February 13, where she met with top ranking officials including the country’s President.

Ayuso broke away from the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau’s decision to break ties with the middle eastern nation over its occupation of Israel. Ayuso said that Colau’s decision does not represent either Catalonia or Spain, describing Madrid as “welcoming”.

Speaking with the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, Ayuso said “We are not in a time where we should be breaking relations with anyone, particularly with a democratic nation like Israel, with one of the highest standards of democracy, and with many political, cultural and economic links with Spain”.

The Mayor of Barcelona announced her decision to break ties with Israel last week in the wake of further bloodshed in the West Bank. 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians since at least 2004 with the United Nations recording 146 Palestinians killed by occupying Israeli forces, although other estimates place the death toll even higher.