A pro-Palestinian protest movement has stopped the third largest cycling race in the world - the Spanish Vuelta. One hundred thousand people took to the streets of Madrid on Sunday to prevent cyclists from completing the final stage of the race. Even the police were unable to clear the road, and the protesters celebrated their successful action with chants of “Esta vuelta, la gana Palestina!” (Palestine wins this stage), writes ARD.
Along the entire 3,300-kilometer Vuelta a España cycling race, activists protested and demanded that the “Israel-Premier Tech Team“ be excluded from the race - not least because one of the Israeli team's sponsors is close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With their protest, the activists want Israeli teams to be banned from participating in all international sports and cultural events, because, in their opinion, this helps the Israeli authorities to embellish the truth about what is happening in Gaza, ARD notes.
The question of blame
Immediately after the end of the tour, a political debate about blame began in polarized Spain: opposition leader Alberto Núñez Fejó of the conservative People's Party (PP) believes that the responsibility lies with the Social Democratic Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. “Mr. Sánchez is responsible for the violence, which should shame anyone who cares about our country“, Fejó said.
Meanwhile, Sánchez expressed “respect and deep admiration“ for Spanish civil society, which mobilized against injustice and defended its ideals in a peaceful manner. Like the protesters, the Spanish left-wing government has also spoken of genocide in Gaza, which has led to a diplomatic ice age between Israel and Spain. A controversial statement by the Spanish prime minister has further heated up the situation: "Spain does not have nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers or large oil reserves. We cannot stop the Israeli offensive on our own, but that does not mean we will stop trying," Sanchez said.
Most Spaniards believe Israel is committing genocide
The public, however, strongly supports Sanchez: In a survey from July this year, 82% of Spaniards assessed Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide, Carmen Gonzalez Enrique from the Royal Institute of El Cano told ARD. “This means that Spaniards from the right, left and center of the party spectrum are of the opinion that what the Israeli government is currently doing in Gaza must stop.“
In this regard, ARD recalls that back in 2014, Spain expressed its will to recognize Palestine as a state - then a decision to this effect was voted almost unanimously in the country's parliament. However, it was implemented 10 years later, when it was the Sánchez government that officially announced that Spain recognized the existence of a Palestinian state.
Long break in diplomatic relations
Traditionally, Spain is closer to the Palestinians than most European countries, and not only for historical reasons. When Israel was founded in 1948, the dictator Franco ruled in Spain. At the time, traditional pro-Arab sentiment was dogma, says political scientist Fernando Vallespin: "Until 1986, Spain did not have diplomatic relations with Israel." Since then, successive governments have made efforts to strengthen relations with Israel, but now they are at their lowest point, Vallespin adds.
Spain threatens to boycott Eurovision
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called Sanchez an anti-Semite and a liar after the Vuelta was canceled and asked: "On October 7, did Israel invade Gaza or did Hamas terrorists invade Israel and commit the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust?" On Tuesday, Spanish public television announced that it would boycott Eurovision if Israel remained in the contest. Spain is one of the so-called “big five” - the five most significant sponsors of the contest.
In Spain, hardly a day goes by without demonstrations in support of Palestine. In Madrid, artists recall the suffering of children in Gaza, and lawyers are preparing demonstrations in front of the Israeli embassy in Madrid, the ARD publication also says.
Author: Christina Böcker ARD