Anti-Semite screening in Madrid

Anti-Semite screening at Circulo de Bellas Artes (the Centre of Fine Arts)

The screening of the documentary «Gas the Arabs» is an incitement to the criminalisation of the State of Israel and an exaltation of hatred against Jews.

The participation and promotion of this type of material by an institution that is financed with taxpayer’s money is a serious anti-Semite aggression.

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The Centre of Fine Arts of Madrid currently is screening a film whose title, synopsis and graphic art are a clear anti-Semite expression and promotion. This institution receives generous contributions from public institutions such as the Autonomous Government of Madrid, the Madrid City Council and the Ministry of Culture. This is why screenings should be carefully selected and in no case should they promote with evident defamations a demonising narrative of the Israeli people and delegitimise the Jewish state.

Israel has never used any type of chemical or biological weapon. The connection of this type of attacks by the title and the poster of the documentary is highly offensive and produces an erroneous association of ideas about Israel, making the spectator confused about the use of chemical weapons by the democratic state of Israel. The fact is especially serious when today, just a few kilometres away from Israel, in Syria, the bloodthirsty dictator Bashar Al Assad murders thousands of Arabs, among them Palestinians, by indiscriminately using chemical weapons such as sarin gas.

It is important to point out that the idea of «gassing», when used in reference to the state of the Jews, has a double offensive and hurting intention, considering the way in which the Holocaust was perpetrated, precisely against the ancestors of many of the citizens of Israel.

ACOM has denounced repeatedly the strong link of Podemos with anti-Semitism and this is a new case in which members of this party are involved in the promotion of this type of hatred. The film is directed by Julio Pérez Campo, an important official of Podemos (extreme wing party) in the Castilian administration, chosen directly by the party of Pablo Iglesias, and is also Secretary of Communication of Podemos in Castile.

Israel is the only Jewish state in the world, the only democracy in the Near East and the only country in the region with a consistent record regarding human rights. 20% of the population of Israel are Arabs, and they are perfectly integrated in society. Members of the Arab community occupy very important positions in Israeli public life: Parliament, Army, Diplomatic Corps, Judiciary, Police, Academy and Cultural Institutions. On the other hand, Gaza was unilaterally evacuated by Israel in 2005 and is in the hands of the jihadi group Hamas, considered by the European Union as a terrorist group.

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 About ACOM

ACOM (Acción y Comunicación sobre Medio Oriente – Action and Communication on the Middle East) is a Spanish non-profit, non-religious and independent organisation dedicated to strengthening the relation between Spain and Israel by working together with the Government, the political parties and the civil society. ACOM is dedicated to the promotion and defence of Human Rights, democratic societies, civil rights and the rule of law.

More information: info@a-com.es