“Vote in conscience”, a campaign promoting responsible voting against anti-Semitic candidates
– “Vote in conscience”, a campaign promoting responsible voting against anti-Semitic candidates in coming elections in Spain’s capital
– The Spanish leading group in the fight against antisemitism asks Madrilians to vote being aware of the hostility against Jews of certain political groups that stand in the forthcoming May 4th elections.
– The ACOM Jewish activists from Madrid that participate in the video express their concern about the open hostility of candidates such as Podemos’ Pablo Iglesias, financed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iglesias, until recently VP of the socialist-communist coalition government in Spain, has promoted aggressive discriminatory campaigns from governmental institutions against Israelis in the country, as well as other pro-Israel Spanish citizens.
– Pablo Iglesias has declared that “the Holocaust was a mere bureaucratic problem”, “Israel is a criminal state” or “Israel applies an apartheid policy”. Undeniably anti-Semitic claims as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
Ahead of the forthcoming elections in the Region of Madrid on the 4th of May, ACOM, the leading organization in the fight against anti-Semitism in Spain, has launched a campaign to warn of the importance of this vote for the government of six million citizens. Amongst them, those that make up the largest Jewish community in Spain.
ACOM offers Jewish activists from Madrid the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns about antisemitic far left parties such as Unidas Podemos and Mas Madrid (split from the previous one). And very especially about the presidential candidate Pablo Iglesias.
Pablo Iglesias has declared that “the Holocaust was a mere bureaucratic problem” (1), “Israel is a criminal state” (2) or “Israel applies a policy of apartheid” (3); Undeniably anti-Semitic expressions according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s own definition of anti-Semitism. In addition, Iglesias and his political franchises have led one of the most aggressive institutional discriminatory campaigns against Israeli companies and citizens seen in decades in Europe.
As they successfully did in about 100 Spanish cities and regions, Podemos and Mas Madrid tried to approve a motion in the Madrid parliament for the region to formally join the international BDS campaign. That would have made Madrid, the capital region of Spain and centre of Spain’s social, political and economical 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 successfully defeated Podemos BDS campaign across the country with over 70 court resolutions declaring the resolutions discriminatory and unconstitutional)
The video calls on Madrilians to consider the consequences of a vote for any option that could result in a discriminatory and intimidatory coalition government affecting the civil rights of the members of the local Jewish minority. The participants in the video affirm that “normalized Jewish life in Madrid is at risk”.
(1) https://okdiario.com/espana/comunidad-judia-critica-perversion-antisemita-iglesias-advierte-acciones-legales-599121
(2) https://www.timesofisrael.com/spanish-pm-taps-politician-who-called-israel-an-illegal-country-as-his-deputy/
(3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnyQ5S26jZY
