OPINION ARTICLES

Award instituted by the Embassy of Israel in Spain

Remarks for the Samuel Hadas Awards Ceremony

An important part of the vision of Samuel Hadas, and I think I’m right on the mark when I say that today Spaniards know more about Israel in richer detail and nuance. Trading exchanges, the tourist flow, the cultural relationship ... the engagement has grown deeper as it should be among two friendly countries enjoying healthy, easy going, and dynamic relations.

2012-01-18 by José María Aznar


It is a great pleasure to be here tonight and I am honored to be the recepient of the Samuel Hadas Award instituted by the Embassy of Israel in Spain.

 

As you all know very well, Samuel Hadas fought hard to establish diplomatic relations between our two nations, Spain and Israel, and that not long ago we were celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of this initiative. It was important to normalize diplomatic ties, which was a success achieved in 1986, but so it was the reestablisment of normal relations between the Spanish and the Jewish peoples.

 

An important part of the vision of Samuel Hadas, and I think I’m right on the mark when I say that today Spaniards know more about Israel in richer detail and nuance. Trading exchanges, the tourist flow, the cultural relationship ... the engagement has grown deeper as it should be among two friendly countries enjoying healthy, easy going, and dynamic relations.

 

It is also true that, despite these positive developments, there are still some stereotypes and distorted views about Israel and its surrounding region, which requires to remain active and vigilant.

 

In recent years, there has been a particularly hard and intense international campaign aimed at delegitimizing the State of Israel. This campaign is not a criticism of certain political choices, but a rejection of Israel’s right to exist, a real attack on the very idea of Israel.

 

This delegitimization campaign has also found echo among us to provoke Israel and create more problems in the court of public opinion around the world.

 

I have always believed that Israel is a Western country and that today it actually is one of the real, vital, pillars of what we call the West. It is a democracy just like ours that deserves the same treatment we give to ourselves; it is a land of opportunity, innovation, and inventiveness – not just a land of conflict. It is an island of stability in the midst, unfortunately, of a stormy sea where Islamism is taking over the promising "Arab Spring."

 

Furthermore, if I may paraphrase a famous quote, I would say that, faced with the challenges in that region, from Islamism to the danger of some ayatollahs having a nuclear bomb, "never have so few done so much for so many."

 

Because I believe in Israel and because I am convinced that Israel not only deserves to exist in peace, but that it is a moral, political, and strategic imperative to defend it since if Israel falls, we would all fall, it seemed to me that fighting against the delegitimization of Israel was as fair as necessary.

 

Thus, with the help of some friends, among which was the late Vaclav Havel, two years ago I launched the Friends of Israel Initiative — the actual recepient of the award bestowed on me. My goal was simply to open a public space where people could talk about Israel using decency and reason, not irrational passions.

 

It is not easy to change minds and deeply-rooted habits – as irrational as they may be. But if no one tries to do it, one is actually accepting defeat without presenting battle.

 

From here, I would like to thank the embassy of Israel for this award and, in exchange, I promise that everyone involved with the Friends of Israel Initiative and myself will continue standing up for what we believe in, for what we believe is fair towards Israel and positive for all – in other words, seeing Israel as one of us.

 

Thank you very much!


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