Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon sparked a backlash in Spain when he called out Madrid for maintaining colonial possessions in Africa after Ceuta was overrun by tens of thousands of migrants.
The problem was that Danon’s broad remarks angered not only the hostile government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, but also the pro-Israel Spanish opposition, which saw them as an assault on Spanish history, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
Maybe Danon should have been more circumspect in his phrasing, but it seems everyone is missing his point.
Danon, like most Israelis, almost certainly has no personal agenda against Spain’s policies vis-a-vis Ceuta and Melilla. Israelis have no reason to take a position on Spain’s rule over two small enclaves on the North African coast.
Rather, Danon was highlighting the hypocrisy of a government that condemns the Jewish presence in places like Judea and Samaria, while vigorously defending a Spanish presence in Africa.
Spain indeed has a historical connection to Ceuta and Melilla, and they are part of the national identity. But that history and identity goes back mere centuries, whereas Jewish history and identity connected to Judea, Samaria, and even Gaza goes back millennia. There is ample archaeological and historical evidence attesting to this. But it should suffice for a historically Christian nation like Spain to simply open the pages of the most read book in the country, the Bible, which is replete with accounts of Jewish life in these territories.
Is it fair to today dispute the administrative status of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza given that millions of Palestinian Arabs also live there? Perhaps. But it is no more fair than debating Spain’s hold on Ceuta and Melilla, or Britain’s hold on Gibraltar. Those nations fight tooth and nail, across the political spectrum, for what they regard as their historical sovereignty. They should expect nothing less from Israel and the Jewish people.
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