Associació Catalana de Jueus i Palestins – JUNTS

Here today we wish to thank and pay tribute to the Mayor of Barcelona for the political courage she has shown in taking this historic decision.

Faced with the accusations of antisemitism that have appeared in some media, we, members of JUNTS, Associació Catalana de jueus i palestins (Catalan Association of Jews and Palestinians) say that antisemitism, like any form of racism, is too serious to be subject to manipulation. Antisemitism or Judeophobia is the active discrimination and persecution of Jewish people because of their religion, culture or identity.

What we are denouncing here is the policy of the State of Israel – a State that does not represent us – and which is the fruit of a colonial project in which the original people of Palestine were excluded from the outset. A state born out of the violence of an ethnic cleansing operation in 1948 which resulted in a permanent military occupation and a system of apartheid. This is the system that has been denounced by human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Israeli B’Tselem.

This state, which defines itself as Jewish as a result of a Basic Law passed in 2018, recognises only for the “Jewish people” – that is to say all the Jews throughout the world, wherever they live – the right to self-determination over the territory of historic Palestine, denying this right to the 20% of Israel’s population who are Palestinian and to the millions of inhabitants of Gaza and the West Bank, as well as the millions of refugees from 1948. As Israeli journalist Amira Hass says, Israel is a democracy for Jews, but a military dictatorship for Palestinians. Antisemitism is the weapon used by the Israeli state and its accomplices in the West to silence any criticism of its policies. However, by claiming to represent all the Jews of the world, Israel stirs up more Judeophobia by constantly violating the human rights of the Palestinian people.

We are indeed very concerned about the actions taken by the new Israeli government, which has already announced its intention to speed up the colonisation of the West Bank. The provocations of its most extremist elements raise fears of a worsening of repression in the Occupied Territories, as well as armed actions by settlers, with even greater backing from the government, and the persecution of Palestinian activists and the Israeli opposition. But let’s not fool ourselves, most of those who are demonstrating and calling the current government fascist did no different when they were in power.

There have already been too many deaths so far this year and too many empty words about the two-state solution. It is time for the Catalan, Spanish and European governments to assume their responsibilities and put an end to the impunity enjoyed by Israel.

Today, Barcelona has set an example. Let us hope that others will soon follow.