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đŸ‡”đŸ‡ž This Week in Spain: Palestine Statehood, Recognized

Ukraine's Zelensky was in town and former Deputy PM Pablo Iglesias faced his "stalker" in court.

By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | May 30, 2024 | Madrid | Issue #59

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đŸ„œ This Week in a Nutshell: If you thought last week’s spat with Argentina was intense, you’ll love this week’s with Israel after Spain formally recognized Palestine. Oh, and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky was in Madrid to sign a weapons deal, which steamed leftist party Sumar. đŸ”„

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Another diplomatic spat

Spain Recognizes Palestine as a State and Israel Is Unhappy

We knew it was coming and this week it was made official.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced to the world Tuesday morning (see video) that Spain was formally recognizing Palestine as a state, calling it “a historic move towards justice and the only route to achieve peace”. Norway and Ireland made the same announcement on that day, joining 144 other countries that acknowledge Palestinian statehood.

  • SĂĄnchez was the only leader of the three countries that offered a press conference (he did it in Spanish and in English) with the announcement. The Irish and Norwegian leaders chose to keep it quiet, releasing an official written statement instead, calling the decision “historic” and “a milestone”. In Ireland, the Palestinian flag was seen being flown at Leinster House (the Irish parliament).

  • SĂĄnchez said that the one objective of the decision was to “help Israelis and Palestinians reach peace”. He also said it was based on “international respect” and warned that Spain would only recognize the 1967 borders (and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine). He also insisted that this wasn’t a decision “against anyone, least of all Israel, a friendly nation that Spain values and holds in high regard and with whom we aim to foster the strongest possible relationship”.

  • SĂĄnchez also said Spain rejected Hamas, “a terrorist organization that is against the two-state solution” and repeated that his government condemned the heinous Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. (And no, he didn’t use the G word). So all good, right? No.

Israel’s response. As you can imagine, the Israeli right wing government was furious. Things were already pretty tense between the two countries.

Then things got tenser. The Israeli government was angry at Sánchez’s announcement, and on Tuesday Katz accused the Spanish PM of being “complicit in inciting a genocide of the Jewish people and war crimes”.

  • Katz also Tweeted a video with two people dancing flamenco with the caption “Hamas: Thank you Spain” and tagging SĂĄnchez, saying “@sanchezcastejon, Hamas thanks you for your service”.

  • Israel recalled its ambassadors in Madrid, Oslo and Dublin. The Foreign ministry also summoned the ambassadors from the three countries in Tel Aviv and made them watch videos from the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack that left 1,189 people dead.

  • Spanish Foreign Minister JosĂ© Manuel Albares responded (see video above) that the Flamenco video was “scandalous” and “despicable” as it’s “well known that Spain has condemned the terrorist attacks conducted by Hamas”.

Domestically, things were equally wild with political parties left and right issuing a flurry of press conferences, tweets and interviews to fill the news with their points of view. (After all, don’t forget that we’re 10 days away from the European elections.)

On the left, no one was happy.

On the right, no one was happy either. And this is tricky, because according to a recent poll by the think tank Real Instituto Elcano, some 78% of the Spanish population supports the EU’s recognition of Palestine statehood. The PP tried to explain that, while they support a two-state solution, this is not the right time to do it.

Meanwhile, Palestinian ambassador to Spain Husni Abdel Wahed—who was happy—said he was “deeply grateful” for taking “such a brave step”.

And the story was still making international headlines Wednesday morning.

  • SĂĄnchez met in Madrid with officials from Middle Eastern countries, including the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, who said in a press conference that his country “warmly welcomes Spain’s recognition of the state for Palestine”.

  • Leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation also joined SĂĄnchez in Madrid. They later spoke before the press alongside Foreign minister Albares.

Later there was a Parliamentary session, in which SĂĄnchez clashed with PP leader NĂșñez FeijĂło. Shocker. It was exactly what you thought it would be (see video below).

  • FeijĂło again accused the PM of using “the noble cause of the Palestine people and the situation of the Israeli people” to keep the focus away from his troubles at home. SĂĄnchez responded by saying that the global far-right (including Netanyahu) was deciding “the PP’s opposition policies”.

  • SĂĄnchez also asked FeijĂło for his thoughts on Abascal’s photo with Netanyahu “encouraging him to continue bombing Gaza and Rafah”.

A trend? Thursday morning, Slovenia—an EU member—also decided to recognize Palestine and is sending its decision to parliament for approval. Once passed, 10 of the 27 countries composing the EU will be in agreement about the nation’s statehood.

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💬 Five things to discuss at dinner parties this week

1. đŸȘ– Zelensky visits to pick up a check and all heck breaks loose

Who knew a visit from the World’s Most Popular Politicianâ„ąïž could set off a vicious circle of backbiting among government coalition partners. Oh wait, this is Spain!

  • The 411: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky came to Madrid on Monday in a stop on his European check-collecting tour diplomatic swing after canceling a previously planned visit on May 17 because of events in that war with Russia thing. 

  • Mr. Handsome, King, parliament and money. Zelensky was met by King Felipe VI at the airport (not a common thing), met with PM SĂĄnchez, had lunch with the Royals, visited parliament and—we’re forgetting something, right, oh—picked up a commitment for €1.1bn in military aid in 2024, including Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, Leopard tanks, and other such goodies.

  • Big-time money: Spain was the 10th country to sign such a memorandum with Ukraine and it was the largest amount Spain has given to another country. 

All good so far, right? People love giving money and being given money, and it was a love in. 

  • SĂĄnchez: “Spain will be with Ukraine to the end.” 

  • The King: “Spain will work, together with Ukraine and its international partners, to hold Russia accountable for all crimes committed.”

  • Zelensky thanked Spain for its “affection and respect” and its “lifesaving help in this very difficult time of war.” 

  • More Zelensky: Wearing his characteristic olive green t-shirt and slacks, the Ukraine presi then looked at the suited King and SĂĄnchez and said, “My god, you guys are seriously tall, handsome and well-dressed.” Wait, that last bit is not true.

But, but, but
 SĂĄnchez didn’t tell, like, anyone about the military aid, and people got peeved. Especially his lefty coalition partners and allies. SĂĄnchez was all, This is a memorandum and not a treaty so it doesn’t need to go through parliament, and they were all like, No way, JosĂ©. (Or, as we liked to say in Argentina, Ni en pedo, Don Alfredo.)

  • Sumar and the party it ate from the inside (aka Podemos): Sumar spokesguy (and anti-bullfighting Culture Minister) Ernest Urtasun got huffy and said the deal “lacked transparency” and was “opaque” and should be brought to parliament, while Podemos boss Ione Belarra (Remember her? We sorta do.) called the decision “antidemocratic” and said SĂĄnchez was contributing to an “escalation” of the war. 

  • You get what we’re saying? To show how angry they were at not being given a seat at the adults’ table parliament not being consulted, SĂĄnchez allies Bildu, Podemos and BNG stood up Zelensky on his visit to parliament, and ERC said it already had other plans (like, disappearing?). 

  • The PP and Vox said something too. They support sending arms to Ukraine but not how SĂĄnchez did it. And Vox spokesperson JosĂ© Antonio FĂșster added that it was “paradoxical” that Spain supported Ukraine but not Israel. But no one cared.

Next stop? Zelensky then went to Belgium, where he got another €1bn commitment (30 F-16 fighter jets!), and Portugal, where he got €126m. Spain won! Woohoo!

2.Â đŸ€Ź Pablo Iglesias, Irene Montero and the angry guy outside their house go to court

Podemos politicians (and later ministers) Pablo Iglesias and Irene Montero got a lot of flack when in 2018 they moved from Iglesias’s beloved working-class Vallecas barrio to the leafy northern suburbs of Galapagar, to a compound with a private pool and a guest house. 

  • But the flack got worse in 2020. That’s when, in the midst of the COVID pandemic, a bunch of concerned neighbors/right-wing nuts began nightly protests outside the house of the left-wing politicians/cava communists. They banged pots, whistled, and turned up high volume amps, in the aim of getting them to “leave Spain.” This made the couple (who were ministers in Pedro SĂĄnchez’s PSOE/Podemos coalition) rather
 uncomfortable (not surprisingly).

  • Iglesias filed a lawsuit against a ringleader of the stalkers, “right wing youtuber” Miguel Ángel Frontera (aka CapitĂĄn España—and no we didn’t make that up). 

Now we’re in the midst of a trial over whether Captain Spain took invasive videos from atop a rock, one reason for which prosecutors want a 3-year sentence. 

  • Pablo tells his story: “I had just bathed the children and I see him perched on a rock. At a distance at which he could jump into the dwelling. He was practically filming me and filming the house. When [Frontera] realizes that I was also filming him, he climbs down from the rock and I inform the Guardia Civil.”.

  • Captain Spain also apparently carried signs that said “Pablo Iglesias
son of a terrorist” (referring to Pablo’s reportedly revolutionary dad), and referred to Montero as a “Illiterate minister whose only merit is having worn knee pads" (referring to
let’s not go there).

The crazies are coming out! On their way to the trial this week, Iglesias and Montero were accosted by a bunch of people who, um, didn’t like them (and did like Captain Spain). đŸŠč

  • Nasty words: The protesters called the formerly important Podemos politicians “disgusting” and “disgraceful” and said “You have taken advantage of everyone, especially the workers and the Vallecanos [people from Vallecas]” because, like, they got rich from politics and forgot their roots.

  • Which is unpleasant but not illegal. But then someone said, “I would like to find you alone. Go outside if you have the guts.” Which is
less cool? (Video above.)

  • That lawyer? ElDiario reports that Frontera’s lawyer is Polonia Castellanos, the head of the Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers), a group that as we fearlessly reported last week has absolutely no sense of humor (also
gratuitous Elon Musk reference here).

Happy days? This must be what Spain does when it's between international diplomatic spats with Argentina and Israel. Could we get into an argument with Lichtenstein, please?

3.đŸ™đŸŒâ€â™€ïž Taylor Swift is in Town. Here’s What You Should Know.

Oh, come on. You didn’t really think we would forget about the one and only Tay-Tay, did you? (In fact, this section was reserved for PM Sánchez’s wife and the new developments surrounding her, but we decided Taylor Swift was probably something more palatable to discuss at the dinner table, so here we are).

Anyway, the pop superstar is performing two nights (yesterday and today) at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium and the city is going nuts over it.

  • Swifties have been waiting for days under the sun to be the first to enter the venue and get as close to her as possible. But you already know all of this, since it literally happens in every city she performs in. Let’s focus on the juicy stuff.

  • Where she’s staying: Not surprisingly, she’s staying at the Rosewood Villa Magna (a luxury hotel that even sounds expensive) on Paseo de la Castellana. She picked the so-called “super chalet” top floor (we guess it’s just a fancy penthouse) aka the Royal Anglada House, a 410 square-meter place that costs €25,000 a night.

  • The Eras Tour sold out the first night as soon the tickets were available last summer, so fans forced Swift to announce a second performance early this year (the second night was also sold out immediately).

  • The Ticketmaster system registered over 450,000 requests to buy a ticket last summer.

  • Taylor’s performance last night has apparently broken the record for largest female concert in Spanish history with over 65,000 attendees (largest until now was Beyoncé’s with 53,000).

  • Some fans were said to be wearing adult diapers so they wouldn’t miss a single bit about the show (that’s commitment, people).

  • Last nitght, after finishing “Champagne Problems”, Taylor interrupted her show and looked around the stadium with her mouth open, apparently (pleasantly) surprised at the reaction from her fans, who gave her a standing ovation for more than two minutes.

  • Fun fact: Did you know that Taylor Swift was a guest in El Hormiguero 11 years ago? This time she didn’t have time, it seems.

The ones not having a great time? The people living in the area surrounding the Bernabeu stadium who are complaining about the non-stop shows, the loud music and the vibration that constantly haunts them in their apartments.

  • “It’s unbearable”, they tell El PaĂ­s. But no one cares. Except Mayor JosĂ© Luis MartĂ­nez-Almeida (who only sorta cares): he’ll fine the concert promotors when the shows are too loud—but not Real Madrid, which owns the stadium and rents it out for shows.đŸ€”

4.Â đŸ–Œïž That Caravaggio wasn’t the only master painter deal in Spain

Spain’s new category of artworks? Masters whose works go on auction for nothing before someone realizes that, whoops! đŸ€·, it’s actually a massive painting!

  • Caravaggio was the most recent headliner. His “new” Ecce Homo (we’d like to rename “Here I am, dude!”) went on auction in Madrid for €1,500 in 2021 because it was attributed to a lesser painter until đŸ’„ someone realized it was one of only 60 or so known works by the Italian artist and Baroque genius and now it’s recently sold for €36m and is on display in the Prado!

On the menu today? Edgar Degas! This week it came to light (via El Punt Avui) that three years ago a Barcelona art collector bought an actual honest-to-god Degas (or so they tell us) at an online auction for €926.

  • The seller was a descendent of Catalan business tycoon Joan Llonch Salas—who himself was once chair of Banco Sabadell, now in merger excitement—who put it on the online platform TodocolecciĂłn with the description “Oil painting with signature of Degas.” Llonch Salas had apparently gotten it in 1940 through a long series of Civil War moves.

  • Why sell it? Man, we just don’t know. Desperate for money? And it wasn’t certified as a Degas. So the seller put it on sale for a €1 minimum and it went for €926. And there we are.

Now it’s sort of official. Art historian and Degas expert ​​Michel Schulman said that after giving the small work (48 x 62.5 cm) an “an exhaustive analysis of pigments, a meticulous study carried out with X-rays and photographs, among other techniques,” he concluded it was a Degas.

  • But can I see it like the Caravaggio? Maybe? The 1879 painting—Éloge du maquillage (Celebration of makeup)— keeps popping up here and there in Madrid. On Monday, it was presented in the Instituto FrancĂ©s de Madrid (see video above) and on Tuesday it was shown for a supposed 20 minutes in the Ateneo.

  • Oh, wait, what’s the painting of? Schulman describes it as “a brothel scene, an important theme in the works of Degas, who drew many of his nudes in places he knew well.” The painting shows two women, one of them in profile and the other in the center powdering her nose reflected in a mirror. So there!

Tell us if you see it around town! 🔎

5.đŸ‘·đŸ»â€â™‚ïž That bar that collapsed in Mallorca? No permits

You probably read about the beach bar in Palma de Mallorca that collapsed last week, killing four people. We say “probably” because normally such a story (that of a small building in Spain) would not make the international headlines.

However, Mallorca is one of the hottest summer destinations in the world and a fan favorite not just to British, German or Swedish tourists, but also now to American visitors who have discovered it in the last few years (this explains why even the BBC thought it was worth a mobile phone alert).

  • Bad! We learned this week from Palma Mayor Jaime MartĂ­nez Llabres that the two-storied Medusa Beach Club did not have a license for activity or to serve people on its rooftop.

  • The rooftop apparently collapsed due to excess weight (as in, they put a table of 12 right in the middle). Two German tourists, a Spanish waitress and a Senegalese man were killed in the cave in. A Palma fire department source says there were 21 people at the bar during the incident—16 were injured and one of them is still in the hospital.

Mayor Martínez Llabres also said that a city building inspection in 2023 had failed, with experts considering “unfavorable” results, and that the bar “had not made any requests” to use the rooftop to serve customers.

  • The Mayor also said that all city council reports had been sent to the police and the prosecutor's office. The city council will participate in any lawsuits resulting from the investigation of the collapse.

  • If the bar’s owner is found responsible for the collapse, he could face four years of prison time for each death, plus he might have to pay hundreds of thousands of Euros in compensation to the families of the victims.

The bar is located in the Playa de Palma zone (a very touristy area) and this tragedy took place as the summer season is about to begin.

Over 17 million people visited the Balearic Islands last year, and record numbers are expected this year again as the islands become an even more popular destination from people from all over the world. Careful!

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