Written by Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, Mayor of Madrid Seen
am a sincere friend of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. From my responsibilities as president of the Community of Madrid and mayor of the capital of Spain have given samples of that public sentiment favoring a strong approach to the Jewish world and loyal. Thus, since 2000, the Regional Assembly an event held annually in memory of the Holocaust. Several monuments have been opened in recent years with the famous Israeli name. Others allude to the Jewish heritage of Madrid. In 2009 I participated in the celebrations of Hanukkah and Rosh Hashana. And a few months ago I had the honor of delivering the conference in Jerusalem that accompanies the delivery of Toledo Foundation Awards, the Nobel of the universe Sephardic and Israeli-English relations. I think, finally, that these credentials allow me to speak not only with some knowledge of the facts, but also from the absence of prejudice. Although I must clarify that this attitude does not respond only to a personal conviction. Also due to duty institution to represent a multicultural society such as Madrid, which, despite isolated incidents in the heat of the latest developments, welcomes the Jewish contribution to our city and the Judeo-Christian tradition we come from.
My friendship, then, is manifest. And friendship generally follows the old adage that recommends that if your friend is blind-that is, if defective, "I look in profile. The problem arises when your friend ends up losing the sight in both eyes. So, if you notice, there is no watch him sideways, and there is time to leave him. No choice but to look at him in front and talk, not to get noticed, but to warn that, although not see, can guide you a bit. Modestly, that I do today, apropos of the assault on the international fleet that was headed for Gaza. Israel must share Jerusalem, must end with the wall, to dismantle settlements
I will tell you with words of David Grossman: "There is no explanation to justify the crime was committed, and there is no excuse for the (. ..) actions of government and military. " There is none because it is unacceptable that, among a handful of civilians to defend their vessels in international waters with sticks and knives, and a military command without any jurisdiction to address them and answer them with fire, the victims are, as hinted Israel , attackers themselves, even though the reception was not friendly. However misguided the crew may be its positions in politics, and it was very obvious trap in terms of public image for Israel, that would be enough to banish arbitrary action as awkward as disproportionate. Also because it has passed a sacred line: respect for human life. Regardless of whether the victims were uncooperative or propagandists, no one can claim the right to exist for attempting to kill them and not cross a border, but an illegal bypass. Not in a democratic country.
The state owes its existence to the legal backing United Nations today often ignores its rulings. This is a contradiction also hides a dangerous miscalculation. Israel relies on its determination to survive as a major asset to succeed. It is a hallmark etched from Auschwitz. But the magnitude of the dangers that face is amazing. You can not overcome alone. Even today, surrounded by enemies who do not know if it is worse hostility or your patience. There are few Arabs who see their Jewish neighbor as a foreign body to be removed as the day it was the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem. No hurry: demography plays in their favor as well as geological conception time. Iran's nuclear escalation not only increases the tension. And in this situation, where Israel should seek more support, more is encapsulated in their own fear, acts rashly, lost to Turkey as the only ally in the area, irritated the United States almost as much as the European Union, and succumbs, finally , a syndrome Masada only supports collective immolation as the only escape from this impasse. This was after the 1967 war, a brilliant military success, the consequences have become a political failure. And so it was also the last two decades, which are those of the lost opportunity for a battered peace process that emerged from the talks in Oslo and the Madrid Conference, and spoiled, we say it all, with the cooperation of Arafat, has only served to further the conflict fester favoring Hamas hegemony.
hurts to see the State of Israel, created by survivors of the worst genocide in history, become an occupying power. But it hurts even more to check the evolution of Israeli society, increasingly skewed towards a position of strength in which the distinction between left and right is almost irrelevant. Today only the voices of moderation in that country. The weight of public opinion in Amos Oz and Grossman himself is irrelevant. Reports in the Hebrew press about an imminent war are daily. And fear-based as bad as faced-they can be wiped thoroughly Creek. Israel feels victimized and forgets what he does in the occupied territories. It is this blindness that forces us to look at him in front of friends and talk. More so as the violence spreads mysterious underground channels, and begins to affect us too. The brutal assault on three Israeli businessmen in the Autonomous University of Madrid and the intolerable exclusion of the Jewish delegation to the Gay Pride march might not obey a historical anti-Semitism. But it could degenerate into it. It is possible that a worsening of the Middle East revive the worst demons of the European past, reviving an issue that is the greatest historical shame of this continent.
The solution is simple. In fact, is the most difficult, is to undo all the mistakes. The first, having aborted the fledgling recognition of others who had begun to occur. It is necessary that the Hebrew society give up the idea according to which the Palestinian people does not exist. It's there, and should be recognized not only their present suffering, but also the historical, the Nakba. same is true of religious, ethnic and cultural state of Israel itself, including its Arab minority, for which we have to accept the warning of Lord Acton: a State may rely on a single faith. Then, there is no other way to recognize the Palestinian state and ensuring its viability as a guarantee of stability in the area. Naturally, this latter is more complex, requiring substantial transfers: support the shared capital in Jerusalem, freeze or dismantle the settlements and stop the wall across Palestine as a new scar on the conscience of the newborn century. The same is true of the Palestinians and Arabs in general have made so many mistakes from the first day of the existence of Israel they have to rectify soon. To start, which for decades has sought his removal.
The creation of the State of Israel is one of the most exciting sagas of the twentieth century. The resurrection of a people who came to the brink of destruction in a land as harsh as they live today still astonishes. Their technological achievements are impressive, its scientific and academic contributions, admirable. And with all its flaws, and despite his praetorian character is the only area open society worthy of the name. Therefore, and in the shadow of the Shoah , is clear that its creation in 1948 could be a new beginning, with all the potential that provides the experience to avoid errors the past-self and others, and found instead a different reality and better. Hannah Arendt a masterpiece built around this idea of \u200b\u200bbirth as a promise: if the world was hell, it's time to return to live and hope. Other nations may fail to coexistence and respect for human rights. Israel did not. Represents a beautiful experiment whose success is everyone's concern. And although my friend has clouded the view, I believe in the validity of this project, I think you can still become reality.
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon Mayor of Madrid.
