An Israeli flag in Parliament
BarcelonaInternational politics has long had an internal dimension and is part of the culture wars. And of all the conflicts on the planet, the one that arouses the most passions and causes the deepest rifts is, without a doubt, the one between Israelis and Palestinians.
Historically, both Catalan nationalism and socialism have had ideological ties to Israel and a certain pro-Zionist component in their ranks. It is well known that Josep Borrell, inspired by socialist Zionism, spent a summer in a kibbutz when he was 22 and there he met his future wife, the French sociologist of Jewish origin Caroline Mayeur. Their son, Joan Borrell, is a diplomat who speaks fluent Hebrew. Other Catalan socialists, such as José Zaragoza, share pro-Zionist positions, although they are critical of Benjamin Netanyahu. A similar case is that of ERC MP Pilar Vallugera. In any case, both are in the minority within their respective political families.
The influence of Zionist thought on Jordi Pujol is also well-known. As a young man, he was influenced by David Tennenbaum, a Jew and associate of his father, Florenci. The Jewish people's iron will to exist has always fascinated a certain segment of Catalan nationalism, which has aspired to reflect it, as journalist Anna Figuera explains in the book Jordi Pujol and the Jews (Pórtico, 2011). This means that today, in Junts, as before in CDC, this component is quite a majority, or at least not a divisive factor.
The shift of the Spanish right
The most interesting case is that of the Spanish right, which had historically been antisemitic due to its Catholic base. Recall that a clearly antisemitic historian like Ricardo de la Cierva was Minister of Culture with the UCD (United Left) party. There has been a profound shift here, and now Vox, a party dominated by the Islamophobia characteristic of the European far right, is clearly aligning itself with Netanyahu while the PP is balancing. However, it is not clear that Spain's ultra-Catholic base fully agrees with this shift.
And the brutality of the images coming from Gaza is forcing parties like Junts to modulate their position, as demonstrated by their vote in favor of admitting a proposal for a total arms embargo on Israel while criticizing the closure of the Action office in Tel Aviv.
This lukewarm attitude by Junts amb Israel has been exploited this week by the Catalan Alliance to launch a takeover bid for the entire Catalan Zionist electorate. Silvia Orriols displayed an Israeli flag in the press room of the Parliament in a gesture that may have provoked rejection among some of her followers but that demonstrates that the far-right pro-independence movement is not so interested in becoming a catch all partand how, following the Vox model, it can be a refuge for the ideologically strong vote against the left. And this is bad news for Junts.
The details
The bad relationship between Silvia Orriols and Agustí Colomines
On Thursday, during the debate in Parliament, Sílvia Orriols called Junts MP Agustí Colomines "cupero," while the latter laughed from his seat. The tension between Orriols and Colomines is not new: the Catalan Alliance leader has complained that the Junts MP calls her a "fascist." The poor relationship between the two is also visible outside the chamber, when they cross paths in the corridor.
The judge only grants interviews with a questionnaire
Judge Manuel Marchena trusts the media so little, even those closest to him ideologically, that the few interviews he has given to promote his book Justice threatened (Espada) were conducted through a written questionnaire, with no possibility of cross-examination. In the case of ARA and other Catalan media outlets, Marchena has simply declined to grant an interview.