The Spanish right embraces Israel even when it persecutes Catholics

BarcelonaFor the first time in centuries, Catholics have been victims of a total veto by the Israeli police on Palm Sunday mass at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, under the pretext of security due to the war in the Middle East. The next day, Benjamin Netanyahu's executive had to backtrack, after an avalanche of criticism proliferated internationally, from the French and Spanish presidents, Emmanuel Macron and Pedro Sánchez, but also from the far-right flank, with the offensive from the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the Hungarian leader, Viktor Orbán. Vox responded that night by demanding explanations from Israel – without Meloni's belligerence – but the PP has opted for absolute silence, as has Aliança Catalana – even though they all boast of defending Christian traditions. For their part, Junts has also not wanted to comment. What is happening on the right and why is it not raising its voice against Israel even when it persecutes Catholics?

The PP has opted for silence on the matter even in press conferences: "We have a president, who is the president of the [Spanish] government, who does not congratulate Christmas but does congratulate Ramadan," responded the spokesperson in the Senate, Alicia García, this Monday, adding that, with his social media message, Sánchez was "seeking redemption because Easter week, with the parade of Ábalos and all the others in the courts, will turn into a week of penance." When asked again, she said she "had already answered." In the same vein, the spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, stated on X that "anything goes" for Sánchez to "sow more hatred" because "he does not defend Christians." Without criticizing Israel, the PP has only generically recalled an initiative of its own in the lower house in defense of persecuted Christians. Similar to what the Catalan PP has done when its general secretary, Santi Rodríguez, opted in a press conference to "regret that these circumstances have occurred and that this festival could not be celebrated normally," although "the situation in the Middle East is also not normal." The PP has not even wanted to exert pressure.

Without the belligerence and urgency with which it faces other situations, Vox did speak out, to whom an anti-Zionist critical sector led by former vice-president Juan García-Gallardo reproaches a cowardly attitude towards Israel: "The Israeli government must explain and correct what happened at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We can understand that the situation is very complicated in Jerusalem with the closure of sacred sites of the three religions, but it must be clear that Christians maintain their religious freedom intact and that their safety is ensured despite Islamist attacks", the formation said in a statement on X. How was the movement cooked up? According to party sources consulted by ARA, despite their alliance with Israel, they could not "stand aside" in any case. Not only that, but Santiago Abascal's leadership "spoke" with their Israeli allies in the government led by Likud and they made sure that they "would issue a statement recognizing the error", as it did.

The spanner in the works

However, the Vox MEP Hermann Tertsch maintained a radical stance, even contradicting Orbán, the main European reference for his party, saying that it was all "a propaganda operation against Israel by both enemies of Christians and Jews," citing Sánchez. He, along with Juan Carlos Girauta, who has been paid by Israeli lobbies like ACOM, are the most Zionist members of Vox. Vox does not usually speak of "Judeo-Christian tradition," although Netanyahu, Donald Trump, and far-right allies like Alianza, inspired by Steve Bannon, the American leader's guru in his early days, do. But this term is also repeatedly used by the traditional right, as Isabel Díaz Ayuso does.

In any case, the fact that Pedro Sánchez has been the one to defend Christians confirms that "the Spanish right has more than one problem because it is they who should have denounced this," according to a totem of far-right communication like José Javier Esparza, a journalist for El Toro TV, formerly Intereconomía.

Orriols admires Netanyahu

The far-right, and to some extent the PP, place Islam in a different category from Judaism and Christianity. The Judeo-Christian invention has been used to unite Christianity and Judaism under the common interests of the Western umbrella in opposition to the Islamic world. However, the three monotheistic religions share the Abrahamic root, meaning Abraham as a common prophet, and the conflict between them is more for political reasons.

In Catalonia, Aliança has also remained silent in the face of Israel's abuse, which is not surprising given the Zionism it advocates, even with the fact that Sílvia Orriols has said she "admires" Netanyahu. A fact, however, that is combined with the defense of Christian traditions, albeit partially. In parallel, Junts also has no plans to publicly comment on this issue, according to consulted sources. It should be remembered that the conflict between Israel and Palestine causes division within the party, given that there is a part that is Zionist, but a majority sector has condemned Israel's "genocide" – even the national leadership – despite the rejection of this term by the head of the international sector.