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Spain’s Balearic Islands, Renowned Mediterranean Party Spot, Adopt Anti-BDS Law
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by Benjamin Kerstein
People sunbathe at Playa De Palma beach, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, June 14, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Enrique Calvo.
The parliament of Spain’s Balearic Islands passed a bill earlier this month condemning the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.
The legislation approved on June 6 described BDS as discriminatory and denounced antisemitism as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which includes anti-Israel racism.
All major parties in the legislature voted for the bill.
MP Maxo Benalal, chairman of the Jewish community of Ibiza, introduced the bill in parliament, and was aided by the Lawfare Project and the umbrella group the Federation of Jewish Communities.
Ignacio Wenley Palacios, senior counsel of the Lawfare Project in Spain, said, “Boycotts by public institutions have all the attributes of the most intolerable discrimination.”
“They deny relations and the provision of public services to individuals not because of their behavior, but because of something they cannot change nor avoid — their country of origin,” he added.
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) tweeted in response to the news, “Identifying and defining antisemitism are critical steps in eradicating it. Thank you.”
#Spain's Balearic Islands have adopted @TheIHRA definition of #antisemitism.
Identifying and defining antisemitism are critical steps in eradicating it. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/jSd56p7ggc
— World Jewish Congress (@WorldJewishCong) June 15, 2020
Spanish pro-Israel group ACOM called the passage of the bill a “sensational victory against the intolerant.”
By adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, the group said, the legislation meant that “the boycott activities of the BDS movement, which seek to discriminate against those who support the Jewish state and its companies and citizens, are part of antisemitic behavior.”
¡Sensacional victoria contra los intolerantes! ✌️💪
A pesar de la oposición de Podemos y nacionalistas de Més a cortar la financiación de grupos antisemitas, el Parlamento de las Islas Baleares adopta la definición de @TheIHRA en la lucha contra el antisemitismo, 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/EHAUmOr9Xi— Acción y Comunicación sobre Oriente Medio – ACOM (@ACOM_es) June 11, 2020
