Equality, justice, and democracy – principles one can never take for granted; greetings from Spanish PM to Kaplan protesters
Last night’s surprise at the Kaplan Street protest was a supportive address from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to the throngs demonstrating against the judicial coup. In fact, the Spanish people know a thing or two about what happens to a democracy when it is attacked by authoritarian nationalists
Amit Waldman, N12 interviews Spanish-Portuguese journalist Henrique Cymerman who lives in Israel and reports from here. According to Cymerman, it seems that many in Spain are thrilled by the Israeli protest movement against the regime change. “I think there is great enthusiasm in Spain – from the center-right to the center-left and even the moderate left – about what is happening in Israel. People there see this as a kind of Israeli Spring – a change from the politics of the past to the politics of the present. They recognize that a young people’s movement is coming together for the first time, and it excites them.”
Cymerman adds: “In Spain, they are covering the protests quite obsessively and keep asking for local stories. They view this as a political phenomenon that will affect Israel for years to come.” According to Cymerman, the Spanish media extensively covered Sáchez’s address yesterday to the protesters in Tel Aviv. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s unprecedented,” he said. Today, the Spanish are saying, “We know what a dictatorship is. We know about fighting for democracy and we salute the hundreds of thousands of Israelis working on behalf of democracy at home.”