DISCURSO PRESIDENTA DE LA COMUNIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE MADRID. Versión inglés.

His Excellency the Ambassador of the State of Israel in Madrid,
His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation,
Her Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel (Tzipi Livni),
His Excellency the Mayor of Madrid,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Spain and Israel. And to celebrate this anniversary, the Ambassador of Israel, His Excellency Victor Harel, was kind enough to invite me to visit his country. An invitation I was delighted to accept, and for which I am deeply grateful. There, I had the opportunity to get to know better the society and institutions of a young nation which has so many things in common with the Spanish people.

For example, there are historical, cultural, and sentimental ties that have lasted over time, surviving centuries of misunderstanding, of harsh trials and gross injustices, such as the expulsion of the Jews decreed by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella.

It was senseless to deprive so many Spaniards of their homeland, and their homes, which is why we Spaniards today shall always be in debt with those Sephardic Jews of the late 15th century.

They were 15th-century Spaniards who, instead of denying the homeland which had rejected them, which would have been the most logical thing in their circumstances, kept its memory alive, and held these historical, cultural, and sentimental ties deep in their hearts. Especially, they kept its language, the Spanish language, which they have passed on from generation to generation. And so, to the debt we owe them for the injustice committed with their expulsion, today we have to add our enormous debt of admiration and gratitude for having kept alive a cultural heritage that we can still share.

And in addition to these historical, cultural, and sentimental ties, we Spaniards today share with Israel our commitment to enjoying free, democratic, open, and prosperous societies. And, especially in the case of Madrid, tolerant and cosmopolitan societies, built by peoples who have come from every part of the world.

It is here where, I believe, we Spaniards, we Madrilenos, have a lot to learn from Israel. From a great young nation which has been able to defend its liberty and its independence under very difficult circumstances, whilst also building a cultured, plural, and cosmopolitan society; a free and prosperous nation in a part of the world where free and prosperous nations are clearly not in abundance; one having no natural resources other than the talent and hard work of its inhabitants.

This is why the Autonomous Community of Madrid has decided to collaborate, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation and the City of Madrid, in founding Casa Sefarad-Israel. This institution which is now being born aims to offer those from Spain, and Madrid, the opportunity to appreciate the history and culture of the Jewish people, and to get to know them better. Because they are an essential part of our own history and culture.

Likewise, Casa Sefarad-Israel aims to serve to help us, here in Spain and in Madrid, to appreciate and better understand the reality of a young, free, democratic nation like Israel, a friend with which we want to always maintain the closest, best possible relations.

For all of these reasons, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express my satisfaction at the birth of this project, of Casa Sefarad-Israel. I hope that this new point of encounter between Israel and Spain may serve to intensify the cultural and sentimental ties which have always united us.

Thank you very much.