A Year after the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) came to power, Madrid’s relations with the Middle East have changed less than was anticipated when the party was in opposition. The PSOE was expected to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, something neither Franco nor his immediate successors were willing to do. But relations are still at a low, discreet level.
The Spanish consulate in Jerusalem has been there since the days of Jordanian rule, and for the past two years Israel has done business with Spain through a permanent mission to the World Tourism Organisation the only permanent mission at the WTO’s headÂquarters.
This is partly because the PSOE finds it more difficult to deal with Israel’s right-wing Likud Party than a fellow member of the Socialist International like the Israeli Labour Party. Spain is also concerned about its African possessions (the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands). As a result Madrid wants the maximum diplomatic goodwill within the Organisation of African Unity (O.A.U.).
But Spanish officials also know that as Spain moves closer to the EEC it will enter multilateral agreements that in effect recognise Israel. At the same time the P.L.O. has an office of quasi-diplomatic status in Madrid, maintaining a kind of balance.
But despite Spain’s need for good relations with Arabs, many observers believe Spain may soon be obliged to recognise Israel. Israel has offered Spain vital technology, including drip irrigation, which could be used in Andalusia, and electronics. There is also a profitable tourist trade; this year 60,000 Israelis visited Spain and 20,000 Spaniards went to Israel. Israeli security forces are also helping to combat Basque terrorism.
The U.S. Administration and the American Jewish community is also pressing Spain to recognise Israel. Manuel Sassot, Spain’s foreign ministry director for Africa and Asia, acknowledges that there have been approaches by “our mutual friends, the Americans”.
Many Spaniards believe the American Jews and Israel can influence the United States. “The great capital is in the hands of the Jews”, says army spokesman Lt. Col. Carlos Ramos. “The banks are pressing for recognition of Israel”.
Juan Tomas de Salas, editor of the influential magazine Cambio 16, observes: “Recognising Israel will help us with the empire” his sobriquet for America.
When Spanish Premier Felipe Gonzalez visited the United States last year he met Edgar Bronfman, president of the World Jewish Congress, and promised to approve direct flights between Madrid and Tel-Aviv by Iberia and El-AL Subsequently important Spanish leaders, including the president of the Socialist Party, the president of the Senate, and the general secretary of the socialist trade union federation (the UGT) visited Israel.
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