Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi on Wednesday hosted the Foreign Minister of Spain, Arancha González Laya, who arrived on a diplomatic visit to Israel. At the beginning of the visit, Minister Ashkenazi showed Minister Laya the exhibition at Yad Vashem for diplomats who were honored as Righteous Among the Nations for using their diplomatic status to rescue Jews during World War Two. The Spanish Foreign Minister moved all the participants when she said that she personally knew the family of one of the four Spanish diplomats mentioned in the exhibit. Minister Ashkenazi personally thanked the Spanish government and the Spanish Foreign Minister for the Spanish government's decision to adopt the IHRA definitions of anti-Semitism, saying: "This decision is important for the fight against anti-Semitism that is still taking place around the world and against the BDS movements which are calling for a boycott of Israel." "We call on Spain to join the group of countries in Europe that have recognized Hezbollah in all its arms as a terrorist organization," Ashkenazi added. During the personal meeting between the ministers and the meeting of the professional teams, the parties discussed bilateral relations between Israel and Spain, including the marking next year of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the two countries, as well as regional issues and efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
