The Spanish government is actively contributing to the rise of antisemitism, Dana Erlich, Israel's acting ambassador to Spain, said in an interview with N12 News published on Wednesday.
"The most important thing is to make a separation," N12 quoted her as saying. "It is important to make a complete separation between the current government in Spain and the rest of the country, including the political sphere, opposition parties, the media, and civil society organizations.
"I arrived here with no idea of the current government's position and whether anything can be done about it," she added in the interview. "I arrived here with an understanding that there is room for dialogue and different opinions."
The ambassador said that the Spanish government's position on Israel is not out of solidarity for Palestinians, but is about harming Israel, adding that much of the Spanish population doesn't see Israel as an enemy, and stressed that the government's position is far from the case of the entire country.
Erlich said that she has given over a dozen interviews to Spanish media and saw that her statements were garnering responses.
"We increased our media visibility," she told N12. "We hold meetings, personal contacts, engage in the fields of culture, economics, and academia - despite the measures the government is trying to promote."
The ambassador previously served as the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, which, alongside Spain, recognized a Palestinian state in May of last year. Norway also recognized Palestinian statehood the same day.
"This is a historic decision that has a single objective: that Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
Ireland's Foreign Affairs Department announced that it would upgrade its representative office in Ramallah, in the West Bank, to an embassy, appoint an ambassador, and elevate the status of the Palestinian mission in Ireland to that of an embassy.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar decided to close Israel’s embassy in Ireland last December "in light of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government," the Foreign Ministry said.
In the N12 interview, Erlich justified the ministry's decision, telling the Israeli outlet that the decision behind the embassy closure was because of the lack of activity, and that "the Irish government used our presence to justify that they are a legitimate international player.
She added that "we also have an obligation to the Israeli taxpayer, and there was no justification for maintaining this whole big operation of running the embassy."
She had previously defended the Ireland embassy's closure in an interview with KAN last December, saying that "The delegitimization that Israel is experiencing and the fact that Zionism has become a derogatory term in Ireland are a modernization and reincarnation of ancient antisemitism."
Erlich also said that the Irish government promotes antisemitic measures and that, during her time as ambassador, she was subjected to a systemic delegitimization campaign.
Erlich's controversial moments in Ireland and Spain
Last month, Erlich was summoned by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares to "categorically reject the false and slanderous statements from the Israeli prime minister's office," Spain's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office accused Sanchez of making "genocidal threats", in reference to the Spanish leader's announcement of new measures against Israel-bound arms and fuel deliveries.
In March 2024, the Gardai (Irish police) investigated death threats sent to Erlich that included a package of white powder accompanied by a "collage of images" showing victims of the October 7 massacre with the logo of Hamas.
The words "You are next" beside a photo of the ambassador were alson in the package.
Shir Perets and Reuters contributed to this report.