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In a sweeping escalation of its campaign to isolate Israel, the Spanish government has canceled a €285 million ($325 million) defense contract with Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael by revoking the production license of its Spanish subsidiary, Pap Tecnos. The move came just days after the city of Barcelona voted — once again — to cut ties with Tel Aviv, signaling a coordinated political push to sever economic, diplomatic, and cultural links with the Jewish state.
On June 3, Spain’s Ministry of Defense formally rescinded Pap Tecnos’ license to manufacture 168 SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missile launchers. Approved in early October 2023, just days before Hamas’s October 7 massacre, the contract had been a key component of Spain’s military modernization efforts. Government spokesperson Pilar Alegría made the administration’s intentions explicit: “The goal is clear… a total disconnection from Israeli technology.” Defense officials stated the program would be “reoriented” toward other suppliers.
Rafael, for its part, said it had not received prior notice of the cancellation.
This marks the second major reversal of a defense-related contract in recent months. In April, the Spanish Interior Ministry canceled a €6.6 million order for 15 million bullets from an Israeli supplier, following pressure from the far-left Sumar party—part of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s governing coalition. Spainish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has since called for an EU-wide arms embargo on Israel, while Sánchez himself has repeatedly referred to Israel as a “genocidal state” and advocated for its exclusion from cultural events, including Eurovision.
Barcelona Renews Boycott, Cuts Ties With Tel Aviv
Just days before the defense contract was canceled, Barcelona’s City Council voted to sever institutional ties with Tel Aviv. The resolution — backed by the Socialist Party, far-left factions, and separatist groups — suspended the longstanding “friendship and cooperation” agreement between the two cities. It also urged Barcelona’s major trade expos and port authorities to exclude Israeli government representatives and defense-affiliated companies from future participation.
“The suffering and death in Gaza over the past year and a half, and recent attacks by the Israeli government, make any relationship unviable,” said Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni.
This is not the first time Barcelona has taken such action. In February 2023, then-Mayor Ada Colau unilaterally suspended the agreement with Tel Aviv, accusing Israel of “apartheid” and “repeated violations of the human rights of the Palestinian population.” Her announcement sparked outrage from Spain’s Jewish community and international observers, many of whom condemned the move as an act of “sophisticated antisemitism.”
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), together with the Israel-Spain Forum Alliance (ISFA) and the Center for Jewish Impact (CJI), launched a campaign to reverse the decision. A petition organized by the groups garnered more than 15,000 signatures and was read aloud at a protest outside Barcelona City Hall.
CAM CEO Sacha Roytman denounced the decision at the time: “Mayor Colau has put Barcelona on the wrong side of history, undermining the chances for peace by encouraging Palestinian rejectionism. At a time when the Abraham Accords have opened new paradigms for reconciliation and engagement across the Middle East, Mayor Colau remains stuck in the past, refusing to recognize the long-proven futility of boycotts and isolation.”
Just weeks later, the Barcelona City Council passed a motion calling for the “urgent and immediate” restoration of the twin city relationship. Ironically, the same Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC) that supported that reversal is now leading the renewed effort to cut ties.
From Parliament to the Streets: A Coordinated National Campaign
Spain’s actions are far from isolated decisions — they reflect a deliberate, intensifying campaign to systematically delegitimize and isolate Israel on the world stage.
- Recognition of Palestinian State: On May 28, 2024, Spain officially recognized the “State of Palestine,” alongside Ireland and Norway.
- Joining Genocide Case: On June 6, 2024, Spain announced it would petition the International Court of Justice to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
- Regional Sanctions: In late May 2025, the Catalan government formally shut down its trade office in Tel Aviv, citing Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
- Cultural Boycotts: That same month, more than 70 artists withdrew from Spain’s major music festivals over ties to Israeli-affiliated investors. Spain’s Culture Minister publicly stated that such companies were “not welcome” in the country.
- Street Protests: On May 19, 2025, coordinated protests were held in 25 Catalan municipalities demanding the severance of all political, military, and commercial relations with Israel.
A Dangerous Path — And a Familiar One
From the Prime Minister’s Office to municipal councils, regional parliaments to festival stages, Spain’s leadership appears increasingly aligned with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel internationally through political warfare, including the exploitation of human rights, double standards, comparisons to apartheid South Africa, and false accusations of “war crimes.”
CAM stands unequivocally opposed to these discriminatory and dangerous actions, and calls on Spain’s elected officials — at every level — to reject the politics of demonization and reaffirm the values of dialogue, mutual respect, and truth.
Spain’s escalating efforts to isolate Israel — through canceled defense deals, cultural boycotts, and severed diplomatic ties — are not merely symbolic gestures. They are part of a deeply familiar pattern — one that Jewish communities know all too well.
These aren’t isolated policy shifts — they reflect a historical pattern of demonizing Jews that continues to evolve. As detailed in an analysis by CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center (ARC), “From Inquisition to Eurovision: Spain’s Long History of Antisemitism and the Politicization of Hate,” today’s rhetoric is strikingly similar to centuries-old antisemitic narratives — only now aimed at the Jewish state.
It always begins this way. First, relationships are broken. Then, legitimacy is questioned. Economic ties are severed. Cultural voices are silenced. And Jewish identity — this time in the form of the Jewish state — is isolated, delegitimized, and targeted. Each act may appear benign on its own, but together, they pave the way for something far more dangerous.
History does not begin with gas chambers. It begins with exclusion. With boycotts. With silence. And with complicity.
It is clear where this road goes. From Dreyfus to Der Stürmer, from the Inquisition to incitement, from Kristallnacht to Kfar Aza. It leads to dehumanization, to violence — and ultimately, to genocide.
And it always cloaks itself in the language of human rights and social justice — until it abandons them completely.
We cannot afford to walk that path again. Not as Jews. Not as Europeans. Not as a world that once said, “Never again.”
The time to speak is now.
