Anti-Israel virtue signaling is often seen among college students who may not fully grasp the antisemitic nature of their actions. However, entire nations can also experience the pitfalls of such symbolic gestures.
Ireland, Norway, and Spain have chosen to respond to Hamas’s brutal attack on 1,200 Israeli civilians and ongoing threats by announcing their recognition of “Palestine” as an independent state. Norway plans to upgrade its diplomatic office in the West Bank to an embassy, while Ireland has also announced intentions to establish an embassy.
Spain, on the other hand, remains with its consulate in Jerusalem for the time being, despite Israel’s assertion that the consulate will not be able to deliver services to Palestinians.
Spanish media reports that this is due to Spanish diplomats in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv refusing to relocate to Palestinian territories, citing concerns over a lower quality of life and personal safety. Perhaps, rewarding terrorists with statehood to condemn the world’s only Jewish state was ill-conceived from the start.
This highlights one of the glaring issues with aligning your country’s reputation and credibility with genocidal, antisemitic terrorists who use their citizens as human shields while targeting civilians in other nations. If Spain truly intends to reward terrorists with statehood, it should commit fully and relocate its embassy.
Anything short of that simply exposes the nation as equally performative as the university students who champion the same cause.
