WJC to Israeli envoy: Your tone and framing surprised us

Israeli envoy takes rare swipe at US Jewish groups for cosponsoring Spanish exhibit

Yechiel Leiter says partnering with embassy for show on Jewish life in Moorish Spain ‘risks lending legitimacy to government working to vilify Israel’; World Jewish Congress responds: Disengagement not the answer

Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter has called out several American Jewish organizations for cosponsoring a recent event with the Spanish government, which has been strongly critical of Israel.

In a letter to the World Jewish Congress, the American Sephardi Federation and the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America, Leiter expressed dismay over the decision to participate in the exhibit on Jewish life under the Spanish Moors, given Madrid’s staunch position against Israeli moves since October 7, 2023, and support for sanctions against the Jewish state.

It marked a rare critique by an Israeli government official of mainstream Jewish organizations, particularly one as prominent and pro-Israel as the WJC.

“As the ambassador of the State of Israel, the nation-state of the Jewish people, I found your partnership in this event both surprising and deeply disappointing given the Spanish government’s ongoing and aggressive campaign against the State of Israel and, increasingly, against the Jewish people more broadly,” Leiter wrote in the missive, which was obtained by The Times of Israel.

The event in question, “The Golden Age of the Jews of Al-Andalus,” was a traveling exhibit hosted on Wednesday by the Spanish Embassy in Washington, highlighting the contributions of Jewish communities in medieval Muslim Spain. Leiter’s complaint came nearly a year after the embassy first hosted the exhibit, which was designed by the Madrid Centro Sefarad-Israel, a government-sponsored center for Jewish culture in the Spanish capital.

The WJC responded by lamenting the manner in which Leiter chose to raise the issue, while standing by the decision to cosponsor the event. The group argued that completely disengaging from the Spanish government would not serve the interests of the country’s Jewish community.

Relations between Spain and Israel have plummeted since Madrid began heavily criticizing Jerusalem over the Gaza war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror atrocities in Israel.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called Israel’s subsequent military campaign against Hamas in Gaza a “genocide” — a charge that Israel firmly denies.

Israel recalled its ambassador after Madrid recognized a Palestinian state in 2024, while Spain formally dismissed its own top envoy in Tel Aviv in March.

In a further blow to ties, Sanchez on Thursday presented the Order of Civil Merit to Francesca Albanese, the controversial UN special rapporteur on human rights in the West Bank and Gaza, who has been accused of antisemitism and extremist rhetoric against Israel.

In his letter, sent Friday, Leiter accused the Spanish government of seeking to use programs on Jewish history and culture “to rehabilitate its public image within the Jewish world.”

“Against this backdrop, participation in such an event risks lending legitimacy to a government that is actively working to isolate and vilify the world’s only Jewish state,” the Israeli envoy wrote. He pointed to “libelous charges of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and starvation” that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government has lodged at Jerusalem.

The ambassador also pointed to skyrocketing antisemitism in Spain, arguing that it is caused by Madrid’s hostile rhetoric against the Jewish state.

“I have no doubt that the rise of antisemitism is also of deep concern to you, and it is precisely for that reason that I am writing to you,” Leiter wrote. “We all bear a responsibility to speak clearly and unapologetically against campaigns aimed at delegitimizing the Israel[sic] and Jewish people.”

David Obadía, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, said in a December interview that antisemitism in Spain was up significantly, citing the Spanish Interior Ministry. In 2024, the federation said that antisemitic incidents had increased by 567% since 2022. A report in January by Networks Overcoming Antisemitism, which includes the WJC and is funded by the European Union, found Spain lacking in monitoring antisemitism and implementing policies meant to combat hate.

The Spanish foreign affairs ministry, the American Sephardi Federation and the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America did not respond to requests for comment.

WJC provided The Times of Israel with the letter it sent back to Leiter on Saturday night, arguing that engagement with Spanish authorities was the correct course of action to ensure Jewish life thrives in the country.

“We were somewhat surprised by both the tone and framing of your message, particularly given the longstanding and constructive relationship between the World Jewish Congress and Israeli institutions and embassies around the world,” wrote WJC executive vice president Maram Stern and WJC North America executive director Sara Friedman. They expressed their willingness to meet with Leiter to discuss the issue further.

The WJC executives said the Spanish embassy event was the latest in a series that began in 2023.

“At a time of widespread ignorance about Jewish history and identity, such initiatives are very necessary,” they wrote.

“We are fully aware of the difficult environment currently facing Jewish communities in Spain, including rising antisemitism and deeply concerning rhetoric by members of the Spanish government toward Israel,” the response read.

“We have a duty to protect and strengthen Jewish life wherever it exists,” the two added. “That requires maintaining dialogue with institutions and interlocutors willing to contribute meaningfully to Jewish life, Jewish visibility, and the fight against antisemitism in their respective countries.”