VICTORY! Spanish parliament passes first-of-its kind anti-BDS bill, assisted by Lawfare Project's arguments
We are proud to announce that The Lawfare Project contributed to yet another legal victory for the Jewish communities of Spain.
On June 6th, the Parliament of the Balearic Islands passed a bill condemning any form of anti-Semitism as it is defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and requesting the appropriation of funds for research into the history of the island's Jewry. Moreover, for the first time in Spain, this bill explicitly condemns the BDS campaign within local city councils for promoting discrimination against Israeli businesses, scientists, artists, and athletes. The legislation impacts the islands of Majorca, Menorca, Cabrera, Ibiza, and Formentera.
The bill was introduced by a member of Parliament, Mr. Maxo Benalal, the chairman of the local Jewish community of Ibiza, who has acted as plaintiff in dozens of successful anti-boycott proceedings led in Spain by The Lawfare Project’s lawyers.
We at The Lawfare Project—alongside the Federation of Jewish Communities, the official representative of the Jewry in Spain—provided important legal counsel for arguments during the parliamentary proceedings and the floor debate.
The Lawfare Project is now working with the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain to provide pro bono legal services for new bills that will be introduced in other parliaments addressing the adoption of the IHRA Working Definition of Anti-Semitism and the censure of BDS-related boycotts.
Mr. Ignacio Wenley Palacios, our senior counsel in Spain, put it well: "Boycotts by public institutions have all the attributes of the most intolerable discrimination. They deny relations and the provision of public services to individuals not because of their behavior, but because of something they cannot change nor avoid: their country of origin."
As you may know, in the past several years, countless cities in Spain have adopted municipal laws that have violated the rights of Jewish people and supporters of the Jewish State. As an organization dedicated to defending Jewish freedoms worldwide, we could not let this stand.
Winning numerous cases where courts have struck down these unjust policies, we continue to combat in Spain the discriminatory boycott campaign against the Jewish people and Jewish State. This most recent bill represents yet another success for The Lawfare Project and the international Jewish community. We applaud the Parliament of the Balearic Islands for rejecting anti-Semitism, and we look forward to securing more victories in Spain and beyond.