Shmuel Hadass became Israel’s first Ambassador to Spain when he presented his credentials last Thursday to King Juan Carlos in Madrid. Hadass has been Israel’s unofficial representative in Spain since 1981 while serving as representative to the World Tourism Organization in Madrid.
Spain and Israel announced the establishment of diplomatic relations last month. The announcements were made simultaneously in Jerusalem, Madrid and The Hague where the documents of mutual recognition were signed by Yeshayahu Anog, deputy director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and Maximo de Cajal, director of the European Affairs Department of the Spanish Foreign Ministry.
Spain is the last Western European nation to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel, a move sought for many years by the Jewish State. The two countries stated that the decision to establish formal diplomatic ties was made, among other reasons, because of the deep historic connections between the Spanish and Jewish people.
Both countries made political statements indicating that their new formal relationship will not affect their respective policies which differ sharply on the Middle East. Just a few days after the formal announcement, the new relationship was sealed with a meeting between Premier Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez of Spain in The Hague.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
