(JTA) — Spain recognized Israel as the Jewish homeland for the first time and called for a peace deal that does not affect its Jewish majority.
Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez declared Israel the homeland for the Jews during her speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday.
Spain is one of Europe’s leading proponents of the Palestinians’ right to a homeland.
Jimenez called Israel "the embodiment of the project to create a homeland for the Jewish people.” She also said Israel’s security is a top issue.
She called on the United Nations to help create a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with land swaps and Jerusalem as the capital of both Israel and a Palestinian state. She also said that the issue of the right of return for Palestinian refugees should be solved in a way that keeps a Jewish majority in Israel.
