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The Spanish Premier's Performative Attempts to Demonize Israel Do Nothing for Gaza
(The Times-UK) Editorial - Pedro Sanchez, Spain's grandstanding socialist prime minister, seems content to lead the world in self-righteous humbug. On Monday he called for Israel to be banned from all competitive sports. This misguided and ill-timed intervention has only one purpose: to drum up support from his more radical supporters. As top cyclists, including an Israeli team, wound their way around the country's valleys and mountains over the past 21 days in the La Vuelta (Tour of Spain) race, they were confronted by thousands of protesters pretending to be Gazan corpses, to chants of "stop genocide now." The protesters were egged on by the host country's prime minister. Not a single life has been saved in Gaza as a result of blocking the cyclists. Sanchez may think he enjoys popular support for the demonization and cultural isolation of Israel. But blocking the path of cyclists in a race is merely an offensive stunt. Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium - all poised to formally recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN next week - should learn something from Sanchez's misguided stunts and put their move on hold. This is no time to reward killers and kidnappers.