Ada Colau is the former mayor of Barcelona, capital of Catalonia and Spain’s second city. For some time she has been the object of investigation for two practices. First, as mayor she is believed to have provided municipal subsidies to those individuals and organizations that have supported her politically. Second, she has been investigated for having provided jobs with the city to her own relatives and relatives of her supporters.
Now there is a third line of investigation. Ada Colau is now the subject of a court investigation over her decision last February to unilaterally sever the Spanish city’s ties with Israel, citing the Jewish state’s alleged “apartheid” policies towards the Palestinians as the reason.
More on Ada Colau’s legal troubles can be found here: “Former Barcelona Mayor Facing Court Investigation Over Decision to Sever Israel Ties,” by Ben Cohen, Algemeiner, July 20, 2023:
A legal complaint filed against Ada Colau by the pro-Israel advocacy organization ACOM is being handled by Barcelona’s investigating court number five, the Spanish daily El Pais reported on Wednesday.
The complaint charges that Colau exceeded her powers when she told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an open letter that the Barcelona municipality was “temporarily suspending” its twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, along with all other connections with Israel, in protest at what she called the “systematic violation of the people of Palestine’s human rights.”
Colau informed Netanyahu that the suspension would remain in place “until the Israeli authorities put an end to the system of violations of the Palestinian people and fully comply with the obligations imposed on them by international law and the various United Nations resolutions.”
ACOM’s complaint asserted that Colau acted outside of her jurisdiction in cutting ties, noting as well that the decision was not submitted to the council for a vote, which the former mayor would likely have lost. “The actions of the then Mayor of Barcelona, fully arbitrary and unlawful, compelled ACOM to present a lawsuit at the Provincial Public Prosecutor’s Office of Barcelona in order to investigate these acts,” a statement from the organization said.
Additionally, a second complaint filed by two lawyers, Francesc Jufresa and Ferran Grases, accused Colau of inciting antisemitism by describing Israel as an apartheid state, thereby generating “hatred of the Jewish people,” they argued….
As mayor, Colau lacked the legal authority to cut Barcelona’s ties with Tel Aviv; that would have required a vote of the municipal council. Colau, knowing the council would not approve her move, decided not to ask for its approval. She thus acted ultra vires — beyond the scope of her authority.
Barcelona’s small Jewish community was roiled by Colau’s decision, claiming that it resulted in a surge of antisemitic acts. In April, a synagogue run by the Chabad movement was defaced with pro-Palestinian graffiti, with the slogan “Because you kill in Palestine” sprayed in large black letters on the sidewalk at its entrance. Earlier in the same month, the city’s historic Maimonides Synagogue was vandalized with the slogans “Free Palestine from the River to the Sea” and “Solidarity with the Palestinian People.”…
It is clear that Colau’s decision to cut Barcelona’s ties to Tel Aviv as its “twinned city,” accompanied by her charges against Israel, claiming it to be an “apartheid” state, created an atmosphere conducive to such acts of antisemitism as the spray-painting of pro-Palestinian slogans on both a Chabad synagogue and on the celebrated Maimonides Synagogue.
Where will the investigation of Colau’s decision to cut ties to Tel Aviv and to engage in an outburst of anti-Israel charges lead? I suspect she will be found to have been swayed not by ideological animus, but by a desire to please deep-pocketed Arabs, who are in a position to secure her financial future, now that she is no longer mayor, either by direct payments, or by hiring her to run an Arab-financed think tank, based in Barcelona, devoted to “the history of Convivencia in Islamic Spain.”
࿗Infidel࿘ says
What exactly does a “sister-city” do? Whenever I see a wiki article about any city, at the bottom of the article is a list of its “sister-cities” worldwide. What exactly does that achieve?
MD Anthony says
The mayor is performing as a prostitute to obtain money from her Arab clients.
Just like so many other politicians in G-7 municipalities.
OLD GUY says
Follow the MONEY