Madrid mayor offers to twin with Tel Aviv after Barcelona suspends agreement

The mayor of Barcelona’s arch rival Madrid immediately offers to take up the twinning agreement with Tel Aviv, as both he and Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau jostle for position on international issues and investment in an election year.

José Luis Martínez-Almeida, the Spanish capital’s conservative mayor, accuses Barcelona’s leader of antisemitism and tweets that he has written to Tel Aviv’s mayor to share “Madrid’s commitment to democracy and freedom.”

“It would be an honor to be twinned with Tel Aviv,” he adds. Spain’s right-wing politicians are increasingly making diplomatic and commercial outreach to Israel.

The comments came after Colau announced she was suspending the twinning agreement between Barcelona and Tel Aviv, accusing Israel of rights abuses against Palestinians.