King Felipe VI of Spain was awarded the Lord Jakobovits Prize of European Jewry from Conference of European Rabbis on Tuesday for his steadfast support of the Jewish community in Spain and in honour of the unique legislation to allow those Jews who can prove their Spanish heritage to return to Spain
During a ceremony at the El Pardo Palace in Madrid, the king said, “Europe needs the invaluable contribution of its Jewish communities, because we need to be honest and respectful to both our common Judeo-Christian values and origins, and also with the more broader or universal sense of true human values we are trying to extend and defend world-wide amidst all the horrors and hatred that still persist in so many places on Earth.”
Conference President, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt of Moscow said, “As religious leaders, we must take every opportunity to stress how it is our responsibility to combat extremism in any form. We set the tone for our communities and we can help leaders around the world to combat this evil. However, in an era where anti-Semitism is on the rise throughout Europe, Spain has taken extraordinary measures to make its Jews feel welcome. Not only did the Minister of Justice acknowledge the expulsion of what he has called an ‘historic mistake’, he ensured that action was taken to rectify it.”