President Rivlin met Tuesday with Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy in the prime minister's palace in Madrid during a visit marking 30 years since relations were established between Israel and Spain.
Rivlin said that the historic ties between the nations stemmed also from the fact that many Israelis can trace their background to Spain. Rivlin spoke with the prime minister about the BDS campaign which he said is "tainted with anti-Semitic elements" and asked the prime minister to promote legislation against the BDS.
Rivlin also asked that Spain change its position in international forums in a way which could express the ties between the two nations. "I wish to remind you," Rivlin added, "that the king of Spain is also called the king of Jerusalem and to come to UNESCO and deny the connection between the Jewish nation and Jerusalem is not just ignorance its an insult to intellectual honesty."