Spanish artists call on government to cease arms trade with Israel

‘Weapons that we will rely on in future would have been tested in massacre of Gaza’ says leading late-night host

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - A group of Spanish celebrities called on the national government to immediately end arms trade with Israel in a video released on Tuesday.

The video, posted on social media, included statements from famous Spanish actors such as Carlos Bardem, Pepe Viyuela, and Alba Flores, as well as musicians like Amparo Sanchez.

“A genocide must not be supported economically,” said pop singer Rozalen in the video.

The celebrities urged Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to go a step beyond just condemning the attacks on Gaza.

According to the celebrities, Spain has exported €28 million ($30 million) in weapons to Israel since 2005. However, that figure pales in comparison to the amount that Spain pays Israeli companies for weapons, intelligence and other military material.

“Based on current contracts, the weapons that our country will rely on in the future would have been tested in the massacre of Gaza,” said one of Spain’s leading late-night hosts, known as El Gran Wyoming.

“Weapons trade is a major business for the Israeli government. It finances the aggression in Gaza and legitimizes the violence and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people,” the singer Macaco said.

“Not in our name. Not with our money. We call for an end to weapons trade with Israel. We will stop the genocide,” said several of the artists at the end.

One of the most notorious pieces of Israeli defense material used in Spain has been the Pegasus spyware, which was used to spy on both Catalan opposition members as well as Sanchez and other Spanish ministers.

The social media video came days after a manifesto calling for the end of the “genocide” in Gaza was re-released. In its third edition, it has been signed by more than 10,000 people, mostly in Spain, including other big-name celebrities like Joan Manuel Serrat and Paco Leon.

The manifesto calls for an indefinite cease-fire and accuses Israel of committing war crimes in its attack on Gaza.

Kaynak:

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