As the Freedom Flotilla approached Cadiz, Spain, I spoke with passengers Miguel Urban-Crespo and Lola Blasco on the deck of Al Awda, one of the four ships comprising the flotilla.
Miguel is a member of the European Parliament for the left-leaning Spanish political party Podemos. He explains that support for Palestinian rights is growing rapidly in Spain despite the closeness of the establishment political parties to Israel’s apartheid regime.
Lola is an award-winning Spanish playwright who supports the Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel. In 2014, leading figures from Spanish cinema, including Pedro Almodóvar, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, faced a strong backlash from Hollywood after they denounced Israel’s horrific assault on Gaza. Lola argues that, despite such pressures, artists have a duty to “prioritize ethics over aesthetics.”
A special acknowledgement to Daniel Ross, a Jewish member of Al Awda’s crew who graciously agreed to translate Lola’s and Miguel’s commentary.
Our conversation can be seen here:
https://therealnews.com/stories/dimitri-lascaris-reporting-from-spain-aboard-the-freedom-flotilla.
