From a distance, it would seem like a bad science fiction movie, but the reality is that the end of the 2025 Vuelta a España could not be celebrated in Madrid as planned because a team that competed carried the word Israel on its jersey. Thanks to the support of Pedro Sánchez, who came to feel “admiration for a Spanish people who mobilize for just causes like Palestine,” the Spanish Government has managed to turn Israel into the new enemy, at the cost of the Gaza genocide and thus, in passing, Sánchez robs votes from the Spanish left. Meanwhile, Spain tries to acquire Silam missiles, manufactured in Israel, from a third country, to avoid doing so directly.
The arms embargo against Israel is already official in Spain and the breaking of contracts to acquire Israeli technology as well. Among those broken agreements stands out the Silam rocket launcher project, one of the star reforms that Margarita Robles, who held the Defense portfolio, announced in her day. However, the Spanish defense industry is already trying to reach agreements with companies outside Europe to covertly break that veto on Israel.
The issue is not minor because for our generals and Defense Minister Robles, having our Army of the Land with its own ability to launch rockets is fundamental, after seeing the important role that this type of weapon has played during the Ukraine war and the future defense needs our country faces, both within the commitments signed with NATO and for the defense of our borders, especially the southern border.
In this sense, it is worth recalling that the Ministry of Defense has annulled the contracts associated with the Silam rocket launcher after an investment of approximately €576 million, approved at the end of 2023. The formal cancellation of the contracts was published on the Public Procurement Platform just a few days ago. Add to this the 168 Spike LR2 anti-armor missile systems, another of the major needs of our Army for its operational capabilities. Both contracts total the whopping figure of €1,000 million, which in principle will be allocated to another similar alternative project.
According to the latest report from the Centre Delàs, released a few months ago, since the announcement of the embargo on Israel, contracts have been awarded worth more than €1,044.5 million before taxes. A situation that puts the Government’s intentions in doubt and that worries Robles, who tries to look to the appropriate timelines to carry out the aforementioned Spanish rearmament, in which various Israeli-origin material has considerable importance in some of the projects designated to meet NATO objectives and Spain’s European allies.
The companies with which our country maintains this type of business are (or were) mainly Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Elbit Systems, the two armaments giants of the Hebrew nation. The first of these entities is public in character and has much influence inside Israel.
ISRAEL’S FOREIGN AFFAIRS DO NOT HELP
Meanwhile, from the other side, Israel, its Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Saar, demanded of the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez that he “urged” the pro-Palestinian demonstrators before the cancellation of the 21st and final stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a España 2025, a fact that he described as a “shame” for Spain.
To help “calm” the mood, Saar posted on his X account that “a few days ago, the Spanish Prime Minister lamented not having an atomic bomb to stop Israel. Today, he urged the demonstrators to take to the streets. Shame on Spain!”, he posted.
After the last stage of La Vuelta was canceled, which was going to end in Madrid, the mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida did not mince words either and said that “today violence has defeated sport, today the disturbances have defeated the Vuelta, and the culprit has a name: Pedro Sánchez.”
The case is that now the name of Pedro Sánchez has become linked to Israel and not to Begoña Gómez, David Sánchez, Koldo, Ábalos, Santos Cerdán, or the State Attorney General, among others. Not a single word of support from the Government for the 22 national police officers injured on Sunday during the disturbances.
PROOF OF PURCHASES FROM ISRAEL
The lesser-known fact that proves the involvement of Israeli companies in defense projects relies, in the SILAM project, on a partnership of Elbit Systems with Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&E), in which the German Expal Rheinmetall also participates. Its participation has remained hidden, since the award at the time was made to a joint venture between Escribano and Rheinmetall. Another dark maneuver by the PSOE, using its influence over (EM&E) to ‘deceive’ its government partners, who are easily deceived on too many occasions, as some more radical sectors of the Spanish left ironically point out.
With this situation, MONCLOA has consulted sources close to the Defense to see what the possible real consequences would be, since there are too many speculations regarding the cancellation of these contracts.
These sources explain that the breaking of these agreements can indeed bring significant economic consequences for the Spanish State. Although these are not predetermined, it will be the contractor who must demonstrate an economic damage against its interests after the breach and, in this way, be able to claim compensation. Many of these litigations will end up in the courts.
With the electoral wear that paying a hefty compensation to Israeli companies could entail for the Sánchez government, sources close to a major Spanish defense company have assured that Defense has studied the use of shell companies to acquire missiles and thus avoid a lawsuit that could cost a great deal of money.
The method is relatively simple: a company from another country buys the product and resells it to the first interested party as if it were theirs. According to these sources, this procedure would have supposedly already been carried out in Spain on several occasions. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are the residences of the companies allegedly used to circumvent the vetoes on these contracts for political and ideological reasons. The Israelis happy, the intermediaries happy, and Spain happy.
But the current European Union trend toward censoring trade with Israel is making this strategy rethink. And for this, several countries outside Europe have been considered that could bring Silam technology and the Spike missiles to Spain. Something that could anger, or not, Sumar and other government partners; some sources have even suggested that it could receive their blessing. We shall see, but it is clear that, for now, Spain does not have rocket launchers.
COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE MADRID JEWISH COMMUNITY
After the cancellation of the final stage of the 2025 Vuelta a España, the Madrid Jewish Community published a communiqué that we reproduce below.
“In the face of the lamentable and shameful events witnessed yesterday in the final stage of La Vuelta a España 2025 which took place in Madrid, the Madrid Jewish Community wishes to state:
Our most resolute condemnation of these violent and vandalistic acts that threaten the freedom and safety of cyclists and attendees at this sporting event followed by millions of spectators and cycling fans around the world.
We denounce the markedly antisemitic character of some demonstrations that have headed the protests against the participation of the Israeli Cycling Team in La Vuelta a España. These acts, slogans, and proclamations clearly express a deep hatred toward the State of Israel and, with it, toward Jews.
Recognizing the right to protest peacefully, which protects all Spaniards, we vehemently denounce how, behind these protests, lies unequivocally a hatred toward the Jews whom they seek to cancel, hide, and expel from public life.
At the same time, we warn how certain political discourses encourage and applaud these violent expressions, justify them and give them coverage and legitimacy. It is unacceptable that, from the institutions that should represent us all, incitement to uncivil and violent behaviors against a specific group is promoted, sowing chaos and panic. It is a sectarian, irresponsible, and deeply undemocratic stance.
Finally, we warn that these violent acts seek to muddy the exemplary coexistence that Madrid has always characterized; a coexistence that has always been promoted and protected by Madrid’s institutions. These acts undoubtedly distort the values of respect that all Madrid’s democrats share, regardless of our religion, origin, or political tendency.”
