Spain Removes Ambassador to Israel as Diplomatic Rift Deepens

Spain has now made it official, Ana Sálomon is no longer serving as its ambassador to Israel. While this move just hit the government’s official state bulletin on Tuesday, in reality, it simply cements a situation that’s been quietly unfolding for months due to fraying ties between Madrid and Tel Aviv. The Council of Ministers gave their sign-off, and from here on out, Spain’s embassy in Tel Aviv will keep running without an ambassador at the helm. Instead, a chargé d’affaires,a step down on the diplomatic ladder, will be steering things. Let’s rewind a bit..

Sálomon was originally called back to Spain way back in September 2025 under the pretext of consultations after relations soured between the two governments. She never returned to her post; now, with this latest measure, her time there is officially over. This isn’t happening in a vacuum either,it’s widely seen as tit-for-tat diplomacy since Israel made an almost identical change at its own mission in Madrid not long ago. So what set all this off. Tensions really spiked when Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez rolled out policies he said were aimed at stopping what he labeled genocide taking place in Gaza.

That didn’t sit well with Israel, not by a long shot. After Hamas launched attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 and Israel responded with sweeping military action inside Gaza, Sánchez spoke out publicly. In retaliation for his comments, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar went so far as to accuse Sánchez of antisemitism and slapped entry bans on two Spanish ministers.

Things only got frostier from there,a diplomatic ice age if you will, after Spain went ahead and formally recognized Palestine as a state. Not surprisingly, Israel pulled its ambassador from Madrid (Rodica Radian-Gordon) back in May 2024 right after that announcement.

Initially there were plans for someone new to take over; however the designated diplomat ended up stepping aside for another posting altogether, leaving Netanyahu's government without anyone lined up for the role. As it stands now. The top spot at Israel's embassy in Madrid remains empty,Chargé d’Affaires Dana Erlich is currently holding down the fort instead.. With Spain making Sálomon's departure official at last, both countries are signaling they're sticking with lower-tier diplomatic ties for now, no ambassadors shaking hands anytime soon.

Written by Andreas Hofer