It was a powerful praise of diplomacy, almost more powerful because it was delivered by a man who has fought for diplomacy and seen it fail in his country due to the inability of political leaders on both sides to assume the price it always has. peace.
Shlomo Ben Ami, former Israeli Foreign Minister and former ambassador to Spain, yesterday displayed his erudition and moral pulse in an intimate event held at the Círculo Ecuestre to present him with the Ramon Trias Fargas Memorial. It is awarded every year – for 27 years – by the Fundació Llibertat i Democràcia to distinguish the defense of rights and freedoms, in the words of its president, Genís Boadella, PDECat deputy.
Born in 1943 in Tangier, into a Sephardic Jewish family that emigrated to Israel, Ben Ami treasures as many readings as there are historical moments he has experienced firsthand. Historian specialized in the modern history of Spain, a disciple at Oxford of the Hispanist Raymond Carr, he was the second ambassador that his country sent to Madrid after Felipe González recognized the Jewish State. Labor Foreign Minister Ehud Barak, he led the negotiations at Camp David (2000), the moment when Israelis and Palestinians have been closest to peace and which they let slip away. An episode that he details in his latest book, Prophets Without Honor (RBA).
Ben Ami has also dedicated himself to seeking peace in other geographies. Recently, he played a discreet but prominent role as an advisor to the Colombian Government in the negotiations with the FARC, with a historic agreement that earned President Santos the Nobel Peace Prize.
That is why his speech yesterday at the Equestrian Circle resonated beyond the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “Diplomacy is the art of common sense, tact and intelligence at the service of resolving conflicts through peaceful means,” he said. “Even if one party loses more than the other, its dignity has to be safe,” he added. “We must not approach politics with eternal truths, but with a spirit of commitment.”
Are we condemned to repeat history, to not learn from the mistakes of our predecessors? Is that the lesson of the Ukrainian war? Ben Ami asked himself. History, he answered, quoting Isaiah Berlin, arises from the encounter between the structures we inherit and the always unpredictable human choice. “In the end the choice is ours. It is moral responsibility that forces us not to surrender to the logic of conflict,” he said.
Sitting in the front row was former president Jordi Pujol, whom Ben Ami, at the beginning of his parliament, thanked for his presence, described him as “a pivot of the politics of this country” and highlighted “his contribution to the consolidation of Spanish democracy and Catalan.” Ben Ami, who comes from a country where politics has devoured many of his champions, dedicated some meaningful words of consolation to him that alluded to his fall from grace. Proportional to the size of his figure, he came to say. “Great political careers usually end with great resonance,” the diplomat stressed.
In addition to Genís Boadella, president of Llibertat i Democràcia, former deputy Jordi Xuclà, predecessor in office and now president of the jury, and Josep Antoni Duran Lleida, who spoke about the figure of the awardee, spoke.
Freedom and Democracy is a foundation that brings together the liberal wing of the old convergents, a political space that has been orphaned by the implosion of CiU due to the process. Among the attendees was the president of PDECat, David Bonvehí, the ex-councillor and current councilor for Junts in Barcelona City Council Victòria Alsina, or the ex-councillor and ex-mayor of Sant Cugat del Vallès Lluís Recoder.
The lawyer Juan José López Burniol, friend of the awardee, also attended; Senén Florensa, executive president of the European Mediterranean Institute (IEMed); the honorary consul of Israel, Yosef David Sanchez-Molina, and the consuls of Ecuador, El Salvador, Kazakhstan and Georgia.
There were loopholes for some confidence. Before starting the event, Bonvehí approached to greet Pujol, sitting with his cane on a sofa. Pujol asked him how they were doing in this “long stage.” “It is a stage that has ended, president. “We are going to let this PDECat thing go,” Bonvehí told him. "I'll come and explain it to you."
