Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz ignited social media after using the phrase "Palestine will be free from the river to the sea" in a video posted on X this week, which provoked significant anger in Israel. This led Israel to take diplomatic action against Spain and launch a fierce attack on the minister, especially in light of Spain's announcement with Norway and Ireland that it would recognize an "independent" State of Palestine on the 28th of this month.
Yolanda Díaz, who is also the Minister of Labor and Social Economy in Spain, clarified that her words aimed to celebrate efforts to achieve peace through a two-state solution to the Middle Eastern conflict, asserting that her statement is not "anti-Semitic." She emphasized that she "does not agree with hate policies," and that her explanation in the video was clear, stating it is a very important step that Spain is taking as a state.
#### Who is Yolanda Díaz?
Yolanda was born in 1971 in the city of San Valentín de Villanueva, in a neighborhood adjacent to shipyards in the northwest. She comes from a family known for its trade union activism in Galicia. Several family members were active in the 1930s fighting against the Francoists after the Spanish Civil War, after which Francisco Franco took control during a period described as a dictatorship.
Díaz holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from the University of Santiago de Compostela. After earning three postgraduate degrees, she began working as a legal assistant at a law firm, later registering as a lawyer and opening her own firm specializing in labor law.
She ventured into politics and became the leader of the Sumar party, the junior partner in the Spanish government coalition. She has served as the second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain since 2021 and as Minister of Labor and Social Economy since 2020.
Yolanda has been a member of the Spanish Congress of Deputies since 2016 and previously served as a councilor in Ferrol (2003-2012), a member of the Galician Parliament (2012-2016), and a national coordinator for the European Union from 2005 to 2017.
#### Reason for the Crisis with Israel
Yolanda's statements caused widespread anger in Israel to the extent that Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz described her as a "hateful and ignorant person" for using the slogan "from the river to the sea." This slogan refers to the Palestinian territories during the British Mandate, which extended from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
Spain, Ireland, and Norway are scheduled to officially announce their recognition of the State of Palestine, a decision that has sparked Israeli outrage while it has been widely welcomed in the Arab world.
