Sadly, there are not too many world leaders in the running for the title of most stalwart friend of Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump has to be near the top of that short list for the many pro-Israel actions he's taken while in the Oval Office. He recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017 and moved the U.S. Embassy there after failed promises from previous presidents to do so. In 2020, he brokered the Abraham Accords, which accomplished what so much of the world thought was impossible: the normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab states. And, of course, he's demonstrated moral clarity in the wake of the October 7 attack on Israel, calling it "one of the darkest days in all history" and just this week warning Hamas that it will "have hell to pay" if it uses hostages as human shields.
Another candidate is Argentinian President Javier Milei, who has called himself "the most pro-Israel person in the world." At the Western Wall, where he was filmed praying and crying, Milei backed that claim up, stating in June: “My support for Israel comes from the heart, because I believe this is a just cause—the cause of the West. I will always stand by your side.” Israel showed its appreciation for the populist leader by, as the Jerusalem Post reported, awarding him "the Genesis Prize – referenced as the 'Jewish Nobel Prize' – in recognition of his government’s reversal of decades of anti-Israel voting in the United Nations and its designation of Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations."
For a while, it looked like Canada was going to be led by a strong ally of Israel, Pierre Poilievre of the Conservative Party. Poilievre, whose party lost a 27-point lead in this year's election, has given some of the most impassioned speeches in support of Israel. A prime minister of Israel could have spoken these words:
Think of the trashcan of history. It is filled with those who have tried and failed to destroy the Jewish people – from the Pharaoh, to Haman, to the totalitarian socialist dictators Hitler and Stalin. All of them have been defeated. And yet the Jewish people still go on. I don't know what the world will bring tomorrow. I don't know, much less 100 years from now. But I do know: 1,000 years from now, whatever is going on, on Fridays, when the sun goes down, there will be a Shabbat in Israel. Those songs will still be sung. The Jewish people will go on. And they will still say, "Am Yisrael Chai!"
Regrettably, the list of the world leaders most hostile to Israel is a lot longer. I'll limit it to Western leaders because those who actually call for wiping Israel off the face of the map — like Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — are too obvious choices.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and his government recognized Palestine as an independent state in 2024. Chilean President Gabriel Boric has called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "war criminal" and he didn't even call the families of the five Chileans slaughtered by Hamas on October 7. And then there's the man who became prime minister in Canada instead of Pierre Poilevre, Mark Carney, who is turning a historic ally of the Jewish state into one of the most anti-Israel countries in the world.
These are all good candidates. But there is a Western leader who not only accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and recognizes Palestine as a state, but actually made what many took to be a genocidal threat against the Jewish state— even if less explicit than Khamenei's threats. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, nicknamed "El Guapo" ("The Handsome One"), has made comments and taken actions against Israel that can only be described as "muy feo" (very ugly).
While announcing an arms embargo and partial import ban against Israel earlier this month, Sánchez said, “Spain, as you know, doesn’t have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves. We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive. But that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying, because there are causes that are worth fighting for, even if winning them isn’t in our sole power.” This clearly follows the basic "although... still" rhetorical structure: although Spain doesn't have nuclear weapons to stop Israel, it won't stop trying.
That's how Prime Minister Netanyahu heard it. His office unambiguously condemned the remarks on X:
Apparently, the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews of Spain and the systematic mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust, is not enough for Sanchez. Incredible.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 11, 2025
Instead of clarifying or apologizing for his words, Sánchez summoned Israel's ambassador in Madrid to reject what he called the "false and slanderous statements from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office." And what has Spain's prime minister done since this dust-up to convince supporters of Israel that he'd never want the Jewish state to disappear? He said he wants Israel barred from international sports competitions until its "barbarism" in Gaza ends, and he's held firm in his support of dangerous pro-Palestine protests in Spain.
Related: The New Reconquest: Spain’s Answer to Collapse
The good news is that there is a major Spanish politician who is calling out Sánchez for his anti-Israel animus. Santiago Abascal, the leader of the populist right Vox party, has called Sánchez "the worst ruler in Spanish history." He posted on X that Sánchez wants nuclear weapons in order to protect terrorists:
Sánchez quisiera tener armas nucleares … pero no para defender España. Para defender a Hamas. Y seguramente a Maduro. Los tiranos acorralados siempre acaban enloqueciendo.
— Santiago Abascal 🇪🇸 (@Santi_ABASCAL) September 8, 2025
Es capaz de aliarse con Hamas para tapar que su mujer, imputada por robar, declara ante el juez esta misma… https://t.co/TajcRYEILB pic.twitter.com/xRXyHOjhlA
While Vox is rising in the polls, Canada demonstrates that even a pro-Israel politician in the opposition can do little to prevent a country from becoming an avowed enemy of the Jewish state. The only question now is whether Spanish voters will take this lesson to heart.
The corporate media runs interference for anti-Israel political leaders while dismissing populist parties like Vox by labeling them "extreme" and "far right." Please help us continue to tell the truth about those who are standing up proudly to defend Western values. Your support can help make a difference. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member