Ever since it hosted the Olympic Games 25 years ago, Barcelona has been so much more than the proud capital of Catalonia and a beacon of culture, economy sport and fashion. Anyone who spends five minutes on La Rambla, the main street, is immediately taken by Barcelona's tourist power. Last year alone, 10 million tourists visited the city. These included many Israelis who came to see the best soccer player in history, Lionel Messi, at Camp Nou. They visited the parks, admired the unique architecture of buildings designed by the genius Antoni Gaudi, enjoyed the food, basked in the sea breeze and visited historical sites, some of them boasting a rich Jewish past (such as the famous Montjuic, "Jewish Mountain"). But there is something that the many Israelis who visit Barcelona do not know: For weeks, the city's 7,000-member Jewish community has been clashing with the city council and militantly left-wing Mayor Ada Colau. On the one hand, Colau supports her city's Jews and demonstrates admirable sensitivity toward the city's Jewish history, particularly the memory of the Holocaust. On the other hand, she does little to hide her absolute support for the Palestinians. For many Barcelona Jews, the problem is not her support of the Palestinians but the consequent anti-Israel sentiment guiding many of the parties in the city council. The Jewish community feels that these parties focus unfairly on Israel, as though there is no one else to condemn. Tensions were further fueled when one of the municipal committees voted to condemn Israel about a month ago, and relations appear to be on a collision course ahead of the May 14 arrival of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine member Leila Khaled. The Israeli Embassy in Madrid, which has been closely monitoring the situation, has already registered a complaint with city hall. Sources at the Barcelona municipality were quoted by the media as saying that Khaled "has been invited by the Literal Festival, a cultural event organized by a private group. Our contribution to the festival amounts to a 10,000 euro contribution. We do not influence the content or select the guests." The municipality generally tried to distance itself from the Khaled controversy and avoid the wrath of Jewish community leaders. But the community leaders made a point of reminding the municipality of Khaled's resume: Born in Haifa in Mandatory Palestine, she became the first woman to hijack a plane when she took part in the hijacking of TWA flight 840 in August 1969. A year later, after undergoing plastic surgery several times to alter her face, she tried, unsuccessfully, to hijack another plane. Khaled was incarcerated, but not for long. She was soon released in a prisoner exchange agreement. But that was a long time ago. Khaled has since shifted her anti-Israel efforts from the aerial arena to the international arena. She no longer supports such attacks as a legitimate means to achieve her goals, but she can't get away from the symbol that she herself created. Many still consider her a terrorist, while others see her as a freedom fighter. She will always be remembered for her famous quote: "My first boyfriend was a Kalashnikov rifle." The Barcelonan Jewish community has argued, justifiably, that a woman like that is not an appropriate guest at a cultural festival. They are outraged by festival posters featuring her face. So, while the municipality tries to shirk its responsibility, the community's anger is growing. In favor of human rights The outrage began long before the controversial Khaled was invited to Barcelona. Last month, a municipal subcommittee voted in favor of a resolution condemning the "Israeli occupation and the settlement policy in occupied Palestinian territory." The subcommittee also decided to prevent "any form of cooperation with the occupation, with violation of human rights and with the theft of Palestinian resources." The resolution was supported by four left-wing and radical left-wing parties. It was opposed by the right-wing and centrist parties. The Catalan independence movement abstained. This was, notably, not a vote in favor of boycotting Israel, as in other parts of Spain. While Barcelona supports "the legitimacy of non-violent campaigns advanced by the Palestinian civilian population and the international community to defend human rights and Palestinian humanitarian rights," it did not want to officially endorse the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. The city knows that supporting BDS means lawsuits and serious international damage. According to Gerardo Pisarello, the first deputy mayor of Barcelona who is currently filling in for Colau while she is on maternity leave, "It is not about being in favor of Israel or Palestine. It is about being in favor of human rights. We step in only if there is incitement or racism, and that is not the case here." Pisarello, born in Argentina, is more pragmatic than his boss. Colau rose to power after founding the populist Platform for People Affected by Mortgages and taking part in demonstrations against foreclosures. As mayor, her support for the Palestinian cause manifested itself in moves to end a sister-city agreement with Tel Aviv -- moves that ultimately failed -- and support for a women's flotilla to Gaza that set sail from the Barcelona port last September. In recent months, however, Colau has toned down her message and participated in a number of Jewish events. Journalist Pilar Rahola is one of Spain's biggest non-Jewish Israel advocates. Despite facing numerous threats, the successful Catalan author fearlessly criticizes the "vast hypocrisy" of the Israel critics. She has clashed with her colleagues, despite sharing their aspirations for Catalan independence. Rahola agrees that the municipal vote did not endorse BDS, but she argues that it was still unjust. Speaking to Israel Hayom, Rahola says that "instead of confronting tyrants and terrorists from all over the world, these people, from parts of the Left, always have Israel. The fact is that Israel is a democracy that has been suffering from war and terrorism for decades and is surrounded by millions of enemies with totalitarian ideologies. But they don't care about that. When it comes to Israel, the story will always be post-truth and false." Besides defending Israel, Rahola is also known for her battle against the radical parts of Islam. She has warned against what she defines as "Islamo-fascism" in her books. 'A terrorist's face' The Jewish organizations in Barcelona are deliberating on how to respond to the anti-Israel vote, particularly now that a city-backed organization has invited Khaled to its festival, which enjoys public funding. Uriel Benguigui, the president of the largest Jewish congregation in the city, the Comunidad Israelita de Barcelona, admits that the vote is not an endorsement of BDS, but asserts that "it is an indirect way of supporting anti-Israel boycotts." "The BDS movement lost all of its political motions against Israel in Spanish municipalities because the Spanish court dismissed almost all of them," he tells Israel Hayom, commending the legal work done by pro-Israel organization ACOM against the many Spanish groups that promote anti-Israel boycotts. "The Barcelona municipality knows that, and that's why it didn't go all the way," he says. "But what it did is still unacceptable because they singled out the only democracy in the Middle East. You can argue about the occupation but the text of the municipality's [resolution] is unfair because it fails to include the security history of this very complex conflict. We're tired of everyone always pointing to Israel of all the conflicts in the world. And they obviously do it without mentioning the other side of the conflict." But the real object of his anger is the Khaled invitation. "The city council says they didn't know anything about it, and that she was invited privately by an organization that only receives contributions from the city," Benguigui says. "It is true, as is the fact that the organization uses the city's lampposts on several streets to advertise her lecture. A lot of Israeli tourists saw the posters and had to swallow it -- to see the face of a terrorist while strolling down a main street." Since there is no legal prohibition preventing Khaled's participation, the heads of the Jewish communities have asked the city to publicly oppose it. "They haven't done it yet," Benguigui says. "To me, the municipality's policy of welcoming refugees is great, but not terrorists who hijacked planes. Maybe next year, on Nakba Day, they can invite [Hamas leader] Khaled Mashaal. "Barcelona has to encourage joint cultural activities involving Israelis and Palestinians together rather than making useless declarations or oppose inviting terrorists." He adds that the incident appeared in the media but most of the city's nearly 2 million residents have not heard about it. AS in other places in the world, only the Jewish organizations and the pro-Palestinian groups are involved in this debate. To the pro-Palestinians, Khaled is a dignified guest who works to "expose the crimes of the Zionist occupation." Meanwhile, the BDS network, which is very active in Catalonia, welcomed the Barcelona municipality vote, but could not hide its disappointment that the resolution stopped short of explicitly backing BDS. The pro-Palestinian activists often boast about having the support of expatriate Israeli professor Ilan Pappe, who lives in England. According to Pappe, "Israel looks at Europe as a mirror, and seeing someone like Pink Floyd's Roger Waters refusing to perform in Israel makes them feel bad." Benguigui insists that despite everything, the city does a lot to perpetuate the memory of the city's Jewish history. "In everything having to do with the Holocaust or helping the Jewish community, the city demonstrates a high level of sensitivity," he says. In a message to Israeli tourists, Benguigui says that "Barcelona was, and will continue to be a warm place for them. There is absolute tolerance here toward Jews and the locals have a normal view of the excellent influx of Israelis who arrive every morning to visit this amazing city, and also of Israeli investors, mainly in real estate. The problem is only a few politicians." Benguigui appeared in the headlines about a year ago, when he clashed with an MP from the radical pro-Catalan independence party Candidatura d'Unitat Popular. "After an address in parliament, someone from CUP called me 'an external agent' and a 'collaborator with murderers.' He demonstrated utter ignorance, but his party has clout in the municipality," he says. Another important Jewish congregation in the city, Atid, was established in 1992. It is considered more liberal than Benguigui's traditionalist Comunidad Israelita de Barcelona. The Atid congregation is made up primarily of Jews who immigrated to Spain from Morocco in the 1960s and 1970s. The president is Silvia Leida, who represents the approximately 200 Atid families. Speaking to Israel Hayom, she confirms that the various Jewish groups conferred and decided to present a united front in response to recent developments. "We are very angry," she says. "We can't accuse the municipality of anti-Semitism, but its anti-Israel philosophy is disturbing. At Atid, as in the other congregations, we are Zionist, but first and foremost we are Catalan Jews. We don't want to politicize things in any way." She agrees that inviting Khaled, even if the municipality did not expressly approve it, is more offensive than the resolutions adopted by municipal committees, which have no practical application. Are beaches more powerful than politics? Will the outrage against the Barcelona municipality affect the 300,000 Israelis who visit the city every year? It is hard to say. But it seems that the pull of the beaches and the shopping is stronger than any remark made by any local politician. In any case, the Israeli Embassy in Madrid sees the trend as alarming. "Declarations like those made by the Barcelona municipality, just like all calls for anti-Israel boycotts, aren't intended to defend or support the Palestinians and they are not seeking a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," the embassy said in a statement. "The only objective of such initiatives is to demonize Israel. We were surprised and angry to learn that the democratic establishment of a city that most Israelis consider friendly has been dragged into this anti-Israel obsession." If there is one region in Spain that has traditionally supported Israel and the aspirations of the Jewish people it is Catalonia. In the past, the Catalans have been described as "the Jews of Spain." Some used it as a derogatory remark, but the Catalans saw it as a compliment. Israel's relations with Barcelona have been very close, thanks to the sister-city agreement with Tel Aviv. Taking Barcelona's power into account, Israel has appointed Jose Antonio Sanchez Molina as honorary consul. Molina, a member of the Comunidad Israelita de Barcelona, is the founder and owner of one of the most powerful law firms in Catalonia. Though there have been rumors suggesting the congregation would sever ties with the municipality, sources reported that the idea has been struck down. Ultimately, the municipality and the Jews have to keep communicating. Not just because of the past or the future, but also because there is no other way.