Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has repeatedly taken steps that critics say demonstrate his hostility to the Jewish state. He came under fire Monday for the latest incident: bestowing an award on Francesca Albanese, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the territories, who is seen by many as a notorious antisemite.

At a forum in Doha in February, she gave a video speech wherein she identified Israel as the “common enemy” of humanity. In 2025, she made comments accusing American Jews of faking antisemitic incidents, accusing Israelis of using dogs to rape Arabs and accusing the “Jewish lobby” of subjugating Americans.

In February 2024, she tweeted at French President Emmanuel Macron that Jews on Oct. 7 were “not killed because of their Jewishness, but as a reaction to Israel’s oppression.” In August of that year she compared Israel’s campaign in Gaza to the Holocaust. And in July, she reposted a photo comparing Israel’s prime minister to Adolf Hitler.

Albanese’s comments sparked a furious backlash even among European countries, leading Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany — and even her native country, Italy — to demand her resignation. The United States went further, sanctioning the U.N. official in July 2025.

“The United States has repeatedly condemned and objected to the biased and malicious activities of Albanese that have long made her unfit for service as a special rapporteur,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, explaining the reason for the sanctions. “Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West.”

Sánchez expressed his support for Albanese by asking the European Union to “neutralize” those sanctions. So his latest act of fawning over the Jew hater is part of a pattern.

“It is an honor to award the Order of Civil Merit to a voice that upholds the conscience of the world,” Sánchez posted last week on X. A Spanish outlet reported that she was honored for her “extensive work documenting and denouncing violations of international law in Gaza.”

U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz expressed his outrage on X.

“Any award to Francesca Albanese only shames those who bestow it,” he wrote with evident disgust. “She has rightly been condemned by the U.S. and numerous European countries for her vile antisemitism, illegitimate lawfare, and attempts to undermine the peace efforts in Gaza supported by many Muslim countries.”