מכתב גלוי לשגריר ספרד

May 23, 2010

Mr. Álvaro Iranzo
Ambassador of Spain to the State of Israel
Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Your Excellency,

As your countrymen grieve over the wounding of matador Julio Aparicio, I write to you to voice my utmost indignation.

Bullfighting is a crime. That an entire nation is accomplice makes this crime only uglier. An animal is kept in the dark for several days, drugged and nearly blinded, then dragged to the light and aggravated to the point of amok by a gang of pompously-dressed thugs armed with swords four times longer than their victim's horns, and then tortured and slaughtered for the bloodthirsty rabble's applaud. This, Sir, is a sickening travesty of what decent humans call sport. The rarity of accidents like that of yesterday attests to the real nature of bullfighting: Machismo, disguising sadism and cowardice. Equally conspicuous is the authorities' motive for maintaining it: Greed.

Today, barely spared a stupid human sacrifice, your nation and its royal palace, government, church, courts, media, academy and educational system, ought to succumb to only one sentiment, shared by all civilized people: Shame! Shame on Spain! Shame on the Hispanic culture!

It is unbelievable that now, 2010, you Spaniards still have to be told these things. And told you shall be, till you abolish this sordid heritage.

Sincerely,
Avshalom C. Elitzur