I N T R O D U C T I O N T O V O L U M E 1 3 l x i x the “entire Jerusalem intelligentsia.” On the eve of his departure, Einstein noted in his diary: “I am absolutely wanted in Jerusalem and am being assailed on all fronts in this regard. The heart says yes but reason says no” (Doc. 379, [p. 38v]). The Einsteins departed Jerusalem early in the morning of 14 February. They changed trains twice, at Lod and at Kantara, and then arrived back in Port Said, where they undertook some local sightseeing. On 16 February, they embarked on the Ormuz and traveled to Toulon, where they disembarked three days later and continued by train to Barcelona. At least two attempts to invite Einstein to Spain preceded his lecture tour in late February and early March 1923.[46] In April 1920, the Argentinian mathematician Julio Rey Pastor had invited him to give a series of lectures in Madrid and Barce- lona. Einstein apparently agreed, yet the trip did not materialize. More than a year later, in July 1921, the mathematician Esteban Terradas é Illa invited Einstein to lecture at the University of Barcelona during the winter or spring semester. How- ever, Einstein declined, hoping to visit in 1922–1923.[47] Coming at the end of a long and intense trip halfway around the world, Ein- stein’s diary entries for the Spanish leg of his journey are sparse. However, the local press covered the visit in great detail. His welcome in Barcelona on 22 February was low-key, since he had not informed his hosts of his arrival until the previous day. Einstein gave three lectures on relativity at the Institut d’Estudios Catalans, sponsored by the Catalan regional authority. Catalan nationalist symbols were dis- played prominently at the events. Einstein met with senior Catalan politicians, toured innovative schools, and attended a reception in his honor at City Hall. He also lectured at the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona on the phil- osophical consequences of relativity. He met with a delegation of the anarcho- syndicalist Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, after which he was quoted as hav- ing said that “I too am a revolutionary, but in the area of science.” The statement was quickly and widely disseminated in the press, yet in a subsequent interview, Einstein denied having said any such thing. He met with the German consul who reported to Berlin that Einstein appeared “always as a German, not as a Swiss.”[48] A large crowd attended his arrival in Madrid on 1 March. Both the Universidad Central of Madrid science faculty and the College of Physicians sent delegations. The German ambassador, Ulrich von Hassell, representatives of the German com- munity, and the press were also in attendance. The next day, Einstein toured Madrid and visited the laboratory of physicist Blas Cabrera. On 3 March, he was welcomed by the mayor of Madrid, Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez. That evening, he delivered the first of three lectures at the Universidad Central, followed by a banquet hosted by the College of Physicians. The other lectures were given on 5 and 7 March.