This cultural center is located at the monumental Palacio de Cañete, on Calle Mayor, in the heart of Madrid de los Austrias district. It was created on December 18th 2006 by an accord between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Ministry and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI), the Community of Madrid and the Madrid City Council. 

The Centro Sefarad-Israel is a meeting place for the Jewish communities and organizations from Spain and worldwide that wishes to promote the rich Sephardic historical legacy and the political, economical, social and cultural situation of the Jewish people in the world, Israel and Spain. It digs further into the study of the legacy of Sephardic culture as a living and integral part of Spanish culture, fostering a greater understanding of the Jewish culture in the heart of Spanish society and driving the development of ties of friendship and co-operation between Spanish society and Israeli society.

Their installations hold numerous cultural events like exhibitions, lectures and theatre performances.

From 17 January 2022, the Iván de Vargas Municipal Library  has added the collection on loan from the Sefarad-Israel Centre to its catalogue, which is made up of 400 titles on  Jewish and Sephardic culture. This loan forms part of an agreement signed between both institutions in 2021, which aims to disseminate Jewish culture, art and literature in Madrid.  The name assigned to this collection is the Sefarad-Israel Centre Library / Isaac Revah, who was a Jew whose life saved the diplomat, Sebastián Romero, who, in turn, protected a further 366 Jews from Nazi persecution.