Victory celebrated as Israel backs away from Ireland

The closure of their embassy in Dublin has been celebrated by campaigners in Ireland as a sign that the Israeli effort to wipe out the Palestinian population may be on the way to being halted.

The move came after a long campaign to force action on the issue by the Dublin government. Protests and demonstrations throughout this election year have helped bring about Ireland’s recognition of the state of Palestine, and more recently, its support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Among the protests at the embassy over Israel’s killing of more than 45,000 civilians were sit-ins, street demos and, more recently, the projection of consciousness-raising messages on the outside of the building.

The coalition parties remain ambivalent about the use of Irish airspace for the shipment of Israel’s weaponry and the sale of its ‘war bonds’ by the Central Bank. They have failed to honour promises to impose sanctions on Israel, but it was the general direction of Irish policy which was cited earlier this year by Israel as it announced the withdrawal of Ambassador Dana Erlich, and was again blamed this week for its decision to close the embassy.

When asked why he thinks Ireland is being targeted in such a way when other countries hold similar views, the outgoing Taoiseach Simon Harris said Israel had taken different actions in relation to different countries, but the headline-grabbing move against Ireland “works as a distraction,” adding: “What about Israel’s actions? What about what Netanyahu is doing to the innocent children of Gaza?”

He continued: “We will continue to engage diplomatically, but nobody’s going to silence this country. We know right from wrong. We value human rights, we respect international law, we expect international law to be applied consistently.”

He said his government had been “crystal clear” in relation to the need for hostages to be released and its condemnation of Hamas.

“We condemn all attacks on Israel, we say Israel has a right to live in peace and security and a right to defend itself.

“You can say all of those things and still say the next thing, which is, that what the Netanyahu government is doing to innocent civilians in Gaza and in the West Bank is utterly despicable and should be condemned.”

Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar responded by accusing the Taoiseach, one of Israel’s strongest defenders in the Dublin parliament, of “antisemitism”.

Sa’ar also denied his government is using the starvation of Palestinian children as as weapon, one of the charges levelled at Israel at the International Criminal Court, a court which he claimed is “politicised”.

But even Tánaiste Micheal Martin, who has made multiple trips to Israel to lend his personal support to the regime there, including during the genocide, admitted that there had been “huge anger” in Ireland at the “level of killing of innocent men, women and children”.

“What’s happening in northern Gaza at the moment, for example, in my view, is beyond any moral compass. It defies any explanation at this stage,” he said.

“Given how long this war has waged, we’re having daily reports of the killings of children and men and women, and Irish people are repulsed by that. That’s basically the essence of the Irish response.”

Martin called on Israel to “open up” Gaza to the international community and to allow the media in “to bear witness to what is happening”.

“I have no doubt if that happened, that the world would be shocked in terms of the level of destruction that has occurred there, and the absolute need for a fundamental change of approach to now reconstructing and rebuilding Gaza and allowing the ordinary citizens and civilians and Palestinians living in Gaza to get on with some modicum of a life, because at the moment, it’s horrendous.”

Israeli politicians have now accused the entire Irish population of antisemitism - a slur which they have previously directed against organisations such the UN, the Catholic church and Amnesty International. Pro-Israeli social media accounts have been busy posting racist anti-Irish insults, including monkey-style caricatures reminiscent of those used in Victorian Britain.

Speaking at an event to accept the credentials of ambassador of the state of Palestine Jilan Abdaljamid, President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu had repeatedly breached international law and the sovereignty of three of his neighbours.

He went further and said it is a “deep slander” to accuse the Irish people of ‘antisemitism’ simply because they oppose his actions.

He said that at first he put the comments down to a lack of experience, but had since realised the comments were part of a pattern to damage Ireland.

The President, who has himself been smeared and insulted by Israeli politicians and media for his opposition to the genocide, said the details of the tragic breaches of international law had informed the Irish position.

He said that like the Tánaiste and Taoiseach, he wanted to assure the Irish people that the 26 County State would not be deflected.

“I do want to say how strongly I support the statements from [Mr Harris and Mr Martin],” he said, adding they were right in asserting that Ireland was a country that offered principled support to international law.

“Over the years I think it is the Irish psyche that we understand the words ‘dispossession’, ‘occupation’ and so on.

“That why we stress the importance of international law and also particularly in relation to the rights obligations of those who are in occupation on what is occupied territory.”

Irish activists hope the embassy closure may encourage protests against Israel around Europe, such as the announcement on Tuesday of the refusal of the Norwegian soccer team to play an Israeli squad in the World Cup qualifier.

People Before Profit described the closure as an “important victory for all who have marched and protested in solidarity with the people of Palestine and against the Israeli genocide in Gaza” – but also hit out at the diplomatic stance of the Dublin government.

“Simon Harris thinks it’s regrettable Israel has closed its embassy here. What’s actually regrettable is that the Israeli ambassador wasn’t expelled a long, long time ago,” it said in a statement.

“All of us in the Palestine movement need to use this announcement to keep up the pressure and push for more. Those cracks might be small, but they’re growing. Let’s keep pushing.”

Urgent Appeal