President fights back against Israeli smears

Irish President Michael D Higgins has said accusations that those who criticise the policies of the Israeli government are “anti-Semitic” is a slander.

He said the slander had been used against Ireland and individuals including himself - and that those who have spoken out against the Israeli army’s actions had been subjected to an online propaganda campaign.

He was speaking at an event in the Phoenix Park, Dublin organised by the Irish Food Board, Bord Bia.

The President said there was “an active campaign against Ireland”, particularly in the United States, over the increasing anger in Ireland over the genocide in Gaza.

Mr Higgins, who last visited Gaza in 2006, was critical of the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, saying it was an “entirely unaccountable body”.

On three separate occasions, Palestinians attempting to access aid provided by the foundation have been shot at by Israeli soliders. At least 64 people have been killed in the past week.

Mr Higgins said people “who have worked all their lives in relation to human rights activity” have been accused of anti-Semitism.

“I think it has been given too much space.

“The idea that propaganda can pay against Ireland is now active in the United States, so that when we are seeking to have meetings with people who are investing in Ireland, they are being contacted in advance [to support Israel].”

He also repeated comments in which he urged the UN General Assembly to use its special powers to act in Gaza.

“Now is the time, today is the day for food and medical aid and water to be made available,” he said.

Higgins has repeatedly criticised the Israeli blockade that is stopping humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. He previously condemned the forced starvation being endured by the people of Gaza in remarks made at the National Famine Commemoration in Kilmallock, County Limerick.

Higgins was the keynote speaker at the commemoration late last month. In his speech, he compared the detrimental impact that the Great Famine – or An Gorta Mór – which decimated the Irish population to the use of starvation as an “instrument of war” the Middle East.

“ As peoples in countries such as Yemen and Sudan suffer hunger and famine created by conflict, so many additional deaths are caused by blockages to food and medical aid. The consequences of a forced starvation in Gaza are daily on our television screens.

“In relation to Gaza, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres stated recently: “As aid dries up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened. […] Gaza is a killing field – and civilians are in an endless death loop”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin agreed with President Michael D Higgins’s assertion that there is a concerted Israeli campaign to damage Ireland because of this country’s support for Palestine.

There was also an attempt to smear the President for speaking out, he said, and an online campaign to “smear” Ireland.

“I think the President has been subject to some of that as well. I find that regrettable, because he’s been a very consistent supporter of Holocaust Day and remembrance. Some of his best friends in life were people who suffered at the hands of the Nazis.”

Mr Higgins is “a very fair-minded person, but because he took a stance on Gaza there was an unwelcome focus on him as well, which was partisan and not fair or balanced”.

The Irish people are sickened by the barbarity and scale of what is happening to the Palestinian people, the Taoiseach said. There was “absolute, total, barbaric destruction of Gaza”.

Irish opposition to the genocide continues to force its way into the public eye globally amid a continuing furore over the public protests of the Kneecap rap band.

Now a viral video has appeared online of MMA fighter Paddy McCorry shouting “Free Palestine” at his Israeli opponent during a high-stakes bout in Rome. Mr McCorry, from west Belfast, defeated Israel’s Shuki Farage in the event on Saturday night.

The audience could also be heard chanting “Free, free Palestine” as the fight reached its climax.

When he was announced as the unanimous winner, McCorry held the Palestine flag aloft and again shouted in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Hundred of events in support of Palestine continue to take place across Ireland every week - please see ipsc.ie for details.

Urgent Appeal