By LifeSiteNews (Politics) | Created at 2024-12-20 01:19:01 | Updated at 2024-12-20 07:59:55
7 hours ago
Thu Dec 19, 2024 - 7:33 pm EST
(LifeSiteNews) — Ireland’s highest-ranking politicians are refusing to be intimidated by claims they are “anti-Semitic.”
In May, Ireland joined Norway, Spain and Slovenia in supporting the recognition of a Palestinian state. On December 11, the Irish government announced its backing of a 5,000-page court case brought against Israel by the International Court of Justice. The document accuses the country of committing genocide in its ongoing war in Gaza.
In response, Israel shut down its embassy in the country. Its Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, has also accused Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris of having taken an “extreme anti-Israel policy” rooted in the “delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state.”
Harris, who assumed office in April, has since made public statements indicating he is not backing down from telling the truth.
“What about what Netanyahu is doing to the innocent children of Gaza?” Harris asked at a recent press conference. “Killing children — I think that’s reprehensible.”
“Nobody is going to silence Ireland,” he added.
Irish PM Simon Harris says he regrets Israel’s decision to close its embassy in Ireland, but adds that “nobody is going to silence Ireland,” a country that has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks. pic.twitter.com/3MQDSxATJD
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) December 16, 2024
Harris, who is only 38, notably led the fight for the legalization of abortion in his country after running for office as a pro-life candidate in the early 2010s.
Harris’ comments were echoed by current pro-abortion Irish President Michael D. Higgins.
It is a “deep slander” of the Irish people to accuse them of being anti-Semitic simply because they disagree with Benjamin Netanyahu, Higgins said this week.
Netanyahu is “in breach of so many bits of international law and the sovereignty of three of his neighbors,” he added.
President Michael D Higgins has said that to say the Irish people are anti-Semitic is a “gross defamation and slander”, and it is a “very serious business” to do so simply because people disagree with the actions of the Israeli Prime Minister.
Read more: https://t.co/hXpBuN3cHp pic.twitter.com/8axNrZ6YOB
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 17, 2024
The diplomatic row has set off a firestorm of acrimony between the two counties’ supporters on social media. Dozens of videos and memes have made the rounds on X of supporters for both sides of the conflict.
Ireland stands proudly as a country against genocide.
Our stance against apartheid, illegal occupation & ethnic cleansing has led to this decision.
To present it as anything else is fundamentally dishonest, something we have come to expect from this brutal Israeli government. https://t.co/6B2fIxXcYe
— John Finucane MP (@johnfinucane) December 15, 2024
The Irish 🇮🇪 in Dublin celebrating Israel 🇮🇱 closing their embassy.
Singing:
“Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio”
Ireland 🇮🇪 stands with the oppressed
Ireland 🇮🇪 stands with Palestine 🇵🇸
🇮🇪 🤝 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/31N6F8jnio
— Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) December 19, 2024
The idea of Israel winning a public relations war with Ireland is high comedy to anyone who has spent time among backpackers from both countries pic.twitter.com/3AjavJU2U2
— Electric Railfan (@WashletJP) December 17, 2024
Dublin, Ireland ♥️ pic.twitter.com/mgMEqLkoCn
— Gaza Under Attack_🇵🇸 (@Palestine001_) December 19, 2024
Harris has since said that he is not anti-Israel but that Ireland is “absolutely anti-starvation of children, is absolutely anti-killing of civilians and is absolutely pro-peace, pro-international law and pro-human rights. The situation in Gaza and the West Bank is deeply appalling and concerning.”
Irish PM on Israel closing its embassy in Dublin:
“Ireland is not anti-Israeli. But Ireland is absolutely anti- starvation of children, is absolutely anti-killing of civilians and is absolutely pro-peace, pro-international law and pro-human rights. The situation in Gaza and the… pic.twitter.com/tL3SMLN3FP
— The Thursday Times (@thursday_times) December 15, 2024
On Monday, LifeSite journalist Patrick Delaney reported that a comprehensive, 296-page document released last Thursday by Amnesty International found that Israel “has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.”
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