On December 15, 2024, Israel lowered the shutters of its embassy in Dublin. Israel’s foreign minister accused Ireland of “anti-Semitic rhetoric” and of crossing “all red lines” in the relationship. Irish Fine Gael Prime Minister Simon Harris quickly rejected the accusations, insisting on Ireland’s position on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. In early May 2024, Ireland joined Spain and Norway in recognizing the Palestinian state. And two weeks ago, Ireland joined South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Ireland thus became the only European country to so anger the Israeli government. But the Irish are happy. Social media is awash with images of T-shirts emblazoned with watermelons (symbols of the black, white, green and red Palestinian flag) and the word “Padistina”.
“I gave my 12-year-old daughter a hair clip in the shape of a sliced watermelon. She wears it to school, and her classmates know what it means.” Maynooth University anthropologist Maile Ní Murda said: A single mother of three, she regularly takes her children to Palestinian solidarity events in the town of Navan, northwest of Dublin. “That’s unthinkable to me. It’s the least I can do.”
Since October 2023, when Israeli forces escalated violence in Gaza, the island nation’s capital has held local demonstrations as well as large rallies at least once a month, each drawing at least 2,000 people. people from other parts of the country also participate. Travel to join them. Many people bring children and pets with them, and some march in wheelchairs. The nearly 2.5-mile rally culminates in a preparation stage with speeches and music by Irish, Palestinian and other musicians. Richard Boyd-Barrett is often seen wearing his trademark black jumper and jeans, and wearing a keffiyeh.
Boyd Barrett, who belongs to the political party People Before Profit (PBP), was re-elected as Teachta Dala (MP) in the November 2024 general election. He was one of ten politicians. He attended a televised election debate between 10 political parties. During the two-hour debate, issues such as cost of living, housing, immigration and infrastructure were actively discussed. The fifth issue, at the halfway point, was about Ireland’s political response to the violence in Palestine.
popular victory
In an interview with The Hindu, Mr Boyd Barrett said it was still a victory for Irish popular solidarity that Palestine was a central issue in the election. “Religious sectarianism was used as a means to force the colonial conquest of Ireland. Genocide occurred in Ireland in the form of a so-called famine, but it was actually a famine enforced by the British Empire. The British Empire systematically discriminated against Catholics in favor of Protestants. But we have seen something similar imposed on the Palestinians, first by the British Empire and then by the Zionist state. There are also incredible similarities with the resistance movements in both places,” he said.
Boyd Barrett added that his party is advocating for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and the imposition of comprehensive sanctions against Israel. Ms Ní Muholder echoed his words, saying that participants in the solidarity movement, particularly those in the national Irish-Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), were disappointed in the centre-right Irish government. “If you compare the Irish government to world leaders, they seem very radical. We wanted the Israeli ambassador expelled, but that didn’t happen. Ambassador Dana Ehrlich was recalled. and then they decided that she would not return to Ireland. The Irish government’s policy under Michael Martin as Foreign Secretary in the previous government was to maintain a constant line of communication with Israel. given,” Dr. Ni Muholdera explained.
One view is that by closing the embassy, the Israeli government is trying to isolate the Irish government and mobilize public opinion in other European countries and the United States to suppress excessive criticism of Israel. Boyd Barrett also said that the Irish government is likely to join forces with South Africa, given that Irish lawyer Bryn Ní Gulalai is widely praised in her home country as part of the team advising South Africa on the ICJ case. I feel like he was trying to save face.
In 1984, two employees at a store in Dublin refused to sell South African grapefruit, citing apartheid policies. This paved the way for Ireland’s Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, making Ireland the first country to impose sanctions against South Africa. The BDS campaign has since been expanded against Israel through various global initiatives.
But Boyd-Barrett said there was a “double standard” on the part of the Irish government, given the immediate imposition of sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine. “In early 2023, before the events of October 7, I met Ursula von der Leyen when she visited the Irish Parliament. If it can be rightly said that there is a right to armed resistance against invasion. , how can we simultaneously condemn Palestinians as terrorists who have taken part in resistance? I am disappointed that the Irish government is committing the same hypocrisy as many other European countries.” He added that the difference was public opinion in Ireland.
Dr Ní Muholder was visiting Lund, Sweden, ahead of the European Union elections in June 2024. She walked into a tent full of vestiges of center-left politics. “But when we started talking about Gaza, educated young people refused to accept it as a genocide. Lund University is inviting speakers from Israel to its graduation ceremony and excluding protesting students. The police were called in to do that. There are better freedoms and some common sense in Ireland,” she said. In April 2024, Trinity College in Dublin made history by becoming the first school in the world to sever ties with Israel after several days of well-coordinated encampment by students and university staff.
Dr. Ni Muholdera has seen the impact of the BDS movement in her town. “We have an active and organized group that is continuously protesting outside[insurance giant]AXA’s offices in Navan. Na BDS It felt like a huge victory for the movement, even on New Year’s Eve, where so many people from my local community were waving Palestinian flags and playing music accompanied by keffiyeh. It was very interesting to learn that he had actually visited Gaza in the past,” she said. He added that previously apolitical people – at least on social media – have begun to express solidarity with Palestine.
Another example of BDS in action is Eoin Hayes, a Social Democrat who was recently elected to Teachta Dala after it was revealed that he sold his stake in a US software company supplying the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He has been suspended from his job.
A key issue during the November 2024 election debate is the government’s decision to pass the Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban and criminalize trade and economic support for illegal settlements in territories considered occupied under international law. It was something that was being held up in order to get it passed in the (Irish Parliament). , most notably Israeli settlements in Israeli-occupied territory. “Foreign policy has always been a central issue for Ireland. We have important economic and political ties with the United States. These are contradictory pressures: a desire to preserve and protect Ireland’s anti-colonial heritage and identification with oppressed peoples around the world; Closely attached to the economic and political elites of America and Europe America’s multinational corporations are here because of the enormous profits they make, and a new diplomacy that refuses to serve simply as a mouthpiece for American or European military adventures. I don’t believe they’re going to leave those interests behind just because they have a policy in place, already in the media and in some government ministers for fear of retaliation and economic repercussions from the Trump administration. “There’s a movement going on that doesn’t want the bill passed,” Boyd-Barrett said.
For now, there are rumors that the former Israeli embassy building will be converted into a Palestinian museum, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Recalling the year he spent in Palestine just before the first intifada in 1987, Boyd Barrett said the museum aptly highlighted the similarities between Ireland and Palestine in their colonial histories, and the recent rise in racism. He said it will serve as an anti-racism educational tool to combat racism. Irish far right.
Dr Ní Muholder is frustrated by the government’s refusal to call Israel an “apartheid” state, but seeks solace in the act of going to protests. “I bumped into a classmate from school during one of the rallies and I had no idea she was a politician. All we were doing was showing solidarity march. It is invigorating to see friends and colleagues there and feel a sense of connection and empowerment.”
Meanwhile, Boyd Barrett said he sees hope in the face of unprecedented global solidarity with the Palestinians, which is educating an entire generation of young people around the world. “Former colonial states like Ireland and India must always stand by the oppressed, reject divide-and-conquer tactics, remember their colonial history, and fight against imperialism, war, and warfare. “We have a special responsibility to be part of the global resistance to colonization,” he said.
(Priyanka Borpujari is a freelance journalist based in Dublin)
issued – January 21, 2025 5:00 AM IST
