Written by Michael Thervil
Photo credit: Cillian Sherlock/PA Wire
The Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar of Israel just made the decision to close its embassy in Dublin, Ireland yesterday (12/15/2024) because of what Israel is calling “extreme anti-Israeli policies of the Irish government”. The question that should come to mind is: “Is the government of Ireland anti-Israeli or is Israel claiming that the government of Ireland is anti-Israeli because that’s what Israel is used to calling people when its detractors and opposing governments don’t share the same perspective that they do?”
The claim can be made that all too often, when Israel runs into anyone or any country that disapproves of its actions, Israel tends to call them anti-sematic. It seems that people around the world have gained the ability to see past this smokescreen for what it is: Israel attempting to apply guilt trip measures onto their detractors, because they were slaughtered by the Nazi’s during the Holocaust like they were the only group of people that faced mass extermination throughout the course of history.
In the case of the Irish government, Israel has deemed them to be anti-Israeli not only because of their support for Gaza, the Palestinian people, and their recognition of a Palestine as a state, but because of their support for South Africa having the courage for initiating legal action against Israeli in the ICJ (International Criminal Court of Justice). Despite the government of Ireland backing both Palestine and South Africa’s position on Israel – the government of Ireland has recently made the statement that they are not “anti-Israel”, but instead are “pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law”. In rebuttal it was reported that Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated that: "Ireland's antisemitic actions and rhetoric against Israel are rooted in delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state and reflect clear double standards”.
While there is a growing sentiment of people and political pundits around the world who are taking the position that a two-state solution regarding Israel and Palestine will never happen, the Irish government holds the position that they are again supportive of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. Earlier this year (May), because of Ireland's stance on Palestine, it also caused several Israeli investors to pull back their interest in investing in Ireland's IT sector.
With Israel closing its embassy in Israel, it leaves any Israeli’s residing or visiting Ireland vulnerable to assaults and other criminal attacks. This is not to say that the Irish government will be turning a blind eye to any acts of violence towards Israeli’s residing in Ireland; but it does place Israeli’s who aren’t Irish citizens in Ireland in an awkward position as they may not have the legal and diplomatic representation required to represent them in Ireland. Backing this position are the words from Irish politician Taoiseach Simon Harris who recently stated that the action taken by Israel to close its embassy is a “deeply regrettable decision". It was reported that Israel is now seeking to open a new embassy in Chișinău, which is the capital of Moldova in the first quarter of 2025. As of now Ireland has no plans to close its embassy in Tel Aviv.
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