Ireland 'one of the most problematic countries in Europe', Jewish group tells Taoiseach
David Young in Washington DC
Jewish representative groups have addressed “antisemitism and vilification of Israel” in Ireland with Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Mr Martin attended a meeting with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Washington DC on Friday.
The engagement came as the Taoiseach “utterly” rejected claims reportedly made by Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, that he was antisemitic.
Mr Martin said it was “absurd” to label him antisemitic and added: “I think there’s an element of deliberate undermining of Ireland’s position and distortion of Ireland’s position in respect of this.”
He said he wanted to have the meeting to present the “prism through which Ireland has looked at the Middle East”.
Senior figures in Israeli politics have accused leaders in the Government of encouraging antisemitism, with the Israeli embassy in Dublin announcing last year that it would close.
Israeli politicians have criticised the State’s decision to intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel, with Dublin asking the International Court of Justice to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes genocide.
In addition, Israel foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar called Mr Martin’s predecessor, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, “antisemitic”.
Mr Harris, who is now Tánaiste as part of coalition arrangements with Mr Martin's Fianna Fáil, has also rejected the characterisation.
After the meeting, the AJC said the groups wanted to directly address concerns about “antisemitism and the demonisation of Israel in Ireland”.
It said Ireland is seen as “one of the most problematic countries in Europe”.
AJC director of international Jewish affairs Rabbi Andrew Baker said: “Antisemitism is pervasive in Ireland, posing serious risks for its 3,000 Jews, many of whom hold Israeli citizenship.
“Alongside physical harassment and attacks, widespread anti-Israel sentiment — including in parts of the government — affects daily life. Jewish school children face bullying, university students encounter hostility, and workplaces are increasingly unwelcoming.”
In the meeting, Mr Baker expressed AJC’s “grave concern over Ireland’s vilification of the State of Israel”, in particular joining the South African case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
It also raised President Michael Higgins’ “attacks on Israel”, and Mr Martin’s “own deeply problematic remarks”.
The AJC said Mr Martin had accused Israel of committing war crimes, pursuing “collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” as well as using “starvation as a weapon of war”.
The group said that Mr Baker explained that these statements are “contributing to antisemitism facing Ireland’s Jews” and urged him to pull back from its engagement with the ICJ.
The ACJ said if such action and statements continue, it will advocate for the US government to “take serious action in response”.
The representative group announced that Mr Martin said Ireland would soon appoint a national coordinator to oversee efforts to counter antisemitism as well as develop a national strategy.
Mr Baker also asked Mr Martin not to pursue the country’s Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
The existing Bill is not in the Government’s published legislative schedule but Mr Martin previously signalled the Government was instead likely to seek to create a new Bill with its required changes.
In a statement, ADL senior vice president for international affairs Marina Rosenberg said the groups met Mr Martin to address the challenges facing the small Irish Jewish community, including “an atmosphere of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias”.
Ms Rosenberg added: “We urged concrete steps including the implementation of the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism and the appointment of a National Coordinator for government policies against antisemitism.
“We expect the Irish government to act swiftly and will be closely monitoring the situation.”
A spokesman for Mr Martin said the engagement was “very positive” and included discussion on “the impact of rising antisemitism on Jewish communities around the world”.
Earlier, the Taoiseach said that Ireland’s approach to the conflict in Gaza is consistent with how it responded to humanitarian crises in Ethiopia, Syria and Lebanon.
“I went to Israel after October 7th in solidarity with the people of Israel, given what happened with that horrific and barbaric attack by Hamas,” Mr Martin said.
“We have consistently condemned Hamas. I’ve called for the unconditional release of hostages from the very beginning.
“We called for an immediate ceasefire, which Israel didn’t like, but as far as we were concerned, the conduct of modern warfare is such that in urban conurbations, it leads to the killing of innocent people and innocent civilians to a degree that was not tenable.
“It was beyond the moral compass that so many families and children were losing their lives, and therefore we wanted a ceasefire as urgently as possible. We wanted a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which is still required.
“It is hell on earth in Gaza and the Irish position is fundamentally a humanitarian one, which is consistent with how we responded to Ethiopia, consistent with how we responded to Syria, consistent with how we’ve always responded to Lebanon.
“So there’s a consistency of approach in the Irish position, and to label it as antisemitic is wrong, false and a deliberate distortion of the truth.”
