Israeli antisemitism claim is ‘a deep slander against Ireland’ – Higgins

Alameen Templeton

Israel’s accusations of antisemitism against Ireland are a “deep slander” intended to damage Ireland because of its support for the Palestinian cause, Ireland’s President Michael D Higgins says.
He vowed the latest onslaught against Ireland, one of the few European countries opposing the Gaza genocide, would not cool its determination to hold Tel Aviv’s politicians and generals responsible for the mass murder.
Higgins was firing back, during a ceremony appointing Ireland’s first Palestinian ambassador, at comments made by Israel. It is shutting its Dublin embassy in protest over being unmasked by Ireland’s government as a genocidal state.
Dublin announced last week it will be joining South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after receiving approval.
A day earlier, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris of antisemitism for accusing Israel of waging a starvation siege against Palestinians.
Saar said: “Ireland’s anti-Semitic Prime Minister Simon Harris said in an interview, ‘Ireland is not anti-Israel but Ireland is absolutely anti the starvation of children.’ Is Israel starving children?”
The United Nations bodies across the board, many national authorities and NGOs in Gaza all confirm children across the strip are suffering from severe malnutrition as a result of Tel Aviv’s siege policy and closure of border crossings. It has waged a starvation siege against Northern Gaza without any restraining hand from its allies.
Higgins would have none of it.
“I think it’s very important to express, as president of Ireland, to say that the Irish people are antisemitic is a deep slander. To suggest because one criticises Prime Minister Netanyahu that one is antisemitic is such a gross defamation and slander,” the Irish president said.
“Originally … I put it down to lack of experience, but I saw later that it was part of a pattern to damage Ireland,” he added, asserting that his country “cannot be knocked off [its] principled support of international law.”
Higgins also slammed Israel’s destructive air raids and ground assaults in Syria and Lebanon as a breach of international law and a violation of the countries’ sovereignty.
A spokesman for Harris, responding to Saar’s accusations said Ireland “remains focused on the horrific war crimes being perpetrated in Gaza, standing up for human rights and international law and reflecting the views of so many people across Ireland who are so concerned at the loss of innocent, civilian lives.”
South Africa’s case at the ICJ was filed in December last year. The court has ruled several times since then that Israel is failing take all necessary actions to prevent genocidal actions in the Gaza Strip.
Despite this, the siege and occupation of Gaza continues with deadly attacks against civilians on a daily basis, and Israel continues to uphold a policy of starvation and expulsion, among numerous other war crimes.
Ireland has been vocal about these crimes since the start of the genocide on 7 October last year. In May, it joined several other countries in officially recognizing Palestinian statehood.
Israel has long weaponized antisemitism as a political tool. In October, Netanyahu even accused the UN of being antisemitic for pressuring Israel to comply with international law in its brutal war against Gaza.
Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives passed a bill labelling criticism of Israel as antisemitic language in a bid to shut down protests at US university campuses against the genocide.