He nevertheless had the gall to accuse the Prime Minister of Ireland of being a bigot, closing the Israeli embassy in Dublin on the grounds that he views virtually all Irish people as racists. Hmm. There must be a word for when you negatively stereotype an entire people…

Likely the move came in response to Ireland’s recent decision to join in South Africa’s complaint against Israel for genocide with the International Court of Justice. Even more dangerous for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and Gideon Saar, Ireland is seeking a more practicable definition of genocide. Current international legislation puts too much emphasis on intent and sets the bar for finding genocide so high it is almost impossible to meet.

Deputy Prime Minister Micheál Martin complained, “a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimised.” He said the Irish view of the genocide convention is “broader” and prioritizes “the protection of civilian life.”

Some things about Saar should be remembered. In his youth he was a member of the far right Tehiya Party and he actively protested the 1982 Israeli withdrawal from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as a result of the Camp David peace accords. In other words, Saar has all his life held anti-Arab views and he wants to occupy and colonize the lands of his neighbors. The United Nations Charter, to which Israel is a signatory, forbids acquiring the territory of neighbors through aggressive war, but that was what Israel did in 1967 when it launched an invasion of Egypt, which had not militarily attacked it.

As Interior Minister, Saar rounded up African migrants in Israel and put them in a detention camp. He defended it and wanted to expand it. The camp was just for Africans. Hmm. There must be a word for when you target a particular racial group for collective punishment …

Saar opposed then President Trump’s “Deal of the Century” because it implied some form of a Palestinian state. Saar says Israel must remain the only state “from the river to the sea” (alert American university presidents, who seem to think this diction is racist). He firmly rejects any state for a Palestinian, insisting that they must remain stateless and under Israeli control forever. He says there can never be “two states for two peoples.” He wants to annex much of the Palestinian West Bank, a violation of international law. He considers Hebron (al-Khalil), a major Palestinian city in the Palestinian West Bank, to be part of Israel.

He said that Gaza “must be smaller” after the war, another advocacy of a war crime.

Let’s just imagine an American politician who wanted to occupy Manitoba or Tijuana militarily, who rounded up migrants and put them in camps, and who declared that there can be only one sovereign country in North America and it must be White. Those would be the US equivalents of Saar’s politics. Those politics, in our context, would be forthrightly characterized by everyone as racist.

It is one of the great ironies of our time that a man with these views can have the temerity to brand Irish President Michael D Higgins and Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Simon Harris racist bigots who are prejudiced against Jews.

Higgins gave as good as he got, saying “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.”

Juan Cole, “Pot’o’Gold,” Digital, Dream / Dreamland v. 3, 2024

Higgins came to the same realization as everyone else who has been gaslighted by right-wing Zionists with their phony (and cynical) charges of Jew-hatred whenever anyone objects to Israeli war crimes:

“Originally… I put it down to lack of experience but I saw later that it was part of a pattern to damage Ireland.”

It is sort of like if families of victims murdered by mid-twentieth-century Vegas hit man Bugsy Siegel were accused of only complaining because they didn’t like Jews.

Higgins insisted that Ireland “cannot be knocked off our principle[d] support of international law.” He pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the one who has broken international law. [The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.]

The Irish president pointed out that the Israeli government is currently violating “the sovereignty of three of his neighbours.” That would be Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. If Saar had his way it would be four, and would include Egypt.

Higgins made the remarks as he accepted the credentials of the new Palestinian ambassador to Ireland. Ireland, Spain and Norway reacted to Israel’s Gaza genocide by recognizing the state of Palestine last May.

The Irish equivalent of The Onion, WW News, made up some amusing reactions. They had one person, asked about the departure of the Israeli embassy from Dublin, say, “Is this the first time the Israeli government has actually given up property?”

Another joke: “Since the embassy will be going spare, we can probably let Palestinian refugees move in?”*

—–

*Revised.

To truly appreciate the recent decision by Ireland, Spain and Norway to recognise the State of Palestine, the subject has to be placed in proper context.

On 15 November, 1988, Yasser Arafat, then Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, declared Palestine as an independent state.

The proclamation took place within important and unique contexts:

One, the Palestinian uprising of December 1987, which ignited international support and sympathy with the Palestinian people.

Two, growing expectations that the Palestinian leadership needed to match the popular Intifada in the Occupied Territories with a political program so as not to squander the global attention obtained by the uprising.

There were other issues that are also worth a pause, including the growing marginalization of the PLO as the main political front of the Palestinian struggle.

This irrelevance was the natural political outcome of the forced exile of the PLO leadership from Lebanon to Algeria in 1982, which largely severed the connection between this leadership and an influential Palestinian constituency.

Though Arafat’s announcement was made in Algiers, Palestinians in Occupied Palestine and across the world rejoiced. They felt that their leadership was, once more, directly involved in their struggle, and that their Intifada which, by then, had cost them hundreds of precious lives, had finally acquired some kind of political horizon.

The countries that almost immediately recognised the State of Palestine reflected the geopolitical formation at the time: Arab and Muslim countries, which fully and unconditionally recognized the nascent state. Additionally, there were countries in the Global South which expressed their historic solidarity with the Palestinian people.

A third category, which also mattered greatly, was represented by countries in Asia and eastern Europe – including Russia itself – which revolved within the Soviet sphere, posing a direct challenge to American hegemony and Western militarism and expansionism.

Soon after the Algiers Declaration, the geopolitics of the world received its greatest shock since World War II, namely the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent fragmentation of pro-Soviet states, thus the isolation of the Global South amid growing Western hegemony.

That, too, had a direct impact on Palestine. Though Arafat and his PLO made their fair share of mistakes and political miscalculations – leading to the Oslo Accords, the formation of the Palestinian Authority and the fragmentation of the Palestinian front itself – the Palestinian leadership’s options, from a strict geopolitical analysis, were quite limited.

Back then, the PLO had one out of two options: either to continue with the struggle for freedom and independence based on the national liberation model or to adopt a purely political approach based on negotiations and supposed ‘painful compromises’.  They opted for the latter, which proved to be a fatal mistake.

Political negotiations can be rewarding when the negotiating parties have leverage. While Israel had the leverage of being the occupying power and receiving unconditional support from the US and its Western allies, the Palestinians had very little.

Therefore, the outcome was as obvious as it was predictable. The PLO was sidelined in favour of a new political entity, the PA, which redefined the concept of political leverage altogether, to essentially mean direct financial benefits to an Israeli-sanctioned ruling class.

Since 1988, more countries recognised the State of Palestine, though that recognition remained largely confined within the geopolitical formations at each phase of history. For example, between 2008 and 2011, more South American countries recognized Palestine, a direct outcome of new and assertive political independence achieved in that part of the world.

Guardian News Video: “Ireland, Norway and Spain recognise Palestine as independent state”

In 2012, Palestine was voted by the United Nations General Assembly as a non-member observer state, allowing it to officially use the name ‘State of Palestine’ for all political purposes.

All Palestinian efforts, since then, have failed to overcome the power paradigm that continues to exist at the UN, separating the UNGA from those with veto power at the Security Council.

The events of 7 October, and the genocidal war that followed, have certainly ushered in a massive global movement that challenged the pre-existing geopolitical paradigm regarding Palestine.

If the war, however, had taken place, say ten years ago, the global response to the Palestinian plea for solidarity may have been different. But this is not the case, since the world is itself experiencing a major state of flux. New rising global powers have been boldly challenging, and changing, the world’s status quo geopolitics for years. This includes Russia’s direct confrontation with NATO in Ukraine, China’s rise to global power status, the growing influence of BRICS and the more assertive African and South American political agendas.

For its part, the Gaza war has also challenged the concept of military power as a guarantor of permanent dominance. This is now obvious in the Middle East and also globally.

The latter realisation has finally allowed for new, significant margins to appear, allowing Western European countries to finally accept the reality that Palestine deserves to be a State, that the Palestinian aspirations must be honoured and that international law must be respected.

Now, the challenge for Palestinians is whether they will be able to utilise this historic moment to the fullest degree. Hopefully, the precious blood spilled in Gaza would prove more sacred than the limited financial gains by a small group of politicians.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor or Informed Comment.

Via Middle East Monitor .

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

The prime minister or Taoiseach of Ireland, Simon Harris, proclaimed, “Ireland’s decision is about keeping hope alive. It is about believing that a two-state solution is the only way for Israel and Palestine to live side by side in peace and security.”

The Irish government called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

In his speech to parliament or the Dáil, Harris said,

“Last week, I expressed that recognition sends a message to those in Palestine who advocate and work for a future of peace and democracy. We fully respect your aspirations to be living freely in your own country, in control of your own affairs under your own leadership.

“In lockstep with our European colleagues, we aimed to be bearers of hope. We wanted to reaffirm our belief that peace is possible, justice is achievable, and that recognition of both states, Palestine and Israel, is the only cornerstone upon which that peace must be built. You cannot have a two-state solution without two states.

“We have long recognized the State of Israel and its right to exist in peace and security within internationally agreed borders.

“Today, we equally recognize the State of Palestine and its right to exist within internationally agreed borders. So, I want to conclude today by reiterating my statement from last week to the people of Palestine in the West Bank, in Gaza, in refugee camps, in exile, and those who joined us in the Dáil today and around the world.

“Here in Ireland, we see you, we recognize you, we respect you, and today Ireland formally recognizes the state of Palestine. Thank you.”

The center-right Irish government usually defers to the United States in foreign policy and it had repeatedly refused to impose sanctions on Israel for its long term occupation of the Palestinians. It is clear that the Israeli total war on Gaza for the past nearly 9 months, and the way in which the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly thumbed its nose at international legal institutions, was what changed Irish minds.

Harris went so far as to broach sanctions on Israel in reaction to Sunday evening’s bombing of a refugee tent camp in what had been declared a safe zone, which set fires that devoured some 45 persons, according to the BBC:

“Overnight we have seen Israel attack a displaced person centre, a place where parents were told to flee with their children, and they bombed it.

“In relation to sanctions, I don’t think anything can be off the table when it comes to Israel, particularly with what we’re seeing currently happening in Rafah now, when we’re seeing the international community being ignored, when we’re seeing international courts being ignored.”

PM Harris also condemned rising violence by Israeli squatters on Palestinian land against the indigenous population in the occupied West Bank, saying, “In today’s West Bank we see an extreme form of Zionism fuel settler violence and appropriation of land, illegal actions that largely go unchecked.”

The idea of sanctioning Israel had been earlier pushed by the opposition left wing party, Sinn Fein. Member of Parliament Matt Carthy, speaking a few days ago, had said, ““The state that we will now officially recognise has long endured oppression, occupation and apartheid. Today the people of Gaza face a relentless genocide . . . Israel must be held to account and meaningfully sanctioned for the ongoing gross violations of international law in Gaza and across Palestine.”

It is an impressive achievement for Netanyahu to have brought the whole spectrum of Irish politics, from the center right to the left, together.

The deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Micheál Martin, said, according to Euronews, “Today’s decision by the Government represents our conviction that a political way forward is the only way to break the cycle of dispossession, subjugation, dehumanisation, terrorism and death that has marred the lives of Israelis and Palestinians for decades.”

Martin also excoriated Israel for the Rafah tent strike, calling it “barbaric,” according to the BBC:

“I condemn the violence . . . The rockets that were struck at Tel Aviv and the heinous attack on the Rafah tent refugee camp where innocent children and civilians were killed. What we witnessed last night is barbaric. Gaza is a very small enclave, densely populated conurbation.”

“One cannot bomb an area like that without shocking consequences in terms of innocent children and civilians.”

Martin predicted that more member states of the 27-state European Union will join in recognizing Palestine. Prior to Tuesday, Sweden, Cyprus, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria had recognized Palestine; for the eastern Europeans, that step was taken when they were Socialist states. Slovenia and Belgium are already weighing this decision. Countries get enormous pressure, and threats, from Israel and the United States to keep the Palestinians stateless and helpless and to de facto perpetuate the Apartheid situation imposed by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

In a formal statement posted to “X,” Martin said,

“Today’s Government decision authorises the establishment of full diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine. Subject to the formal request from the Palestinian authorities, the Government will upgrade the status of the Palestinian Mission in Ireland to that of an Embassy, and authorise the appointment of an Ambassador from the State of Palestine to Ireland.

“Our decision today also authorises the upgrading of the current Representative Office of Ireland in Ramallah to an Embassy.

“Recognition of Palestine is not the end of a process; it is the beginning. We are deeply committed to the pursuit of peace and support for Palestinian state-building. Ireland has reaffirmed this commitment over many decades, through intensive diplomacy and our long-standing development cooperation programme.

“It is vital that the Palestinian Authority is given the full backing of the international community in its reform and service delivery efforts and we will redouble our energies to this end.

“In recent days, I have held substantive discussions on the path ahead with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and engaged with European and Arab partners on the Arab Peace Vision as a meaningful way forward in achieving peace.

“Ireland will continue to work closely with the Palestinian Authority, and our EU and international partners, in creating a political path that can stop this horrific conflict and humanitarian disaster, ensure the release of all hostages, and realise the vision of a sovereign, independent Palestinian State existing alongside the State of Israel in peace and security.”

The Irish cabinet will begin to frame a Declaration of Intervention to be submitted after South Africa sends in its own memorial case in a few months. The center-right coalition government had been under pressure by the opposition to join the complaint since January. Deputy Prime Minister (Tánaiste) and Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said on Thursday of Israel’s refusal to allow sufficient food into Goza,

“It is criminal. It is absolutely a scandal that children are malnourished, that half a population is facing famine and others in terms of food insecurity. There is no need for this. There’s excessive checking at the borders. I spoke [on Thursday] morning to Ayman Safadi, the Foreign Minister in Jordan, spoke to Egyptian [Foreign Minister] Sameh Shoukry and I spoke to the Palestinian Prime Minister [on Wednesday] also. They’re telling me the situation is dire. Absolutely catastrophic.

I will appeal to Israel to show humanity in terms of enabling the essentials of life to get into Gaza for the civilian population.”

On Wednesday Martin had slammed Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack, but many of his critiques addressed the disproportionate Israeli response.

He said, “The taking of hostages. The purposeful withholding of humanitarian assistance to civilians. The targeting of civilians and of civilian infrastructure. The indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The use of civilian objects for military purposes. The collective punishment of an entire population. The list goes on. It has to stop. The view of the international community is clear. Enough is enough. The UN Security Council has demanded an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and the lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale. The European Council has echoed this call.”

Martin admitted, “intervention as a third party in a case before the International Court of Justice is a complex matter and is relatively rare. It is for the Court to determine whether genocide is being committed.”

Hindustan Times Video: “After UNSC, More Trouble For Israel At ICJ? Ireland Declares It’s Entering ‘Gaza Genocide’ Case ”

On Thursday, the International Court of Justice issued “additional provisional measures” regarding the Israel campaign against Gaza.

These further measures were as follows:

“The State of Israel shall, in conformity with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and in view of the worsening conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza, in particular the spread of famine and starvation:

– 2 –

(a) Unanimously,

Take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza, including by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary;

(b) By fifteen votes to one,

Ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance . . .

(3) By fifteen votes to one,

Decides that the State of Israel shall submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to this Order, within one month as from the date of this Order.”

Since the court’s judgment, which this decision confirms, Israel actually cut in half the number of aid trucks allowed to enter Gaza each day. UN and NGO workers on the ground in Gaza warn of catastrophic famine that could begin any time from now through May unless more food is allowed in. The Israeli officials routinely lie and maintain that they are letting in all the aid that is needed (apparently they take the world for fools).

The office of outgoing Irish Prime Minister (Taoseach) Leo Varadkar warmly endorsed the new court order, saying:

“Given the very serious conditions faced by Palestinians in Gaza, the additional provisional measures announced today by the International Court of Justice are welcome. They require the unhindered provision at scale of humanitarian assistance, including food, water and medicine into Gaza. They also require Israel to ensure that its military does not prevent, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed aid. Israel must immediately comply.”

Irish President Michael D Higgins issued in a statement on Thursday evening concerning the ICJ decree: “Today’s new order by the International Court of Justice that Israel ensure the unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance – including food, water and medicine – and open more land crossings in order to prevent the spread of famine and starvation cannot be ignored.

“It is now not morally acceptable that a single voice would be silent in the European Union or international community, all countries must do all that they can to ensure the immediate delivery of aid, a ceasefire and the release of all hostages in line with this week’s UN Security Council resolution.”

It should be noted that these strong sentiments are being expressed by politicians from Ireland’s center-right coalition government, individuals who have often refused to take a harsh stand against Israel or to boycott it. Some have opposed a bill to ban the importation of goods from Israeli squatter-settlements on Palestinian land.

Now they are talking about Israel as “criminal” and “a scandal” and pleading with Tel Aviv to “show some humanity.” And they are weighing in against Netanyahu at the ICJ as a genocidaire.

Also on Friday, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a Jordanian resolution sponsored by 22 Arab countries calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. 120 countries out of 193 voted for the resolution, as 45 abstained and only 14 voted against, including the United States, Israel, and some tiny Pacific islands that the US bribes to vote with Washington.

The resolution was warmly backed by Ireland’s Micheál Martin, Tánaiste [deputy prime minister], Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence.

In a speech given on Friday, Mr. Martin said, “Tonight, Ireland supported the UN General Assembly Resolution on the crisis in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. The dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip requires the international community to speak strongly. The resolution emphasises the urgent need for humanitarian assistance which civilians in Gaza so desperately need.”

Gaza requires 500 trucks of aid a day, since it is blockaded by Israel. A little over 50 trucks have been permitted into the Strip since the October 7 Hamas atrocities and war crimes.

On Thursday, Ireland’s Taoseach [Prime Minister], Leo Varadkar attended a European Union summit where he also pressed, along with Spain, for the 27-nation organization to call for a ceasefire. They did not, with Israel hawks Germany and Austria objecting, though the summit communique did speak of the need for humanitarian pauses so aid could get in to Palestinian non-combatants.

Varadkar said he understood where Germany and Austria were coming from, given that the Holocaust took place on their soil. He added, however, that the EU was moderating its position: “If you went back to three weeks ago, it appeared that the European Union was supporting Israel without any equivocation or qualification – that changed a week or so ago to continuing to support Israel’s right to defend itself but emphasising the supremacy of international law, humanitarian law, to yesterday, 27 countries calling for a pause to allow aid to get in and to allow citizens and hostages to get out. So I think you’re seeing an evolving position there.”

Sinn Féin: “Israel’s brutal bombardment of Gaza must end”

The typical Israeli government tactic of attempting to smear supporters of Palestinian rights as terrorists did not spare the entire country of Ireland. An official in the Israeli embassy in Dublin falsely claimed that Ireland had helped finance the Hamas tunnels under Gaza. According to BreakingNews: “Adi Ophir Maoz, the deputy head of mission for the Israeli Embassy in Ireland, made the claim on X, formerly Twitter.” Ms Maoz wrote: “Ireland wondering who funded those tunnels of terror? A short investigation direction – 1. Find a mirror. 2. Direct it to yourself. 3. Voilà.” The posting was taken down when it became clear that the allegation was false. The Israeli embassy implicitly reprimanded Ms. Maoz, saying that her posting did not reflect Israeli policies.

On Thursday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin warned Israel against violations of international humanitarian law. He said, the “entire population of Gaza can’t be collectively punished.” He added, “Israel’s perspective is that Hamas hides behind the population of Gaza and has its infrastructure, but you can’t bomb entire residential blocks to get at them.” He continued, “I think Israel has a right to go after Hamas and deal with Hamas. The issue is how what methodology do you use, and proportionality.”

Martin insisted, “The population can’t be collateral damage to the degree it is now.” He added, “International humanitarian law exists for a reason.”

“If you keep bombing Gaza, you will generate more martyrs for the future. You will create a more hardline radicalised extreme position. Moderation has not been supported within the Palestinian community to the way it should have been over last number of years – with the result that the Palestinian Authority now is less credible within its own ranks in the West Bank and is under pressure from more radical elements.”

He branded this outcome a “fundamental strategic failure of Israel and others.” He concluded, “When this conflict is over, Europe has to become more influential and effective. We can’t leave it to the US all the time.”

Orono, Maine (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – There were elements in Ireland whose anger against Britain overwhelmed any other sentiment. Three hundred years of settler colonialism, dispossession and denigration of language, culture, and religion, left a legacy of deep-seated resentment.  I was born in Donegal, part of the province of Ulster, and often heard my father’s smoldering resentment at the historical traumas still raw in Ulster up to the 1998 Peace Accord when the Easter Friday agreement allowed Indigenous Irish Nationalists to experience the same civil rights as British Loyalists.

I had rebelled at my father’s one-sided view of history, which considered one nation as the source of all evil as it pertained to Ireland. But after reading and reflecting on 17^th century Irish history that involved three invasions from England resulting in a 40% reduction of the native population and then a million Irish starving to death in the Great Hunger of the mid-19th century in a famine that could have been averted if not for the English policy of “laissez-faire”. I then read insightful books by Caroline Elkin on Britain’s colonialism in Kenya and Thomas Dalrymple on Britain in India and gradually came to a better understanding of my father’s perspective.

It was not until the late 19^th century that Prime Minister Gladstone helped to enact legislation to free the indigenous Irish from the onerous and exacting rents that had supported a landlord system which had seen the majority of the wealth of the country siphoned into British and Anglo-Irish hands.

It was during the WWI postwar period that Britain enacted the Balfour Declaration which gave tacit approval to Zionism, thus allowing an influx of Jewish immigrants into Israel. In the Declaration only a couple of phrases were given over to acknowledging that the Indigenous Palestinians needed to be treated fairly. 

By 1930 the Jewish population was one third of the population of Israel but only owned 7% of the land. By 1935 Haifa had a majority Jewish population. In the early 1930s PM Ramsey McDonald admitted that Jewish settlements in Palestine was the purpose of the League of Nations Mandate. 

David Ben-Gurion in 1934 stated: “The Palestinian Arabs will not be sacrificed so that Zionism might be realized. According to our conception of Zionism, we are neither desirous nor capable of building our future in Palestine at the expense of Arabs…”

With the onslaught of WWII and the tragedy of the holocaust, funds from Europe and an annual subsidy of $3 billion worth of weapons from the U.S. Israel population substantially increased. But this was not the case with the Palestinians. Their land continued to contract as dispossession became normalized.  The result was a further marginalization of the Indigenous Palestinians and their desperation as the Jewish leadership, in league with the Israeli settlers in the West Bank, found even more ways to expropriate Palestinian land.

As was the case in Ireland and the Americas in the 17^th and 18^thcenturies, the victims of land expropriation were blamed for resisting or fighting back. In Israel’s case any criticism concerning the dispossession of Palestinian land was seen as anti-Israel or anti-Semitic.  Peace groups, such as Gush Shalom, founded in 1993 by Uri Avnery, have decried the illegal taking of land by settlers in the West Bank. Gush Shalom does not believe in the “so called national consensus” which it considers to be based on misinformation. It wishes “to establish an independent and sovereign State of Palestine”. 

David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister suggested in a 1918 book that the “fellahin [indigenous rural villagers] are descended from ancient Jewish and Samaritan farmers”, In more recent years, genetic studies have demonstrated that, at least paternally, “Jewish ethnic divisions” and the Palestinians are related to each other. Genetic studies on Jews have shown that Jews and Palestinians are closer to each other than the Jews are to their host countries. Given this genetic proximity to each other, one would think that fair dealing and genuine rapprochement would be honored and encouraged. 

The Israeli historian, Ihan Pappe, who explored Palestinian issues, wrote in “The Forgotten Palestinians”:  that “the policy towards the Palestinian minority was determined by a security minded group of decision makers and executed by Ben Gurion’s unfailingly ruthless advisors on Arab affairs, who were in favor of expelling as many Palestinians as possible and confining the rest within well-guarded enclaves”.

In the present time we are faced with the brutal attack by the extremist militant group, Hamas, who emerged from Gaza with incredible fury and slaughtered hundreds of Israeli people. These horrific acts have brought upon themselves, and hundreds of thousands of civilians, terrible consequences, as Israeli military forces, supported by American weapons, have caused death and injury to many innocent victims; 40% are estimated to be children. Did Hamas really consider the terrible retribution that would be exacted when they undertook their fool-hardy act? 

The historical causes of conflict in Gaza still have to be faced despite this atrocity. But this disproportionate bombing of civilians in response to Hamas horrific acts, do not take into account the children of Gaza, who have already been traumatized by ten Israeli military assaults between 2006 and 2023. In just one of these assaults in 2008 1,417 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths took place.  

Thousands are now suffering injury and death in Gaza. It was estimated that at least 500 children have died from Israeli air strikes on Gaza. This disproportionate response to Hamas may also have the purpose of compelling Palestinians to leave their ancestral land. Dispossession by whatever means is an ancient tactic, whether taking place in Ireland or in the expropriating of Indigenous land from Native Americans. 

In the 21^st century reconciliation groups have sprung up all over the U.S. and Canada to help redress and atone for the deep traumas caused by dispossession, as well as by the Residential school system. Israel still has time to change its policies and follow the recommendations of Gush Shalom: to “safeguard the security of both Israel and Palestine by mutual agreement and guarantees”

In ancient times, in days leading up to August 1, the “Aenach Tailltean” (Taillten Fair) was held at a location near Tara. Competitions were held, music was played, poets read their poems accompanied by a harp; peace was observed, clan battles were prohibited; the 1st fruits of the harvest were eaten; a dance ritual against blight and famine was enacted; a sacred bull was sacrificed. In Scotland, a special cake called “Lunastain” was baked, the piece handed to a man was “luinean” and to a woman “luineag”; In addition, trial marriages were permitted for a year and a day (also known as “handfasting”).

Climbing Croagh Patrick (a mountain in Mayo), on the weekend leading up to August 1, was a traditional annual ritual that has taken place for many hundreds of years. Tens of thousands participate in this arduous pilgrimage to the top of the mountain. More recently “neo-pagans” observe Lughnasadh (Lammas) by celebrating the “first fruits” of harvest, while Wiccans considered this day one of the eight Sabbats.

Lyons in France was named after Lugh. When the Romans invaded Gaul (France) they equated the god Mercury with Lugh, who was considered the “inventor of all the arts” and was one of the most revered deities in Gaul.

Lugh was known as the Samildanach (skilled in all arts) and Lamfada (wide armed). He had a Welsh counterpart in Llew Llaw Gyffes (swift, strong arm). According to Celtic mythology, Lugh’s mother was also known as Eithniu (Enya), daughter of Balor, the one-eyed demonic giant, who lived on an island off the Donegal coast. Lugh had to do battle with Balor, whose one eye, when uncovered, could incinerate a thousand opponents. Lugh defeated him and his demon warriors using a magnificent slingshot.

Lugh, as a great mythic hero, was originally the young god who supplanted the king of the Tuatha De Danann (people of the goddess D’ana), the magical people of Ireland and Scotland. They were eventually defeated by the Milesians who were led by the poet, Amergin. The Tuatha De Danann were given a choice to live in towns, fortresses, farms and settled areas, or they could choose the hills, mountains and glens. Their response was: “What you consider the least, we consider the best”, and, as a result, they chose to make their homes in caves, glens, mountains and islands, and became the deities of nature in the Celtic pantheon.

Lugh’s spear, one of the four treasures of the Tuatha De Danann, was adopted into the Legends of the Grail, as was Lugh himself, who became the inspiration for Sir Lancelot. Lugh’s spear had to be leashed and was like a lightning bolt, while his sling became the Rainbow and the Milky Way became known as “Lugh’s Chain”.

In Scotland, the Gaelic festival of Lammas (Lughnasadh) marks the beginning of harvest times. Celebrated since ancient days as the ‘Gule of August’ it was customary to bring a loaf made from the new crop to a community gathering or church, Being one of the four fire festivals of the year participants gave vociferous thanks for the fruits of the first harvest. In the Scottish outer Isles Lammas festivals took place after fishing boats returned. Lammas Day is also a legal term to end a pre-arranged contract period where workers could be hired or depart of their own free will.

In Shakespeare’s play: “Romeo & Juliet”, Lammas Eve, 31 July, was the day of Juliet’s birth. In the play: “The Tempest” reapers gathered in the harvest: “You sunburn sickle men of August weary/Come hither from the furrow and be merry, Make Holiday! “

In Shakespeare’s play: “Romeo & Juliet”, Lammas Eve, 31 July, was the day of Juliet’s birth. In the play: “The Tempest” reapers gathered in the harvest: “You sunburn sickle men of August weary/Come hither from the furrow and be merry, Make Holiday! “

Although sometimes the British appropriated the Lammas fair in a way that severed it from its roots, at the end of the 20th century, only two true Lammas Fairs in the sense of the Lughnasadh remain–-at St Andrews and Inverkeithing, both including market stalls, food and drinks. One of the biggest Lammas fairs was held at Kirkwall in Orkney, also known for “handfasting”, which, (as noted earlier) was a trial marriage for a year and a day.

It is Ironic that while Neal is critical of the British Empire colonizing Ireland, he is comfortable supporting Israel’s “Plantation” of squatters on the Palestinian West Bank today. His support for Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people will only contribute to the continuation of the suffering and make the possibility of peace as remote as ever. For example, in 2017, Neal supported a bill which aimed at criminalizing the boycott of Israel.

While the bill is an attack on free speech and freedom of expression in the US, as a Palestinian, I believe that such a bill is a recipe for more bloodshed since it is an attack on a non-violent mean of resistance that seeks to send a message to Israel to stop its brutality against the Palestinian people. Denying the Palestinians and others concerned about human rights violations the right to protest peacefully against the Israeli colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine will only play into the hands of those who advocate violence. It will also encourages Israel to continue its human rights violations including killing defenseless Palestinian civilians, including children which inevitably provoke a strong Palestinian reaction.

This contradiction in Neal’s politics is a reflection of double standards in his own Democratic Party and the American foreign policy in general when it comes to the rights of Palestinians. Only recently, the US State Department removed the Israeli far right racist organization Kahane Chai from its list of foreign terrorist organizations. Kahane Chai was previously known as Kach. It was founded by the American-born late Israeli politician Meir Kahane. He was also the founder of the American violent group the Jewish Defense League (JDL) which was responsible for the assassination of the Palestinian-American Alex Odeh and other violent attacks. Kahane himself was elected to the Israeli Knesset in 1984.

I remember when I was a child growing up in Palestine in the 1980s, Kahana and his Kach thugs used to organize demonstrations calling for the expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland. On May 20 1994, American-born physician and member of Kahana Chai opened fire on Palestinians who were praying at the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron killing 29 Palestinians.

This decision to delist Kach was badly timed as well. It came not long after an Amnesty International report called out Israel as an apartheid state and after the Israeli assassination of the Aljazeera Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. It is no wonder why another Palestinian journalist was killed by Israel on Wednesday, June 1^st, her first day of work.

in contrast, despite the full co-operation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) with Israel including handing over Palestinians wanted by Israel to the Israeli security services and fulfilling all the obligations required by the agreements it signed with Israel and brokered by the US, the State Department still lists the PLO as a terrorist organization. In the light of delisting Kach as a terror group, the Palestinian Authority (PA) wrote to Biden administration asking it to remove the PLO from the US terror list. In its letter the PA said “We expressed our astonishment and our absolute rejection of the persistence of this unjust classification of a people under occupation at a time when the Kach terrorist organization is removed from those lists.”

If the US was to apply this logic to the conflict in Ukraine, then its intervention will be turned on its head. It will be arming and financing Russia. It will also be preventing any sanctions by the outside world against Russia. The Ukrainian resistance will be labeled as terrorism and blamed for the Russian invasion.

This unethical foreign policy is not only damaging the US reputation but it is also costing innocent lives. There is a need for a balanced foreign policy if the US administration is concerned about the global peace and justice. For people like Richard Neal, visiting places like Gaza would be a good start for him that if his Israeli friends don’t prevent him from entering Gaza like what they did with a recent delegation of parliamentarians from the European Union. .