Addendum; Ireland and Israel
On November 28, 2023, I posted an analysis of the tense relationship between Ireland and Israel. I expressed my surprise that two states that started as “underdogs” had such radically different perceptions of what would constitute justice for the Palestinians in the never ending Mideast conflict. Ireland has been an outspoken supporter of the Palestinians for years and a strident critic of the Israeli government on a host of issues. Ireland has publicly called for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and asserted that all Israeli settlement activity there is an egregious violation of international law. They have endorsed a two state solution based on 1967 borders for 40 years. Prior to the Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the Ireland- Israel relationship was antagonistic- certainly not smooth sailing.
Then, the Hamas attack and the Israeli military response in Gaza. After a rather perfunctory condemnation of the brutal assault by Hamas against Israeli civilians (1250 dead and 300 hostages), the Irish government almost immediately defaulted to a harsh critique of Israeli policy and tactics. They characterised the IDF actions as “indiscriminate” and “disproportionate” which are code words for war crimes. They stated that the entire Israeli offensive was “collective punishment” and regularly called for an immediate ceasefire.
Memories fade and we move to other issues- our attention spans are short- but it is often healthy to revisit and update earlier observations. Timely to do so here because Ireland has now doubled down in its criticisms of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians. Ireland has formally joined- intervened in legal terms- in South Africa’s “genocide” case filed against Israel in the International Court of Justice. Ireland asserts the genocide is a result of “a collective punishment of the Palestinian people, through the intent and impact of Israel’s military actions in Gaza leaving 44,000 dead and millions displaced.” Ireland also explicitly requests that the Court broaden its definition of “genocide”- arguing the current definition is insufficient to protect civilians. Tough stuff! Israel responded by closing its Embassy in Dublin, although formal diplomatic relations have not been severed.
First, where is the Irish attitude toward Israel coming from? It is “settler colonialism" theory gone wild. If you have led a normal life, you are probably unfamiliar with the concept. The operating principle of “settler colonialism” is that indigenous people have an unlimited and exclusive right to occupy and retain their homelands. Settlers who arrive from the outside have no right to impinge upon, restrict or usurp the rights of control over the land from the local inhabitants. Settlers inevitably produce illegitimate states that are inherently exploitive. These outsiders abuse the indigenous people thru rampant and thieving capitalism, degrade the natural environment and abuse the human rights of those who stand in their way. Under this theory, the United States, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland and Germany have all been “settler colonialists” at one time to another. States created by settler colonialists lack legitimacy. Ideally, justice requires the colonialist return home- similar to the French departure from Algeria in the 60’s. Departure and return may be unrealistic when the colonialists and their descendants now make up 99% of the country’s population so the fallback position is demanding apologies, land acknowledgements and reparations. This is a popular theory in left wing academic circles. Ireland likes the theory because it supports their contention that the English and Scots who violently settled in Ireland exploited the local Catholics, stole their land and are illegitimate usurpers of political authority in Northern Ireland. Ireland applies this analysis to the experience of the Jewish Israelis and the Palestinian Arabs. The Israelis are the settler colonialists and the Palestinians are the indigenous victims. The Israeli state is illegitimate based on the nature of its founding in 1948 and they really have no right to their own state in the region. If it is impractical for the Jewish citizens of Israel to leave now, all international efforts should be directed at just solutions for the displaced Palestinians. To the Irish, the Israelis in Palestine are analogous to the British in Ireland.
I believe the entire “Settler Colonialist” paradigm is absolute nonsense. It is good example of an academic theory that the everyday person finds totally disconnected from reality and why people are losing faith in elite institutions. Secondly, even if you accept the theory in the abstract, the Israelis don’t meet the definition. The Jews have a long history in Palestine- read your bible. They are not outsiders and have always retained a presence in the region, even if a minority. Secondly, they did not come as representatives of a powerful nation or empire with the intent to exploit the resources of the locals. They were not Europeans conquering America, Australia or huge sections of Africa and Asia. The Jews who emigrated were political refugees, generally poor and homeless and prevented from emigrating to America. They were systematically kicked out of Arab post colonial nations in the Mideast and their commitment to modern Europe had resulted in 6 million dead Jews. They were the opposite of rapacious colonialists. They went thru the United Nations and agreed to a two state solution in 1948. The reasoning of the Irish government does not withstand rigorous analysis. The Israelis can be subject to legitimate criticisms for their settlement policies since 1967 and military tactics they have employed in Gaza, but the idea their state is an artificial creation built on the back of innocent Palestinians is intellectually dishonest and morally baseless. The Irish should know better!
Secondly, Israel’s military actions in Gaza do not meet the accepted definition of genocide under international law. They are not seeking the total elimination of the Palestinian people. They seek to destroy Hamas, a fanatical organisation dedicated, ironically, to a genocide against the Jewish people. The Hamas supporters in Hezbollah and Iran have the same stated goal- the elimination of the Jewish state. There is moral confusion here- big time. Israel has acted in self defence and it is certainly methodical and brutal, but it is not based on a genocidal intent against Palestinians. There are 2 million Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel and there is no policy to wipe them out. Actually, they get to vote! There are 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and life may not be pleasant, but the Arab population is growing- not being killed or deported by the Israeli government. The South African and now Irish genocide case against Israel has no legal merit. Let’s focus on political solutions, not legal sophistry.
