Sir, – There is something confounding about the level of support for the Palestinian cause among the people of Ireland. For a start, it is one of the very few areas, possibly the only one, where Ireland diverges in its posture from that of its peers in the United States, or the European Union.
As an Irish person living abroad, it is often surprising to witness the degree to which Irish people are so preoccupied by the Palestinian cause. True, there was a brief period of time when Ireland and Palestine were administered by Britain, but that was long, long ago. The histories of the two countries have diverged enormously since then. Today, there is very little by way of cultural, linguistic, political or religious overlap between the two populations. Indeed, Middle Eastern countries that are far closer to Palestine on all of these levels are much more circumspect in their support.
By contrast, Ireland and Israel share much more in common. Israel is a democracy, as are we. Israel has found a way for people of different religions to co-exist peacefully within its borders, as have we.
Since their founding, both countries have forged economic prosperity through hard work and smart, progressive government.
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In spite of all this common ground, however, the vitriol that some in the Irish media reserve for Israel is palpable. Una Mullally (“Out of the horror of Gaza, a shared humanity is emerging”, Opinion & Analysis, November 20th) speaks of feeling “bile rise in my stomach” as she reads a statement by Israel’s foreign minister on the ongoing hostage situation. Her biliousness appears to be reserved solely for Israel and begs the question what it is about Israel that makes it so different from the many other countries defending themselves from acts of war? Surely she cannot question Israel’s right to self-defence under international law?
Let us not forget, then, that Hamas started this conflict and let us reserve our bile for them. – Yours, etc,
PETER GRIFFIN,
London.