Fine Gael has referred one of its Dublin city councillors to its internal disciplinary procedures after comments she made during a council meeting when she said “the entire US economy” is “ruled by the Jews, by Israel”.
Punam Rane, a councillor for Kimmage-Rathmines, told the meeting of Dublin City Council that “nobody is taking a stance” on the Israeli assault on Gaza.
“USA or America should have taken a stance, but how many of you know the entire US economy today is ruled by the Jews, by Israel, they will never be able to take a stance,” she said.
On Tuesday afternoon, a Fine Gael spokesman said that the comments were “unacceptable and fall below the standard expected of Fine Gael public representatives.
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“We note that she has now withdrawn and apologised for those comments. Nonetheless, we have referred the matter to the Party’s Disciplinary Procedures for breach of the Party Pledge to not express prejudiced, stereotyped or discriminatory views.”
In the Monday evening meeting, Cllr Rane said with the US elections coming next month, “it will cripple the whole US economy if they take a stance, and therefore they’re afraid of taking a stance, that’ll never happen unless and until the global powers that are emerging take a stance themselves and make US take a stance, and that’s what’s happening.”
“Why do you think there is so much of prolonged war, Russia and Ukraine, currently Palestine because nobody here is ready to take a stance, and therefore I think we should take a stance and US has to take a stance here in this case.”
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People Before Profit Cllr Conor Reddy immediately interjected, asking Lord Mayor James Geoghegan to ask Cllr Rane to “clarify her remarks on Jews controlling the American economy”.
“That’s tremendously unhelpful, we’re all here in solidarity with Palestine ... to equate Judaism and Zionism is a complete fallacy, it’s wrong, and I think we all stand against anti-Semitism and it would be helpful if she could withdraw that particular use of words,” he said.
Cllr Rane responded: “I didn’t actually mean a particular community, but I’m just saying, today the US economy is ruled by the Israelis, it’s not wrong, they have worked hard for it ... what I’m saying the US is not able to take a stance today because of their financial dependency.”
In a social media post on Tuesday, Cllr Rane said: “I completely withdraw my comments made at last night’s city council meeting in relation to a motion on the Occupied Territories Bill. It was wrong and I fully apologise for it.”
Speaking to The Irish Times on Tuesday, Cllr Reddy said there is a “very common misunderstanding that’s really unhelpful that Zionism is some type of driving force in dictating US foreign policy – that gets it all wrong,” he said, arguing that the United States rather uses Israel as a “watchdog for its own interests in the Middle East”.
“It’s not that there’s this powerful or shady lobby operating behind the scenes,” he said, adding that Cllr Rane’s contribution was “very crudely put”. He said an equivalence between the Jewish people and the Israeli state is “unhelpful, inaccurate and far from what’s going on in the world.”
He said he believes Fine Gael now had questions to answer arising from the comments.
World Jewish Congress president Ronald S Lauder said Ms Rane’s “blatant scapegoating of Jews warrants a strong response by Fine Gael”.
“Taoiseach Simon Harris, as the leader of his country and his party, must make clear that there is no place for anti-Semitism in Ireland. When President Biden meets with him, I hope that he raises the urgent crisis of anti-Semitism facing Jews worldwide, including for Irish Jews,” he said.
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland said it was “appalled” by Cllr Rane’s comments.
“Her subsequent apology is not accepted, and Fine Gael should consider whether she ought to be removed from the party,” said council chairman Maurice Cohen. “The Jewish Community is also appalled by the fact that these remarks coincided with a remembrance ceremony held in Terenure Synagogue for the 1,200 slaughtered on the 7th October 2023.”
Mr Cohen said comments like Cllr Rane’s “have led to Ireland being labelled as the most anti-Semitic country in Europe”.
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