On a day when the White House administration was in emergency mode as Florida braced itself for what president Joe Biden declared “the storm of the century”, Taoiseach Simon Harris used Wednesday’s meeting to reiterate Ireland’s advocacy for an immediate cessation of violence in Gaza.
“I made it clear the position of the Irish people, of the Irish Government, that we know what it is like in Ireland to not feel seen by the world,” he said on Wednesday evening, immediately after an hour-long meeting in the Oval Office.
“That we know what it is like to have our national identity hijacked by a terrorist organisation. Because Palestine is not Hamas. Hamas is a despicable terrorist organisation and the terrorist attack they carried out on October 7th last year should be condemned forever by all right-thinking people. But proportionality has been totally lost by the Netanyahu government and the number of people, particularly the number of children, needlessly dying, as a result of the approach taken by Netanyahu is unacceptable.”
Mr Harris, asked whether he specifically pressed Mr Biden on the need to suspend the delivery of weaponry to Israel, reiterated his stance that he had made Ireland’s view clear, but that the foreign diplomacy of the United States was its concern. However, over the course of the meeting, president Biden recounted a conversation he had with the Israeli leader earlier on Wednesday – their first conversation since August.
“It is for president Biden to speak to that, but he left me in no doubt that this was a conversation of substance and of depth in terms of actions that Israel needs to take in terms of humanitarian aid, of bringing about a ceasefire. He left me in absolutely no doubt of the redoubling of efforts to try and bring about a ceasefire and that he sees a two-state solution as the only way forward.”
The schedule of the two-day visit to mark the centenary of Ireland-United States diplomatic relations was considerably reduced in response to the gravity and potential destructive potency of the storm hitting the west coast of Florida.
The Irish visit was preceded by the controversy caused by the comments of Dublin city councillor for Fine Gael, Punam Kane, who said at a meeting that the US economy is “ruled by the Jews, by Israel”. Her remarks led to a call by the president of the World Jewish Congress for Mr Harris to act decisively.
“The comments were utterly wrong, absolutely offensive, entirely inappropriate and are utterly condemned by me,” Mr Harris said on Wednesday morning. “We have established a disciplinary process that has to be swift and robust.”
Mr Harris also condemned the recent opinion, in a since-deleted social media post, by Matthew Brodsky – a peace adviser who has claimed to advise members of Congress and the National Security Council during the Trump administration – that Israeli forces should “carpet bomb” an area of Lebanon garrisoned by Irish peacekeeping troops.
“Well, isn’t that the most disgusting thing you could possibly have heard? Disgusting and inappropriate. Our peacekeepers are doing an extraordinary job and have been for many years.”
Reflecting on speculation that the announcement of an Irish general election for November is imminent, Mr Harris said “the timing of the election is a matter for me. It is my constitutional prerogative to use my judgment as to when best to seek a dissolution of the Dáil by President Higgins, but I have said very clearly that the Government in my view is working well and therefore I don’t intend to surprise Coalition colleagues and I would like the Government to come to a good end, to complete its work.”
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