Sir, – It’s not often that I find myself agreeing with Michael McDowell (“Ireland’s position on Israel has always been consistent. If our Government is guilty of anything, it is delay”, Opinion & Analysis, December 18th) but his measured overview of the approach of the Irish Government to the situation in Gaza was excellent. Unlike some of the correspondence to this page this week on the Israeli embassy closure, Mr McDowell stuck to the objective legal reality of the situation and is correct in criticising the lack of courage in the previous government in not pushing through with the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill.
Some of the letters this week have excoriated the Irish Government’s stance, which they feel has led to the embassy closure. They highlight the apparent abandonment of the only democratic state in the region and the hypocrisy in how despotic states in the region are viewed compared to Israel: Saudi Arabia comes to mind. However, the democratic credentials of any state do not give that state a pass on its obligations to international law. The Israeli regime under Binyamin Netanyahu has for years dehumanised the Palestinian population to the point that there is now no disguising their attacks on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip and its acceleration of the disintegration of the West Bank as the basis of a viable state. If a state wants to be recognised as a beacon for democracy, then that recognition requires an adherence to the principles of international law. Both the Hamas and Israeli leadership stand accused of flagrant abuses of international law and are correctly being judged on that. – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Blackrock,
Cork.
Sir, – Of course Ireland is not an anti-Semitic nation. Even members of the more responsible Israeli press acknowledge that (“Attention-grabbing gimmick? Israeli media reacts to Dublin embassy closure”, News, December 18th). However, we do have anti-Semites in our midst.
Now the oppressed have become themselves oppressors, under the leadership of the cynical and callous Binyamin Netanyahu, who is kept in power by ultra-right religious zealots, a situation tolerated by the mass of right-thinking Israelis because of their perception that their country faces an existential threat, particularly after the outrages of October 7th, 2023, and the fact that the attackers on that date see it as acceptable to take and hold elderly people, women, and children as hostages, under presumed conditions that do not bear thinking about.
Criticism of the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, and of the illegal and egregious actions of Israeli settlers in other parts of occupied Palestinian territory, should not be allowed to take from the historical monstrosity that was the Holocaust. For this reason seeking to change the currently accepted definition of the word “genocide”, so that Israel can be accused of engaging in it, is wrong. We should have enough linguistic resources, here in Ireland of all places, to be able to think of another word. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS McKENNA,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
A chara, – David M Abrahamson tells us that Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin wants Ireland’s intervention in South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice “to help change the definition of genocide” and to change “the legal definition of the term genocide to help denigrate and delegitimise the State of Israel” (Letters, December 17th). Mr Martin said nothing of the sort, but called for the definition of genocide to be “broadened” in order “to prioritise . . . the protection of civilian life”. He also announced that Ireland would join Gambia’s case against Myanmar for the alleged genocide of the Rohingya Muslims.
Mr Abrahamson maintains that the Jewish Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin was exclusively concerned with Nazi Germany when he coined the term “genocide”, but in fact it was the Ottoman annihilation of Armenian Christians in 1915-16 that set him on the path that ultimately led to the Genocide Convention.
Arguably, prioritisation of the protection of civilian life is already implicit in that Convention. A definition may be “broadened” without being essentially changed; Mr Abrahamson’s contention that Micheál Martin’s intervention “crosses a red line” is without foundation. – Yours, etc,
RAYMOND DEANE,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – Decent people without a scintilla of anti-Semitism are cowed into silence by fear of being so labelled. But being against the indiscriminate massacre of Palestinian by the State of Israel is not to be anti-Jewish or a purveyor of anti-Semitism. The vast majority of Irish people appreciate and welcome Jews and Israelis as part of our healthy social mix, but also are abhorrent of the State of Israel’s ongoing slaughter of innocent, defenceless Palestinian civilians and the indiscriminate bombing of hospitals, schools and infrastructure and the tragic ongoing, either deliberate or merely consequential, restriction of food, water and medical aid to desperate Palestinians. And yes, we too condemn the brutality, savagery and cynicism of Hamas and the ongoing torture inflicted on the unfortunate hostages and their families and call immediately for their release into freedom. But two deranged wrongs will not achieve justice. Anyone with a passing interest in the politics of Israel cannot but be appraised of the insouciance and casual disregard for international law and opinion as witnessed by the expedited expansion of Israeli settlements into the occupied territories, and at the evidential desperation of Binyamin Netanyahu to prolong the war to aid his tenuous hold on power with the aid of extremist right-wing elements, as he currently fights charges of graft and corruption in Israeli courts.
And while these largely academic and non-consequential distractions of embassy closures prevail, it is well past time that right-thinking Israelis at home and abroad raised their voices and sided with justice and humanity and rejected the dog-whistle diplomacy and targeted distractions of embassy closures and other irrelevancies as defenceless people continue to die and where Israel continues to deploy overwhelming military might. And also ask why there is a decreasing presence of the international media free to safely operate in and report from the increasingly depraved war in Palestine, to better inform Israelis at home who are being hoodwinked by their government and army as to the actuality on the ground. Embassy closures are just one more passing distraction. – Yours, etc,
TOMÁS FINN,
Cappataggle,
Ballinasloe, Co Galway.
Sir, – At the Áras, President Michael D Higgins accepted the credentials of the ambassador of the State of Palestine, a state without defined and internationally recognised borders. At the UN, Ireland, alongside 146 other countries, recognised the State of Palestine without any defined borders. This flies in the face of the UN’s own charter.
There is no legitimate Palestinian government, so they have no ability to have relationships with other countries, yet Ireland recognised Palestine as a state and not as an inspiration to statehood.
To most Palestinians their defined borders are from the river to the sea. They don’t accept the Green Line, the armistice lines of the 1949 agreement. And if Ireland and other countries recognise the Palestinian definition as the legitimate defined borders of Palestine, as all Arab states do, then they accept that Israel has no right to exist. In this context, you can see why Israel and Jewish people around the world feel aggrieved and prejudiced against, and why they have criticised the Irish Government and see good reason to close the Dublin embassy.
No one in their right minds wants this senseless slaughter and the madness in the world to continue but to take sides only inflames the situation, and Ireland’s decision has only flung fuel into the never-ending flames of hatred, bigotry, ignorance and intolerance. – Yours, etc,
JIM YATES,
Dublin 24.
Sir, – Regarding the closure of Israel’s Dublin embassy, your readers may be interested in yesterday’s leading editorial in Haaretz, Israel’s quality independent daily newspaper, available in English on the web.
It castigates Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar’s closure decision as “a case of diplomatic folly that reflects the insanity of the Netanyahu government”.
It notes “the reflexive way in which Sa’ar translates sharp criticism of Israeli policy into anti-Semitism that shows the foreign minister’s and the Israeli government’s faulty judgement”.
Citing Irish recognition of a Palestinian state and support for the petition at the ICJ in The Hague, it states that these “moves by Ireland do not demonstrate anti-Semitism, but a diplomatic and moral stance that should be taken in full seriousness”.
Mr Sa’ar, it concludes, “indeed belongs where he is, in a government of destruction and ruin”. – Yours, etc,
LOUIS MARCUS,
Dublin 16.
Dáil elects a new Ceann Comhairle
Sir, – The choice of Verona Murphy as Ceann Comhairle as reported by Cormac McQuinn will be a much-needed breath of fresh for many readers of The Irish Times (“Verona Murphy elected as first female ceann comhairle”, News, Online, December 18th).
A woman at the helm of parliamentary public debate for the first time in the Republic (Eileen Bell was the first woman Speaker in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1986).
We stand a better chance of an improved all-round level of behaviour among the TDs with a woman holds the reins and an even better chance that Ms Murphy will keep her charges in check; she’ll provide an opportunity for all to speak, call the long-winded to order and make sure that debate generally is conducted with immediate despatch, keeping proceedings administratively tight. Or at least that’s what I’m hoping will happen in the bear-pit of our national political debate.
Good luck, Ms Murphy. You’re going to need it. – Yours, etc,
ALASTAIR CONAN,
Coulsdon,
London.
Sir, – I read that one ballot in the election of the Ceann Comhairle was invalid as it did not “clearly indicate a first preference”. It seems that one of our TDs is incapable of completing a simple ballot paper. What a pity that the poll is secret. – Yours, etc,
LIAM PLUCK,
Enniskerry,
Co Wicklow.
A chara, – It was great to see the new Dáil sitting. Like the first day at school, everyone looked well turned out. Let’s hope the well-dressed look will continue as everyone relaxes into their new term, and sartorial respect prevails. That would be real change. – Is mise,
PETER DECLAN O’HALLORAN,
Belturbet,
Co Cavan.
Motorbike theft and consequences
Sir, – To the two-wheeled dreamer that stole my motorbike from outside my home this week, I hope it gave you the kind of joy it gave me, for the several hours that you had it in your possession before you inevitably forgot about the fundamental principles of gyroscopic precession and counter-steering.
While your wild adventure left the machine in several pieces on the Baldonnel Road, and possibly left you in some pieces of your own, I know it must have brought you something so sorely missing in your life.
Perhaps you thought, as you tore down the N7, the wind whipping through your hair, that you were the main character in your favourite cartoon show as they race towards their next adventure, striving to learn the letters of the alphabet or perhaps how shoelaces work.
I’ve no doubt that, as you sat enjoying your Coco Pops later that day, admiring the cool plasters your mum gave you to cover those little scrapes, you wondered to yourself: “It doesn’t get any better than this.”
Without a doubt, in that moment you felt a sense of freedom and acceptance from society, blissfully unaware that a network of close to five hundred were spreading your escapade through WhatsApp groups and Facebook posts, not to mention local traders that within two hours had seen the outcome of your precision driving and spread the word.
So, when you climb out of your crib today, ready to make your mark on the world, and slip into your favourite onesie, I hope that your steadfast belief that there are no consequences in this life remains as resolute as ever. – Yours, etc,
COLIN WELDON,
Naas,
Co Kildare.
A €100 fee at RIP.ie
Sir, – Will the news (Business, December 18th) that RIP.ie is to start charging €100 per death notice in the new year lead to a cost of dying crisis to accompany the ongoing cost of living crisis? – Yours, etc,
BRIAN AHERN,
Clonsilla,
Dublin 15.
Sir, – The Mourning News? – Yours, etc,
JANE FERRY,
Dublin 8.
Sir, – The outcry about the ¤100 charge for the use of rip.ie brought me to have a look at the cost of publication of my late husband’s death in the newspapers in 2002, 22 years ago. The Irish Times: €121.38. The Irish Independent: €199.60.
It appears to me that €100 is excellent value, as it allows for the addition of condolences to the family by those to wish to do so. – Yours, etc,
ANN ELLIOTT,
Dublin 18.
Foreign languages
A chara, – One has to be cautious when using these statistics about knowledge of foreign languages in EU countries ( “Young Irish are most likely in the European Union to struggle with foreign languages”, News, December 16th). Each country can determine what a “foreign language” is. It seems to be very subjective. Plus, it can change over time. In Luxembourg, which always seems to top the rankings, German is treated as a foreign language despite it being so close to Luxembourgish that in the primary schools (ages six to 12) literacy is taught in German, which is also the language of instruction for all other subjects, except French. In the Czech survey, Slovakian was not regarded as a foreign language up until 2011.
Then there is the case of Ireland.
Is Irish included when considering knowledge of foreign languages? If one regarded Irish as our original native language, then English could be deemed to be a foreign language so we would have maybe 99 per cent of people having knowledge of a foreign language. If the majority of Irish people speak English but a large subset of these have learned Irish at school, then in this scenario too, the percentage with knowledge of a second language would be quite high. – Is mise,
GERARD HANNEY,
Dublin 15.
Sprouts and carrots
Sir, – Do “sprites” take less time to cook? It seems that the TV chefs are cooking them this year. – Yours, etc,
CORMAC MEEHAN,
Bundoran,
Co Donegal.
Double trouble
Sir, – Congratulations to Michael Keegan on getting the same letter published twice this week (December 16th and 18th). Just the once will do me. – Yours, etc,
RONAN McDERMOTT,
Dublin 6.