Sir, – A new year is about to begin, but it seems there will be little change for the Palestinians of Gaza and they have every reason to be fearful of the months ahead. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both issued bleak statements in December saying that they consider that a probable genocide is under way in the Gaza Strip. In November, the aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also spoke of genocide and it reported ethnic cleansing by Israeli forces in northern Gaza with civilians “being shot at and bombed as they flee” (“Israel is perpetuating atrocity upon atrocity in northern Gaza”, Opinion & Analysis, November 18th).
It is widely accepted that humanitarian aid to the north of Gaza is being deliberately restricted by Israel, almost certainly with the intention of putting further pressure on civilians to abandon the area and head south. Kamal Aswan Hospital, one of the last functioning hospitals in the devastated north, according to its director Hussam Abu Safiya, has been repeatedly hit by Israeli drones, sniper fire and shelling from tanks, an egregious breach of international humanitarian law.
There is nothing new in this, of course. As far back as July, the World Health Organisation had documented more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities by Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank that directly killed hundreds of people, including many medical personnel. On October 10th, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel – mandated by the UN Human Rights Council – issued a searing report in Geneva in which it accused Israel of perpetuating “a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a broader assault on Gaza, committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities”.
The chair of the UN commission, Navi Pillay, remarked that children, in particular, “have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system.” In fact, as we know, this is also more broadly true, with perhaps 15,000 children – from babies to teenagers – estimated to be among the nearly 46,000 people killed so far in the Gaza catastrophe. Many more are missing.
In early October, the respected Save the Children aid organisation claimed that of the 11,300 children killed violently by Israeli forces between October 2023 and the end of August 2024, roughly 3,100 were under the age of five. Horrifically, Save the Children noted that there were some 710 babies, who were younger than 12-months-old, identified among the killed. These thousands of small children self-evidently were not members or supporters of Hamas, but it is plain that the Israeli military is engaged in a savage operation in which Palestinian civilians have been thoroughly dehumanised.
The Israeli Government, of course, dismisses out of hand all accusations of ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, deliberate starvation and possible genocide, just as it scorned the international arrest warrant for war crimes issued for its prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court in November. In truth, it can do so, and can carry on its merciless policy of daily atrocities in Gaza, because it continues to suffer no significant consequences for its actions. Diplomatic and military support from the United States is still “ironclad” and unwavering, while the EU – Israel’s most important trading partner – remains chillingly indifferent to the visible suffering of Palestinians.
Taoiseach Simon Harris, on December 23rd, made a point of publicly expressing Ireland’s solidarity with the people of Palestine, pledging that “Ireland will continue to use its voice and influence” at every level in order “to bring about a ceasefire and to start to rebuild shattered lives” (“Taoiseach expresses support to Abbas”, News, December 24th). These are very welcome words and it is excellent that Mr Harris accentuated the widespread support that exists in this country for the beleaguered Palestinian people.
Nonetheless, the time has long passed for strong words alone, if these were ever enough. The indications are that the incoming government still plans to enact the Occupied Territories Bill. However, it needs to commit to doing so as a matter of great urgency and not, as has been suggested, simply within its first year in office. In addition, other unilateral financial, trade and diplomatic sanctions against Israel must be considered. The EU has behaved disgracefully regarding the slaughter in Gaza and Ireland should not permit itself to be restricted by such immoral indifference. This war of annihilation cannot be allowed to continue into 2025 and beyond. – Yours, etc,
FINTAN LANE,
Malaga,
Spain.
Subsidising private education
Sir, – In various fields of endeavour it is clear that competing at the highest level requires a combination of inputs. Most of our top athletes, musicians, many artists and writers will credit motivated parents who brought them for coaching and lessons, buying equipment and so on, as well as the State supports, grants and public bodies which allowed them succeed. Various organisations receive public funding but also expect parents or students to pay in order to train and perform, from the GAA, FAI, the IRFU to arts organisations and myriad quangos.
Our performance at the 2024 Olympics or our success in rugby in recent years are examples of what can be achieved in this way.
Many of our top performers in these arenas, like elite musicians and artists, stem from a background where certain skills were valued, taught, and where much targeted training was paid for by parents.
None of this seems at all contentious, and personally I see it as a good used of tax revenue, one might say a paradigm of public-private partnership. From golfers to opera singers, the story in broad terms is often similar, with driven individuals paying for their children to access the best teaching which is made possible or affordable through state support.
It is remarkable how it becomes contentious if the same logic is applied to education in general. Private education in a sense entails all the above attempts by parents to give children the best outcome.
Opportunities may be better in learning languages or sciences, accessing obscure sports, doing international exchanges, or simply reaching the highest standards academically. Musicianship, acting lessons and swimming pools may all be available to the young person in a “one stop shop”.
In many relevant areas – sport, writing, music, film, education–- Ireland is not an isolated entity caught in perpetual parish-level competition. We are global competitors in a world where our educational standard is our greatest attribute, individually and collectively. I am thus amazed at how many people seek to reduce standards in private schools, or expect parents of those sending children there to fund it entirely from after-tax income without their taxes supporting their own interests.
It is striking to consider how many Irish Nobel prize-winners attended these institutions, for example, a list which seems vastly out of proportion to the small minority who attend them. Without this sector our reputation as a country would most likely be diminished.
I’m sceptical as to whether any country pursues equality in education by directing funds away from the top institutions.
If we are to thrive as a country we need to try to extrapolate the standards of the best seats of learning to the rest, rather than trying to enforce mediocrity by reducing the performance of the top few. What misguided motivations inspire some to do this are hard to fathom.
As most of our best schools, in receipt of around 1 per cent of the education budget manage to cater for about 5 per cent of students, it is clearly a win for the taxpayer.
It’s also a win for society overall if one considers where the highest achievers internationally from Ireland in many areas studied.
Efforts to reduce our educational performance are clearly more dangerous to our interests than debasing our standards in sports or the arts. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.
Naval Service and neutrality
Sir, – I refer to Conor Hogarty’s excellent letter (December 27th) calling for a retention package for the Naval Service which properly reflects the demands of policing our territorial waters. At present we do not have the crews or technology to protect our essential offshore energy and communication assets. This glaring weakness has not gone unnoticed by a certain aggressive world power which has already visited our territorial waters.
Perhaps our politicians, who are busy trying to form a government and allocate Cabinet posts, should upgrade the post of Minister for Defence to a full role in the Cabinet.
Being neutral only works if we are strong and neutral. – Yours, etc,
MIKE CORMACK,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Restoration of Notre Dame
A chara, – Thank you for Finn McRedmond’s thought-provoking article “Restoration of Notre Dame shows hard things can be achieved if we’re not afraid to be ambitious” (Opinion & Analysis, December 26th).
It’s a credit to the French that having given us the word “bureaucracy”, they have now also shown us how it can be avoided! That said, the impressive restoration of the cathedral is much more than a question of ambition and knowing how to deal with bureaucracy, it also needed the religious faith of the people involved.
Notre Dame is not a museum or a stunning historic building, it is first and foremost a hard-working Parisian parish, a place of prayer, a spiritual experience. This can be seen daily now that the cathedral is open again, with three Masses a day, the Angelus, confessions, the relic of the Crown of Thorns, side altars and devotions, an army of volunteers helping pilgrims and tourists alike. As the French King Henri IV famously said, " Paris is worth a Mass !” – Is mise,
CIARÁN Mac GUILL,
Clichy,
France.
Festive season cuisine
Sir, – I can’t wait for watching a little bit of telly without being told about the 10 best ways to use up the leftover turkey for the festive season. And don’t you know that the number one recipe will surely include a wee dash of paprika to give it little a lift!
I’m off now to thumb a lift to my telly-free local hostelry for a plate of bacon ribs and cabbage with a dash of colcannon. Yummy. – Yours, etc,
NOEL SHANAGHY,
Faithlegg,
Co Waterford.
Bylaws and soup-runs
Sir, – Bylaws to stop charities giving food to the needy in the streets of Dublin because “the privacy, dignity and the safety” of users may be jeopardised should find a place in the annals of absurdity (“Bylaws to ban ‘well-meaning’ soup-runs to Dublin homeless”, News, December 27th).
Being hungry and homeless is the problem, not trying to do something about it. – Yours, etc,
Dr JOHN DOHERTY
Gaoth Dobhair,
Co Dhún na nGall.
Sir, – Instead of banning on-street soup kitchens for the homeless, why can’t Dublin County Council provide housing?
And if not housing, why not provide indoor spaces for the volunteers to run soup-kitchens?
Methinks the embarrassment the council is attempting to avoid is its own for failing the residents of Dublin. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN LYDA,
Caherlistrane,
Co Galway.
A matter of record
A chara, – Being an avid vinyl collector, I subscribe to a number of music retailers, distributors, and record labels, one of whom emailed me at 7am on Christmas morning to enthusiastically grant me early access to their New Year’s Sale, 24 hours before it became available to the public as a whole.
Is it too much to ask to have one day a year free from relentless marketing updates?
I have duly unsubscribed from the retailer in question. – Is mise,
DARREN O’BRIEN,
Dublin 7.
Hold the Parmesan, please
A chara, – I commend Mark Moriarty’s effort and planning in his article, “Tasty vegetarian options for Christmas dinner that can be prepared ahead of time” (Food, December 21st). However, it is important to note that the mushroom and Parmesan pie is not suitable for vegetarians, as it contains Parmesan cheese. Traditional Parmesan is made using rennet, an enzyme obtained from the stomachs of slaughtered cows, making it unsuitable for those following a vegetarian diet. – Is mise,
LOUISA MOSS,
Dublin 7.
You really shouldn’t have
A chara, – Conor Pope shares research from Ireland’s consumer watchdog that one in four men are likely to re-gift presents they don’t like (“Women are far more likely to re-gift unwanted presents than men”, News, December 27th).
Is this why they were only three wise men following the star and handing over gifts, as the fourth man might have re-gifted the “nice” socks that he would never wear? – Is mise,
DERMOT O’ROURKE,
Lucan,
Co Dublin.