Paddy O'Brien

You sir are an absolute bigot, This relentless anti Irish campaign to vilify us, is becoming absolutely deplorable. The sheer arrogance of an American lecturing an entire sovereign nation for daring to criticise the Israeli government and stand up for Palestinian human rights is quite extraordinary. And perhaps the most disgraceful aspect of your entire rant is what you conspicuously fail to mention even once, the suffering of the Palestinian people. Not a word about the tens of thousands killed in Gaza. Not a word about the children buried beneath rubble, families destroyed, hospitals devastated, mass displacement or the catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Absolutely nothing. Instead, you and your little groupies on here , concern is apparently Ireland’s criticism of Israel and whether our high-tech economy might suffer as a consequence. What an extraordinary set of priorities. Let’s establish something you seem determined to ignore. Criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitism. Supporting Palestinian human rights is not hostility towards Jewish people. Repeating that dishonest conflation doesn’t make it true. And here’s another distinction. Unlike the United States, Ireland does not have an AIPAC-style political lobbying machine wielding enormous influence over its foreign policy. AIPAC’s political spending and influence in Washington are well documented. Ireland is perfectly entitled to pursue an independent foreign policy without being subjected to economic scare tactics. Ireland is a sovereign democracy, not an American subsidiary. We don’t require Washington’s approval to defend international law, condemn the killing of civilians or demand accountability from any government, including Israel’s. And spare us the suggestion that Ireland’s humanitarian concerns constitute some irrational national obsession. The real question is why our willingness to speak about Palestinian suffering seems to offend you more than the suffering itself. You managed to write an entire attack on Ireland without expressing a single word of compassion for Palestinian civilians. That is perhaps the most damning indictment of your argument. Not Ireland’s supposed obsession with Israel, but your extraordinary determination to make Ireland the villain while the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza barely warrants a mention. You sir might also want to address the uncontrollable antisemitism that’s rife across the US before doing Israel’s bidding to vilify Ireland Ireland will not be bullied into silence. And nor should it be.