Let’s try for some intellectual consistency here, because I see at least three serious problems with your analogy and framing.
First, you’re comparing the Irish experience to that of Jews/Israelis as if these are equivalent situations that can be “moved past” once enough time passes. The key difference, which is somehow always overlooked in these analogies, is that Israel’s existence is under direct threat today. This isn’t “ancient history” or a question of some group in the past being wronged by another group and then making peace centuries later. The Irish aren’t surrounded by states calling for their destruction or facing regular terror attacks. To suggest that Jews/Israelis can “move on” in the same way is to ignore the existential reality on the ground, and frankly, it’s a distortion of both histories.
Second, your use of language—“murder,” “theft,” “genocide”—demonstrates exactly the kind of moral selectivity that always creeps into these threads when Israel is involved. If you’re going to apply those terms to one side, do so universally. Otherwise, it’s just prejudice masquerading as outrage. Where is the same energy, the same rhetoric, when civilians are targeted by Palestinian actors? “Murder” and “genocide” are very specific terms with legal and moral weight. You shouldn't throw them around as doing so diminishes their meaning but if you can't help yourself than at least be consistent—or admit you’re simply applying a double standard.
Third, you seem to suggest that all Palestinian violence is justified as “fighting back,” with no caveats or limits. Why is it that when Israeli civilians are killed, it’s just “the inevitable result of oppression,” but if Israel acts in self-defence, it’s “barbaric”? Are you saying that atrocities, when committed by the “oppressed,” are exempt from moral or legal scrutiny? That’s not a path to peace or justice; it’s just tribalism and the permanent suspension of ethical standards for your preferred side. The reality is that Hamas took pleasure in killing, brutalising and raping Israelis, and did so up close, in the most heinous, sadistic ways. These were not tragic consequences of conflict or unintended civilian casualties—these were deliberate, celebrated atrocities.
To be clear: the deaths of children and the suffering of innocents is tragic and terrible. But if we want to talk about causes, responsibility, or how to actually stop the violence, it requires applying the same standards to everyone. Otherwise, we’re just perpetuating the same cycle you claim to oppose.