"Race-based pogrom" and "huge act of self-harm by mindless idiots who are actually only damaging their own futures".

[Batmanisaplaceinturkey]

Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill says "groups of masked men" were "burning families out of their homes"

One pastor in north Belfast says black people's homes were targeted, while an MP tells the BBC there was a "race-based pogrom"

The PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher says the violent disorder in Belfast was a "huge act of self-harm by mindless idiots who are actually only damaging their own futures".

I agree with all the quotes. Sick of mindless racist thugs and their 'protests', where they look like they are enjoying themselves while they commit violence and set fire to things.

No! But some of their supporters might. Reforms nasty rhetoric doesn’t exactly encourage clear thinking. Just like Hitler’s awful ranting encouraged German’s to scapegoat the Jews for the economic difficulties.

I am well aware ' that some people use the 'North of Ireland' or locally 'The North' and I understand why: they don't like the entity that is Northern Ireland. But Northern Ireland which is what they are referring to, isn't even 'the North', so it is also 'silly' if you want to use such disobliging terminology. Arguably it's more 'Northern' than 'North.' It's mainly north east-ish (and doesn't include the most northerly, which is in the west) but runs over a bit central ish, west ish and is a bit wobbly and hard to tell where the dividing line is between those terms.

What you call Ireland, I and many nationalists and republicans call the Republic of Ireland. Or the Republic. Or down south.

What you call Northern Ireland, I call the North. As do many, many people from there. And surely you don't think "the media" is a neutral party in this context?

What you call clear and specific, I am telling you is politically loaded. Belfast is in Ireland (though not in the Republic). There are Irish people in Belfast. And, re the subject of the thread, they're largely not part of the race riots. The politics of partition are not separate from the politics of the race riots.

Out of interest, what do you call the whole island? Or the country that used to be unified and is likely to be unified again soon?

But all of that could also be used to criticise "Northern Ireland"!? And anyway, who has to oblige you?? Many people from the region call it the North. But if you prefer, I have heard it refered to as the occupies six counties of north eastern Ulster against the expressed wishes of the vast majority of the Irish people. But maybe that's disobliging to you too.

Do you just not accept that Northern Ireland is a political term?

Unionists also use the term the Irish Republic. It IS a republic but its name is Ireland, in English. So is France a republic but we don't refer to it as the Republic of France in normal use. In Europe and the EU, people have no difficulty in calling Ireland Ireland. Why wouldn't I call it Ireland? I find that bizarre, I mean to question that.

You are arguing against something that I am not arguing, thus missing the point. You are arguing as if I had said that it isn't political. Of course it is political. Northern Ireland is a political entity and it is named Northern Ireland which some people don't like and don't like its existence or the existence of the entity.

As I've said repeatedly, I am talking about communicating clearly and unambiguously what is being referred to for an entity that does exist and that is the term that is used generally and by the media to communicate meaning - and that includes media in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Europe, Asia...even if some people don't like it, wish it didn't exist and use other terms when it is avoidable. There isn't a magic wand to eradicate its use and application to an existing entity.

PS: I may have overlooked a question: I call the whole island the island of Ireland. I have never said that there aren't Irish people in Belfast. I don't know of anyone who says that. There are also people in Belfast who call themselves British and politically, Belfast is also in the UK.

And belfast is also in Ireland.

I've never said I am against criticising 'Northern Ireland'. I have explained over and over that it a term (which doesn't 'oblige' me in any way) that does exist and is used for general understanding and clarity of communication about what is being referred to. Any silliness would be yours in not getting that and persistently arguing against something I am not and never have argued. Local people use 'the North' because they have mutual understanding of what is meant by that and similarly, they say the South locally because it is understood mutually what they mean by that. But 'the South' is not the name of the country they are referencing and wouldn't be understood more widely.

Oh dear. Note "...Belfast is also [bold added] in the UK"

Can I point out to both of you that sometimes trolls disruptive types are very skilled at rage baiting. Sometimes they instead ask innocent/stupid questions that bait other users into off topic arguments that derail productive discussions.

I'm not saying that's what's happening. There aren't any bots on Mumsnet. Just a general observation.

Haha good point!! Dammit.

That is somewhat similar to the Islamist and Green supporters knocking on doors asking if the occupants were pro-Palestinian, and if not, recording the address.

When did this happen? can you provide a link?

Yes do you have a link so we can establish if it's somewhat similar.... Did they then firebomb the house?

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkzaxibdwl#

https://news.sky.com/story/the-english-city-where-volunteers-go-door-to-door-telling-people-to-stop-buying-israeli-products-13505817

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/15/pro-palestine-activists-go-door-to-door-to-sway-voters/

I don’t see how this is similar to gathering addresses of immigrant families and passing it along to paramilitary affiliated organisations with the clear aim of using it as an active hit list, which we have seen actioned this week.

It's not. Going door to door asking people not to buy Israeli goods is inadvisable but nothing like pulling together a hit list to target people for violence.
They're trying to shoehorn something else into the thread I guess.

Cheers for the links, read a couple of the pieces and while I thought that it seemed a less than sensible thing to do it hardly seems similar to compiling a list of addresses with a view to potentially firebombing them at a later date.

So why are they compiling lists of people who don’t support Gaza?
It’s exactly the same thing. Or why gather lists? It’s for future reference.

Then why are they doing it?

I mean is it exactly the same thing?
The PSNI had been researching and tracking this list and what information was being shared with paramilitary groups for a period of months. This list has now been used to terrorise and burn families out of their homes in the night.
I haven’t seen a single thing in what you have shared which suggested information on Jewish households was being gathered and passed to terrorist groups with the aim of targeting those households?
The households on the list in NI have been targeted, attacked and the people put out of their homes so no it’s not “exactly the same thing”.

@Honeyhonay ”The households on the list in NI have been targeted, attacked and the people put out of their homes so no it’s not “exactly the same thing”.

It’s exactly the same thing. The pro-Islamists have lists of where Jews or anti-Palestine people live.
The fact they haven’t acted on it yet is neither here nor there.
All it takes is one flash point, which happened in NI.

@KatiePricesKnickers I’ve haven’t read anything in your links that suggests addresses were being compiled Nor any suggestion of a police investigation.

Not a single thing you have shared has stated the list has been collected and shared with violent groups with the aim of targeting and using it as a hit list, therefore it’s not the same.
Feel free to share where you’re getting that the police have been investigating the credible threat and you might be making a point but right now you’re doing a lot of adding to the story yourself.

If we row back 1 step, what do you think the purpose was of collating names and addresses of Jews? And don’t dodge the question.