Ireland, is this true?

[SR71Blackbird]

Wasn’t sure where to ask this but there’s a piece in the JC about antisemitism in the Irish curriculum. It seems legit but incredulous:

https://www.thejc.com/news/world/jews-are-jesus-killers-and-israel-is-uniquely-aggressive-what-irish-pupils-are-taught-dhqmypgo

Can anyone here verify?

They might be trying to portray something but apart from Israel media I barely see news about it. I’ve seen loads of hate against Spain and trying to portray us as antisemitism as well. The government and a vast majority of the citizens really don’t care. The demos in favour of Palestine have continued. I wish our government did more than what is currently doing.

the only affected people by closing an embassy are those that are protected by the embassy. Nobody else. So Israel closing the embassy in Ireland only affects Israelis. It’d be worse if Israel closed the Irish embassy (if there is any) in Israel.

Yes, anyone that dares criticise Israel is automatically smeared as "antisemitic". It's how they've gotten away with war crimes and human rights abuses for decades.

And this? What does this have to do with Israel? 'Irish Jewish children have spoken about being abused by fellow pupils who were once their friends. According to one mother, her son’s classmates now make jokes about gassing Jews and give him pictures of Hitler. They didn’t pick that up in their history class.'

But you're annoyed by people bringing up the uncomfortable matter of antisemitism in Ireland. Isn't this stirring up hate? 'Irish Jewish children have spoken about being abused by fellow pupils who were once their friends. According to one mother, her son’s classmates now make jokes about gassing Jews and give him pictures of Hitler. They didn’t pick that up in their history class.'

And what's that got to do with calling Israeli war crimes and human rights abuses?! What's the Irish govt supposed to say?

"Israel has buried nearly 50,000 people under a pile of rubble but we can't say anything about it because some 13 year old was being a dick"

@SharonEllis There's also examples of Englsh school children being anti-semitic unfortunately. However, I wouldn't say that due to that England is a anti-semitic country, would you?

Singular examples of antisemitism do not prove what you are trying to say. There is no more antisemitism in Ireland than any other country.

I doubt Irish people are too bothered by this latest attempt to discredit Ireland... because it's absolutely pathetic.

What a wonderful response by Simon Harris though... and I feel bad for the Israelis in Ireland who have been abandoned by their country due to a publicity stunt. Though no doubt they'll be looked after in Ireland anyway.

Do you believe Simon Harris is antisemitic?

And Michael Martin spoke very well too

Is he also anti semitic?

I think its a difficult situation because Ireland don't play games. When Oct 7 happened Ireland condemned Hamas unequivocally , they spoke about the awful breach of International law and stated that Israel have a right to self defence. It would be hypocritical to then not call out Israels breaches of International law.

The big difference that I can see in this conflict vs other conflicts is that in other conflicts the EU has acted as a whole to condemn and sanction breaches of International law. There hasn't been need for countries like Ireland and Spain to lobby the EU to act. For example the EU joined Ukraines genocide case against Russia so there was no need for countries to act singularly. Ireland is anti war, look back to the war in Iraq, the protests in Shannon against it being used by the US military, the protests against Bush visiting. Irish people in general don't want to be complicit in war crimes and many feel that the EUs lack of action this time around is making us so. That doesn't leave us with many options but to act ourselves. We know the scars war leaves behind all too well and we don't want that on our conscience.

Your post has made me think about the well documented rise is anti Catholic attacks in Israel in the past year. Do you think that there is a link there between why Israel is 'talking' so much about both Ireland and Spain? Two Catholic countries. A report by the Rossing Centre showed a “disturbing rise” in attacks including spitting, physical harassment, damage to property and cemeteries, and disruption of services. This included “a worrying increase in severe property and physical assaults”. Then of course there was the attack on the Holy Family Parish in Gaza in the run up to Christmas last year where a grandmother in her 70s was shot in the stomach by a sniper and killed and the whole congregation were held terrified under siege for days in the compound.

When a Catholic Abbot says “Unfortunately, spitting harassment is part of my daily life. If I go out of my monastery it is part of my reality." it shows there is a serious problem towards Catholics in Israel and it would make you wonder how much of this is fueled by the same?

The groups documented in the Rossing report were not all Catholics. Christianity in Israel is very diverse and includes Anglicans & other Protestants & large proportion of Orthodox. I'm sure if it was a factor the Irish government would have said so. History probably is a factor. The roots of antisemitism are in the catholic church which orchestrated the persecution of Jewish people for centuries, was complicit in the holocaust & has had a rocky relationship with judaism & Israel since. To expect all that to have no bearing seems naive & given the recent report on antisemitism in Irish textbooks some of that history seems be still casting a shadow.

I don't the Israeli govt really believes the Irish PM is antisemitic, it's a smear tactic they use to try and silence any sort of criticism. Been doing it for decades.

Yeah, it’s the classic tactic of attacking a person rather than their argument. Mostly used when you cannot argue against what the person is actually saying.

It’s a distraction.

Smear campaign is right and very pointed at this stage in the way Ireland is being singled out and bullied.

Ah so it's more likely to be anti Christian than directed at Catholics in particular. That's interesting. Ive read some shocking anti Catholic rhetoric from people who presented themselves as Israeli and who seemed to believe that Ireland was a devoutly Catholic country over the past few days which led me to look into the treatment of Catholics in Israel and I was really surprised at what I found. I had no idea that spitting on people on the street because of their religion was such a regular occurance in Israel. That coupled with the violence and desecration of churches and grave yards paints a very grim picture indeed. Given its stark rise in the past year it's hard to believe then that that doesn't play a part in what is happening. Sad times.

& given the recent report on antisemitism in Irish textbooks some of that history seems be still casting a shadow.
You are now just repeating propaganda. Read the beginning of this thread and extracts posted from Irish textbooks which illustrate the exact opposite.

As I said I am not denying there is antisemitism in Ireland but it is not more prevalent here than anywhere else, the nation is not antisemitic our leaders are not antisemitic and bringing up examples of individual incidences of antisemitism does not prove Israel's argument that:

the Irish government’s uniquely “extreme, hostile rhetoric and initiatives taken against Israel”. Evidence?
“Ireland is an extreme voice in the international arena,”
“The actions, double standards, and antisemitic rhetoric of the Irish government against Israel are rooted in efforts to delegitimise and demonise the Jewish state,”
”Unfortunately, in the past year, we’ve seen Ireland position itself in an extreme position that no other country has put itself in.”

Maybe you believe what they say you are entitled to but they have not proved any of what they say or offered any evidence for their accusations. It is a complete smear campaign.

As far as I'm aware the only desecration of a graveyard was an anglican graveyard. If it was an issue for the Irish government don't you think they would have said? Perhaps they have, I just don't know. Its worth noting that the Rossing report tracks a rise in inter communal tension but the numbers are still not huge, in the context of a rise in inter communal attacks more broadly around the world. Some pretty serious anti semitic attacks are being recorded around the world. Pretty large scale attacks on christians by Islamic extremists get remarkably little coverage. No doubt the Irish government has been vocal in calling these out.

No doubt the Irish government has been vocal in calling these out.
No doubt they have and no I have not heard the Irish government suggest there is an anti catholic sentiment in Israel because they don't tend to taint a nation by the actions of a few bigots

There was 90 attacks documented in 2023 alone which amounts to approximately one every four days. I don't think you can call that 'numbers not huge'
These attacks are almost always carried out by ultra nationalist Jews who face little to no retribution for their acts.

"there were 30 cases of spitting, 35 attacks on church property or Christian buildings, 11 cases of harassment, seven instances of physical violence, and six cases of damage to public signs."

Winston Churchill was a rampant antisemite. Does that mean every British subject today is antisemitic? The action of one man does not define a nation, 80 years later.
Your argument is utterly ridiculous and ill thought out.

Don't you see the irony in your post? You attack repeatedly posters here, some of them who happen to be Irish, of being antisemitic and you object to be challenged on it?

Silencing the free press is the first step into something very dark.

I'd say an abbot getting spat on every time he leaves the monastery is pretty bad wouldn't you? His monastry has also had arson attacks, hate grafitti and broken windows and he says it is growing and growing. It's clear that anti Christian attacks are a major problem and Israel aren't doing enough to keep that minority safe. Imagine if a Rabbi got spat on in Ireland everytime he left his home or a synagogue suffered repeated attacks, thankfully that sort of hate doesn't happen here in such a regular, sustained manner. Unless Ireland had proof that anti Christian feeling was playing a role in Israels actions no I don't think they would say, Irelands politicians are responding to Israel very politely and democratically which is admirable given the propaganda we have seen spread the past few days.

I agree that serious antisemetic attacks have been carried out around the world, not in Ireland though thankfully.

No, Ireland is not hostile to Jews and to say or repeat such nonsense keeps the 'fake news' rolling around for another news cycle.

Ireland doesn't agree with Israel bombing the hell out of Gaza or Syria (who have just managed to overthrow a dictator themselves) or any other country.

That is what we have an issue with. Whether someone is a practising Jew, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant or of no faith whatsoever, Ireland is not hostile to you.

"given the recent report on antisemitism in Irish textbooks"

Wasn't this debunked in this thread? why do you repeat it despite the fact,

Also, the way you talk about Catholics is overgeneralized and spreads hate against them unnecessarily.

The current security minister in Israel is the same 'lawyer', who defended in court the Jewish extremists who were charged with arson on the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. Is that not outrageous? How do the Christians feel about their security when the person in charge has formally defended those who attacked their holy places?