Central Bank of Ireland confirms it will no longer approve sale of Israeli ‘war bonds’

[Everexpanding]

Good news. Political pressure, protests and letters beginning to work

www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/09/01/israel-to-market-war-bonds-through-luxembourg-as-irish-authority-expires/

Bullshit also @DenizenOfAisleOfShame

conflating anti zionism with antisemitism does a great disservice to all the brave and compassionate Jews who are speakimg out against the actions of Bibi Netanyahu and Israel’s current government

Unlike some people here, evidently, I have a job and have been busy doing that today. I do have some more links which are interesting and happy to provide tbem for people interested in good faith. Please pm me. I wont be posting for tbe benefit of someone who is rude and offensive and clearly hasnt read the links I have already posted.

Ireland has constantly been a support for Palestinians. So much so the last Kuffiya factory in Palestine made one called Saoirse "freedom".
https://www.kufiya.org/search?q=Saoirse

I purchased 1 for everyone of my family members different colours and designs.

I came across her only recently, I think when looking at the Jewish museum website?

Antizionism is nearly always antisemitic as it simply means believing in a Jewish homeland in Israel. The vast majority of Jews in Israel and elsewhere are zionists. Of course many are opposed to Netanyahu, this is very well known to anyone with a passing knowledge of Israeli politics. It doesn't make them antizionist.

Note to self be more polite to those who wish to deflect criticism of current Israeli govternment actions ( a genocide ) with false claims of antisemitism against an entire country for which they then provide no proof

Yes theres information on there and on Holocaust Education Ireland but I came across her because they named a bridge in Cork City after her a few years ago .

Do the links show evidence of current Irish government anti-semitic policies?

(If they do I’d PM, but unsure at the moment of what exactly the links contain, and I don’t have much free time either.)

We could each cherry pick examples of Irish people who were anti semitic and those who stood in solidarity of Jewish people, but the fact is Ireland’s action on Gaza has got little to do with Israel and mostly to do having empathy with the Palestinians due to parallels in our history.

Which has been explained many times. At the end of the day, Ireland was just among the first to criticise Israel, its position is becoming more common now. And the Israeli administration are accusing many of these allies of “supporting anti semitism” just because they are critical of what’s happening in Gaza.

But the parallels in the history are very weak. Its got much more to do with a misunderstanding of the the idea of Israel as a coloniser, which it obviously is not in any sense that is similar to the history of the English in Ireland. And that is where the antisemitism comes in.
This is very good on the problems with seeing Israel as a coloniser

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/decolonization-narrative-dangerous-and-false/675799/

But the parallels in the history are very weak
I don't think you fully understand it tbh.

This article may provide a better insight.
https://www.npr.org/2024/03/14/1233395830/ireland-pro-palestinian

Thank you, I'll read it later.

Zionism is a lot more than ‘simply believing in a Jewish homeland in Israel’

While it is true the vast majority of Jews consider themselves Zionists, the vast majority also define Zionism in a myriad of different ways.

See this survey where the Jewish readers of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle all seem to have personal ideas on Zionism; as 15 individual comments indicate:
https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/chronicle-poll-results-zionism/

Every statement regarding Zionism submitted as a comment either contradicts or omits key parts of the “official” definition of Zionism established by the World Zionist Organisation.

So that is a bit of a pickle to be in when you’re trying to assert that Zionism is ‘simply’ this or that.

There is nothing simple about it, and many Jewish people are antiZionist and also not antisemitic.

I would suggest you give up your consistent allegations on these threads where you correlate antiZionism with antisemitism.

Thank you for the article. Even though it was a poll of less than 300 people those quotes illustrate my point very nicely. I think a slightly larger proportion in the UK identify as zionists. The concept of zionism long pre-dates the existence of the World Zionist Organisation and exists alongside it.

Simon Sebag Montefiore’s piece in The Atlantic calls the Palestinian decolonization narrative “dangerous and false.I think there are numerous problems with this view and the article as a whole:

He claims that describing Israel as a settler-colonial project is inaccurate and extremist. But the truth is Palestinians were displaced, dispossessed, and colonized — not just in 1948, but ever since. That’s not ideology. That’s lived reality.

More than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled during the Nakba. Entire villages were wiped off the map. Families still carry keys to homes they can’t return to. Is this not colonialism??

Montefiore suggests that talking about decolonization somehow justifies the October 7 attacks. That’s a false and dangerous connection. You can condemn attacks on civilians AND still stand against 75+ years of occupation, siege, and apartheid.

Reducing the Palestinian cause to "Hamas terror" is a cheap tactic. Palestinians are a people with a national identity, history, and struggle that long predates Hamas — and will long outlive it.

He claims the decolonization framework is antisemitic. But decolonization is about ending systems of oppression — not targeting people because of their religion or ethnicity.

The article centers Israeli suffering, which is real — but erases Palestinian pain, resistance, and humanity. If your empathy only flows in one direction, it’s not empathy. It’s bias.

Ultimately, Montefiore’s piece defends the status quo: military occupation, illegal settlements, a 17-year siege on Gaza, and a system many international bodies now call apartheid.

Decolonization isn’t a threat. It’s a vision of justice. It means dismantling oppression — not replacing one with another. It means a future where all people, including Jews and Palestinians, live with freedom and dignity.

The fight for Palestinian freedom is not about revenge. It’s about return. It’s about rights. It’s about justice

Yes, some of the 15 quotes do illustrate the simple point of Zionism= homeland in Israel as you have assertedL However, most of these indicate it is more than Zionism= homeland in Israel alone.

One said they were not Zionist until Oct 7th, associating Zionism with the Gaza war, war crimes and all, as necessary for a safe Jewish homeland.

One said “Not anymore” as in they were Zionist until the Gaza war, implying that the manner in which Israel has fought the war (war crimes) is inextricably linked in their mind to being Zionist.

Two of the 15 quotes that stated they were Zionists said they also believed in the right of the Palestinians to a state of Palestine, that they were pro-peace & pro diplomatic solution so the war in Gaza is not just and, for them, contrary to being a Zionist. One stated this by referring to J street.

Several quotes were on the theme of how the definition of Zionism isn’t what they grew up with/has changed/is no longer useful.

In addition, a full 14% of Jewish respondents stated they were not Zionists, with 8% unsure if they were or not.

One thing that did stand out in his article was this section, I think it now more accurately refers to those who continue to support Israel in the face of a mounting Palestinian death toll and ever more suffering and absolute cruelty

“It seems odd that one has to say: Killing civilians, old people, even babies, is always wrong. But today say it one must.”

@SharonEllis
See here for article on how while the majority of British Jews may identify as Zionist only a tiny minority approve of Israel’s government:
https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/were-largely-zionists-but-that-doesnt-stop-us-rowing-over-israel-v38h7c2d

“The data suggest there has been an increase in the diaspora’s connection to Israel since October 7, although most UK Jews disagree with senior Israeli politicians. JPR’s report, from a July 2024 survey of 4,500 adult British Jews, found just 12 per cent approved of Benjamin Netanyahu, and 5 per cent of his far-right colleagues Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.
In comparison, 40 per cent approved of opposition leader Yair Lapid.
Irrespective of political differences, UK Jews have rallied together in the campaign to bring the hostages home. While in Israel the issue has sparked division – with hostage families at the centre of heated debates in the Knesset and mass protests – in Britain, the campaign has been a unifying force. Synagogues have incorporated prayers for the hostages and more than 100 shuls joined the Board of Deputies’ “adopt a hostage” initiative.”

I'm very well aware of this. Its a point I have made many times. I don't know what relevance it has here though, What on earth has zionism got to do with attitudes to the current Israeli government?

Yes I can read! Why would a zionist not believe in the right of Palestinians to a homeland? There is nothing in the essence of zionism, which is about self determination for Jews, not excluding the same right for others, which precludes that. Some zionists may be more extreme but that doesn't mean zionism has to be.

What on earth has zionism got to do with attitudes to the current Israeli government?

Israel’s government believes they are Zionist and are currently acting according to Zionist ideology and principles.

A) Netanyahu’s party, the Likud party, is a coalition founded in 1973 of several staunchly Zionist parties.

B) Smotrich is the leader of the Religious Zionist Party

C) Ben Gvir is the leader of Othman Yehudit Party, which is also a Religious Zionist party but based specifically on the Zionist ideology of Rabbi Kahane

Like it or not, Israel’s government is the face of Zionism to the Palestinians and the rest of the world. They are the reality of Zionism currently being put into practice by self proclaimed Zionist leaders, instead of the ideals and theory of Zionism.

Now, while they do have some ideological differences, it is a fact that these are the elected leaders of Zionist parties, voted in by Zionists that are destroying Gaza and announcing annexation of the West Bank.

So, yes Zionism has a lot to do with the government of Israel.

The ruling Zionist parties in Israel don’t agree that Palestinians have a right to a state, or equal rights, and at least one of them view Palestinians as inherently enemies of Israel and therefore should be forcibly expelled.

This is the political reality of Zionism. It isn’t what the books say.

It is a bit like saying why would a Marxist communist believe that a party official should get a lavish lifestyle when there is nothing in the essence of from each according to their ability and to each according to their needs that indicates any kind of socio-economic class hierarchy surviving the grand proletariat revolution?!

We all know that the paper ideals isn’t as pretty when it is applied to human beings and genocides can be the outcome of such grand social upheavals.

Sorry autocorrect changed the party name to “Othman Yehudit Party”
Should read “Otzma Yehudit Party “

This is a complete distortion of zionism, which is at its heart the belief in the self determination of the Jewish people in Israel. You are layering modern manifestations of political Zionism for your own political agenda. As you have clearly set out in your post.

Obviously Israel's government is zionist and various political parties in Israel are zionist. It would be a complete nonsense for them not to be. It doesn't mean zionism is the government of Israel. In fact it would be entirely consistent with zionism to be resolutely opposed to the government if you believed they were putting the state of Israel at risk.

Plenty of ordinary zionists do believe Palestinians have the same right to self determination and the efforts of previous generations of Israeli politicians demonstrate that they thought it was consistent with zionism too. What the major parties believe now is important politically right now but it doesn't define zionism.

I don't even know what 'it isn't what the books say' means. Which books, what do they say, who has the authority to dismiss them?