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/

The UK population is getting there… I’m not… Must be good to feel superior!

No it’s not a secret and yes the majority of Irish people would be Pro Palestinian. I sincerely do not think this stems from anti semitism though but from what Irish people see as parallel experiences as outlined by in the article posted by @GladioliGreen . Our grandparents would have experienced the Black and Tans, the Irish Famines effect on Ireland was still visible in our population figures until very recently, and then there were the Troubles also

I certainly don’t think it’s superior to be against the indiscriminate killing, starvation and maiming of thousands of civilians.

Im sure you are sincere in what you think.

I do believe we all have unconscious bias though (including me of course).

But I don’t think unconscious bias is at play when we are witnessing or opposing genocide, there is no justification for genocide ever

Of course British people have their bias too. We come at it from very different angles given our very different histories. 43% of British people think that the British Empire is something to be proud of, completely untroubled by the Amritsar massacre, the concentration camps during the Boer war and after the Mau Mau uprising, the post-partition violence in India caused by uprooting 10 million people, and the four million deaths from famine in Bengal while Churchill diverted grain to British troops etc etc. Only 21% think it's something that the UK should regret.

Of course the people of Britain and the people of Ireland are going to think differently on this topic. That's before you get into the more recent history of bombing and invading Middle Eastern countries vs an almost 50 year peace mission in the Middle East.

I think it may be when it's the only conflict in the world we're interested in.

But if you are in the republic you will be concerned with different divisions to those in the UK.

No justification for terrorist attacks either @Everexpanding but you don’t post about Hamas hardly ever on MN. That’s what I mean by unconscious bias, it’s the things that bother us more than all the other awful things going on in the world.

For me I’m angrier at Hamas than the Israel government - that could be my unconscious bias at play.

But it’s not the only conflict I or others on this thread are interested in that is a presumption you are making

I have regularly said I do not agree with Hamas’s actions, I do not post more regularly as there are not people on mumsnet promoting pro Hamas ideology

Your arguments are very one sided.

Compare the emotive language you use around the actions of the IDF & Israel government to the cool way you say “I do not agree with Hamas’s actions”.

You could be talking about a minor inconvenience for all the emotion in that sentence. And that is how you always talk about Hamas, when prompted to mention them at all.

Or a comment on unconscious bias. Being human is a subjective experience, we all have reasons for thinking or feeling the way we do.

Why are you more angry at Hamas who committed a terrorist attack than you are at a government who are carrying out genocide?

Surely both should be derided and because we can't do anything about the terrorist attack that happened almost 2 years but can do something about the genocide that is unfolding in front of us it makes more sense to focus on Israel, the genociders?

What on earth do you mean you cant do anything about a terrorist attack 2 years ago!? Hamas still hold hostages, still refuse to surrender, still terrorising their populatiin, sending the odd rocket. Why do they get to just carry on?

Obviously I am not saying antisemitism 100 years ago is proof of antisemitism today.

I was asked for examples of historic antisemitism.

what is proof of antisemitism today is people trying to downplay hostoric antisemitism, being defensive, pretending it didn't happen or wasn't important. Brushing it under the carpet. In the very same thread where people are arguing that affinity with Palrstinians is precisely because of a shared historical experience.

So the history of Irish colonialism counts.
But the history of Irish antisemitism doesn't.

Your post is a classic example of what Rachel Moiselle talks about and shows a complete lack of empathy. To have to daily walk past a flag which represents people who want to kill you and have actively particpated in the murder of Jewish people because they are Jewish, is horrific. And the reason it is horrific is not the flag itself really but because others like you, minimise its effect. Its another step in the dehumanisation of a population and another sign to a Jewish person that they don't count.

Listen to Jewish people when they tell you it matters.

Listen to the people telling you Israel is carrying out a genocide as confirmed by the UN and all major humanitarian groups and stop posting misinformation in support of Israel here unless you support their genocide??

Listen to Palestinians or do they not count?

@Everexpanding what have your posts got to do with recognising antisemitism in Ireland which is what we were talking about.

Because they triggered this whole shit show by their actions on 7/10 and because they STILL haven't returned the hostages despite what this means for their people in terms of Gaza being destroyed and the loss of civilian life.

I don't personally accept that Israel are carrying out genocide but the IDF are killing thousands of Palestinian citizens. This would stop if Hamas would agree to release the hostages, disarm and leave Gaza.

You might say - Israel could also end it tomorrow. But I don't think they could really because if they allow Hamas to remain in Gaza, they will just be waiting for the next 7/10 at a later date. Unlike Hamas, Israel DO value the lives of their citizens and won't allow this situation to happen again & future Israelis to be at risk of Hamas raping/killing/kidnapping them.

No one is minimising historic antisemitism- it’s real and horrific. But it’s a false equivalence to suggest that solidarity with Palestinians today is motivated by antisemitism, rather than by the images we are all seeing of mass civilian deaths, starvation, and dead children.

The reason the Palestinian flag is so visible right now is not because people hate Jews, but because Israel’s actions in Gaza have horrified the world. To conflate criticism of a state with hatred of a people does a disservice both to Jewish people and to Palestinians living through genocide.

To equate seeing that flag with actual persecution is really trivialising and dehumanising what Palestinian civilians are living through right now: children starving, bombed, whole families erased. That’s why people are flying it- not to target Jews, but to stand against genocide.

I understand that seeing the flag may feel uncomfortable for some, but the reality is that Israel’s actions should be causing far more discomfort than the sight of a piece of cloth.

And I’m not minimising antisemitism- it’s real and serious. But criticism of Israel’s actions isn’t the same as hatred of Jewish people.

Ok, listen to Irish people when they ask you to provide evidence of the baseless claim that their current government is anti semitic , you haven’t provided proof because there is none

“Israel could also end it tomorrow”
The killing of civilians is not a requirement for dismantling Hamas. Israel chooses collective punishment- cutting food, water, and medicine, bombing homes and hospitals- which is a war crime. Targeting civilians does nothing to weaken Hamas’ military capacity.

“If they allow Hamas to remain, there will be another 7/10”
Israel has bombed Gaza relentlessly for nearly a year, killing over 60,000 (?) Palestinians (20,000+ children), yet Hamas still remains. Military campaigns have historically strengthened Hamas by deepening despair and leaving no political horizon. Even Israeli security experts have acknowledged that there is no military solution without addressing occupation and Palestinian rights.

“Unlike Hamas, Israel values the lives of their citizens”
If Israel valued its citizens’ safety, it would have prevented 7/10 by heeding repeated warnings (including from Egypt) and by addressing the unsustainable blockade of Gaza. Instead, Netanyahu admitted he preferred Hamas in power to block a Palestinian state. That policy choice endangered Israeli citizens.

“Future Israelis at risk of Hamas raping/killing/kidnapping”
Civilian protection doesn’t come from extermination campaigns. It comes from political resolution. Decades of occupation, siege, and expansion of illegal settlements have fuelled militancy. Every credible international body- UN, ICJ, human rights orgs- has said Israel must end collective punishment if it wants security. Killing tens of thousands of children guarantees future cycles of violence, not safety.

Israel could end mass civilian killing tomorrow. Continuing genocide isn’t “protecting Israelis,” it’s prolonging insecurity for both peoples. True safety requires justice, not annihilation.

How else can Israel destroy Hamas without killing them? They don't negotiate in good faith, if they did they would have agreed to release all hostages, disarm and leave Gaza a very long time ago.

Hamas still remain, yes. Thousands of them seem to be hiding in Gaza city which is why the IDF are now targeting Gaza city.

Victim blaming nonsense re blaming Israel for 7/10 attack.

Israel can't end the war until Hamas are destroyed or agree to leave Gaza - it's that simple.

You’re wrong @Twiglets1. What Israel is doing now is making things far worse.