Israeli Ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich has accused the Irish president of “politicising” a Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration in Dublin on Sunday.
The event marked 80 years since the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, and was held to remember victims of the Holocaust.
A number of people were removed and others left the event in Dublin’s Mansion House in protest as Michael D Higgins delivered his speech, which referenced the Israel-Gaza war.
Erlich said comments made by President Higgins had “predictably” admonished the state of Israel.
It follows comments from the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, who said President Higgins had “resorted to a cheap, despicable provocation” during the event.
‘Ireland becoming a hostile place’
On Monday, Dana Erlich said that by referencing the war in Gaza in the manner that he did, at this particular event with no reference to any other conflict, the president “consciously chose to draw an analogy” between current events and World War Two.
She added: “The concerns of the Irish Jewish and Israeli communities about Ireland becoming a hostile place, a place where they are reluctant to express their Jewish identity and heritage, are not being addressed sufficiently”.
Erlich also accused President Higgins of ignoring “the obvious link between the Holocaust and the state of Israel and how our country became a refuge for survivors of the worst genocide in history”.
‘Ugly and regrettable scene’
Dana Erlich announced in December that Israel will close its embassy in Dublin [PA Media]
During his speech on Sunday, President Higgins described revenge as a “lessening of the human spirit” before referencing the Middle East moments later.
Audiences members walked out and others turned their backs when the president raised the war in Gaza.
He said: “Those in Israel who mourn their loved ones, those who have been waiting for the release of hostages, or the thousands searching for relatives in the rubble in Gaza will welcome the long-overdue ceasefire for which there has been such a heavy price paid.”
President Higgins quoted both the Israeli peace activist Maoz Inon and the Palestinian peace activist Aziz Abu Sarah who, he said, each carried a near-unbearable grief and were asking people to listen to each other.
Protesters can be seen with their backs stood to the stage as President Michael D Higgins delivered his speech. A number of them were removed by security. [RTÉ]
Some of those who turned their backs were removed from the building by security.
In her statement, Dana Erlich expressed specific concern at this.
“It was shocking to observe that attendees from the Jewish and Israeli community in Ireland, who chose to express disagreement with the president’s comments in a dignified a non-disruptive manner where forcibly removed from the memorial event and refused entry for the remainder of the commemoration.”
She described it as an “ugly and regrettable scene” which has been viewed with “disbelief and disgust”.
‘Regrettable scene’
On Monday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris expressed his support for the president, who he said was “right” to to mention the Middle East during his speech.
Mr Harris told reporters in Brussels that he thought the president was “clear in relation to obviously specific issues regarding the Holocaust and his absolute condemnation of the horror, the murder of the Jewish people, but also, I think, rightly mentioning the situation in the Middle East as well but also calling very much for hostages to be released”.
Harris said he was conscious it is a “very, very sensitive time” and he didn’t wish to say anything to distract from that.
The tánaiste (deputy prime minister) added he was “not sure” if the president’s speech was vetted by the Department of Foreign Affairs prior to delivery
Simon Harris said the president “rightly mentioned” the situation in the Middle East as well as calling for hostages to be released [PA Media]
The president had rejected an earlier call from Dana Erlich to withdraw from giving a speech at the event following an accusation that he helped to nurture the “anti-Israeli atmosphere” in Ireland.
In an earlier statement to Irish broadcaster RTÉ, President Higgins said he has strongly condemned anti-Semitism “again and again” throughout his career.
Last month, Israel’s foreign minister announced that the country’s embassy in Dublin would close over “the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government”.
Former Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Harris said the decision by Israel to close its Irish embassy was “deeply regrettable”.
He also rejected that Ireland is anti-Israel.
This followed the recognition of a Palestinian state by Ireland, along with Norway and Spain, in May last year.
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