Israel: Israel wants to improve its relations with Ireland, the country's top civil servant, who is in Dublin today, tells Nuala Haughey in Jerusalem
Ireland does does not always show an understanding of the difficulties which face Israel, according to the highest-ranking official in Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There is potential for a "better, more trusting dialogue" between the two countries.
Mr Yoav Biran arrives in Dublin today for talks with senior Irish officials on the eve of Ireland's assumption of the EU presidency. He may also meet the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
Ireland takes over the EU presidency on January 1st and could find itself playing an important role in any efforts to revive the stalled road map for peace in the Middle East drawn up by the so-called quartet of the EU, the US, the UN and Russia.
During the Irish presidency, Mr Cowen will become the EU representative in the quartet and is scheduled to visit Israel early next year.
Relations between Ireland and Israel were strained during Mr Cowen's most recent trip to the region last June, when he insisted on meeting the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Yasser Arafat. Mr Cowen was then barred from meeting Israeli ministers, who maintain a controversial policy of boycotting visiting politicians who meet Mr Arafat.
The Israeli position has been strongly resisted by the EU, which insists on maintaining contacts with him.
Meetings between Irish and Israeli officials, as well as last month's meeting in Brussels between Mr Cowen and his counterpart, Mr Silvan Shalom, are part of an effort to ensure positive contacts between the two states in the run-up to the Irish presidency.
Mr Biran said Israel fully accepted the wish of the EU to play a political role in the Middle East and to promote peace. "We are sure that Europe can play a very positive role if it takes a balanced, responsible and constructive attitude," he said.
"So I hope that during our visit in Dublin, we'll be able to discuss indeed how to improve the bilateral relations with Ireland and how to see the EU, under the leadership of Ireland as its president, develop together with us deeper relations, more extended relations and first and foremost a better more trusting dialogue between our two countries."
Ireland's voting pattern at the United Nations in New York on Israeli- Palestinian issues is consistently in accordance with the agreed EU position, and Irish officials have refuted suggestions by officials here that Ireland is biased against Israel.
However, Mr Biran, while declining to offer specific examples, cited "some positions" taken by the Irish Government and public utterances at the UN, as well as Ireland's voting pattern, as "lacking the kind of balance and understanding of the terrible human difficulties of Israel that one would expect.
"Frankly we would like also to improve the political dialogue because we feel that not always do we see the kind of understanding of our difficulties and our problems and therefore support of our ongoing efforts to promote peace between us and the Palestinians on the part of your government."
Mr Biran said he also appreciated the recent Irish initiative to pass a resolution, which was co- sponsored by the EU, condemning anti-Semitism at the UN General Assembly. Ireland withdrew the resolution in the past fortnight after Arab and Muslim states insisted that it include amendments condemning intolerance against other religions.
This would have defeated the purpose of obtaining the first UN resolution specifically condemning anti-Semitism.