Sir, – While I understand the expectation for decorum between states, Taoiseach Simon Harris’s response to Donald Trump’s re-election, in which he predicts that “with the US and Ireland’s shared commitment to democracy and international law, we can, and will, tackle these challenges”, misrepresented the US record on the human rights catastrophe of our time (News, November 7th).
For over a year, the US has funded an Israeli military onslaught that the vast majority of Irish people regard as a genocide. President Biden’s fabled “red line” proved to be non-existent; when the Israeli military attacked Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of refugees had sought shelter, the flow of US bombs continued.
Does our Taoiseach really believe that the US and Ireland have displayed a “shared commitment to democracy and international law” over the past year?
Surely the best way to “tackle” the “challenge” of this sickening massacre is to stop facilitating the Israeli war machine, and stop funding the illegal colonial settlements.
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This brings us to Ireland’s complicity. Our Government must stop delaying the Occupied Territories Bill. The ongoing presence of illegal settlement produce on Irish supermarket shelves makes a mockery of our nation’s supposed “commitment to democracy and international law”.
Whether the Taoiseach’s comments reflect his factual analysis, or his analysis of economic expediency, it is becoming clear that only with a change of government can Ireland take its place on the right side of history. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN Ó ÉIGEARTAIGH,
Dublin 4.