Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has said that he has no concerns that Ireland’s position on the violence inflicted on Gaza could cause a diplomatic strain between Ireland and the United States.
Speaking on a visit to Howard University in Washington, Mr Harris said he had had “very genuine conversations around the concern at the level of violence” in Gaza with those he had met in the US.
His comments come amid fears that Israel will launch a ground invasion of Rafah where more than a million Palestinian refugees are taking shelter from the ongoing war.
There has been a hardening of the Irish Government’s criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar writing to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen expressing deep concern at the deteriorating situation in Gaza and seeking an “urgent review” of whether Israel is complying with human rights obligations under its trade agreement with the European Union.
Speaking after several political meetings on Capitol Hill, during which the devastating impact of the war on Gaza featured prominently in discussions, Mr Harris said: “It is always good to be able to have honest exchanges with friends and Ireland has many friends on the Hill and in the Biden administration. But also, I found a shared view in the need for progress to be made.
“Very genuine conversations around the concern at the level of violence. It is not for me to comment on the internal US political process, but I think seeing that violence is something that can really unite all right thinking people.”
“There was a shared view in relation to the need to see a cessation of violence, obviously to see the immediate release of hostages and then to try and move to a political process where we can see a two state solution. But before we talk about that we need to see the violence to stop. Innocent children are being disproportionately impacted by the war, and Ireland will continue to be a strong and principled voice.”
Since arriving in Washington on Monday evening, Mr Harris has had meetings in Georgetown and Howard universities to explore further educational partnerships between Ireland and the United States.
Mr Harris also gave details of the function of the six planned attache roles announced in an address on Tuesday evening at the Irish Embassy. The first of those roles will be located in San Francisco.
“I want them to continue to develop links with industry and business and with educational institutions,” he said.
“I think having someone there full time, who doesn’t represent an individual university but actually represents all of tertiary education and can look out for opportunities for Ireland in terms of extending the hand of friendship will be really valuable.”
He spent Wednesday morning touring Howard, the historically Black research university, where he met students, faculty staff and had a formal meeting with Howard president Ben Vinson III.
“I was very conscious of the fact that we were there on the birthday of Frederick Douglas; the historical significance of Douglas to Howard and indeed in Ireland and the time he spent in Ireland and the influence that had on his own thinking. Howard has a long-standing relationship with UCD in student mobility and we discussed how we wished to see that expand -and to expand to other universities.
“I asked them for guidance in relation to their expertise with regards race, inclusion and access in education and pointed out that Ireland is obviously a much more diverse and multiethnic country now. And how do we continue to integrate within our education system and learn from the expertise of Howard.”
He will meet the US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, Joe Kennedy, in Boston on Thursday and the retention of students will feature in their discussion.
“We are still seeing a lot of students leaving Northern Ireland for their studies and then not coming back. And I think it is really important that we look at how we retain talent on the island of Ireland as well.”
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