The peaceful, silent protest started after Michael Higgins, who has been accused of antisemitism, mentioned Israel in his speech.
By JNS
Security staff at a Holocaust commemoration event in Dublin on Sunday forcibly removed several people who turned their backs to Ireland’s president while he was speaking, in protest against his anti-Israel policies.
The protesters stood up as soon as Michael D. Higgins mentioned Israel during his speech at Dublin’s Mansion House, the RTE broadcaster reported.
“I believe that 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 and Gaza, will welcome the long-overdue ceasefire, for which there has been such a heavy price paid,” said Higgins.
Irish Senator Gerard Craughwell condemned the protesters’ removal. “I was standing a few feet away from these protesters. I do not understand why they were manhandled out of the event. All they did was stand up and turn their back” at Higgins, he tweeted.
The speech was ahead of Jan. 27, the U.N.-designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Higgins’ allegations against Israel over the past year have led to accusations of antisemitism, which he has denied. He falsely asserted last month that Israel is seeking to build a “settlement” in Egypt.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded to that allegation by saying: “Once an antisemitic liar—always an antisemitic liar.”
Israel last month shuttered its embassy in Ireland after the Irish government approved a proposal to intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. It has asked the court to change its definition of genocide to better accommodate the accusations against Israel.
In September, Higgins accused, apparently without proof, the Israeli embassy of leaking to the press a letter that he’d sent to his Iranian counterpart in which Higgins wrote that the regime in Tehran would play a “crucial role” in maintaining peace in the Middle East.