Ireland’s foreign minister on Tuesday sent a letter to European Union colleagues calling to impose sanctions on Israel following the IDF’s performance in Operation Cast Lead. One of the suggestions is freezing a planned enhancement of Israel’s status in the European Union, which is accompanied by a number of trade and other benefits.
The minister did have harsh words for Hamas as well, but sanctions are only being directed at Israel at this time. The foreign minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU at present, rejected the call.
Three members of Ireland’s parliament are calling for economic and diplomatic sanctions against Israel, including expulsion of Israel’s ambassador from Dublin.
According to a report appearing in the daily Yisrael HaYom in Israel, a leading Irish newspaper ran a column from a “prominent intellectual” comparing the Israel’s actions in the war with those of the Nazis.
Education Minister Prof. Yuli Tamir traveled to Dublin, where she met with ministers and state officials as part of Israel’s public relations campaign.
The Israeli Embassy in Dublin was closed for a number of hours on Tuesday when an envelope containing a suspicious substance arrived, compelling officials to determine its contents before reopening the diplomatic compound.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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8 Responses
Israel’s increasing relations with the EU are probably very bad for Orthodox Jews. The policy in the EU is “freedom from religion” with no provision for minority rights. This frequently means non-accomoddation of non-Sunday sabbaths (while accepting Sunday blue laws as secular labor laws), finding bans of ritual slaughter to be acceptable, mandating acceptance of gay rights. Secular Israelis are pushing for Israel to join the EU since it would undermine the Jewish community in Eretz Yisrael, and the Israeli ruling class will feel threatened by such sanction. Jews on the other hand, should welcome them.
It’s interesting how the bloody wars between Northern Ireland and Ireland do not give the Irish any insight into how appropriate it is to quash terror and what it means to fight a war.
It’s obviously quite disgraceful and grossly imprecise to compare Israel’s actions to the Nazis’, and doesn’t deserve the dignity of a response; Would they compare Ireland to the Nazis, too?
Here is yet another illustration of how Israel is the “Jew” among the nations of the world, when, ironically, Zionism’s founding aim and premise was (and is) to be “post-Jewish”; Herzl must be shepping much nachas.
#2 – the war in Northern Ireland ended when religion ceased to be a major part of everyone’s life, and they gave up their religion to concentrate on making money. Is that really what you want??? That IS what the secular Jews who rule Israel want, which is why they would be concerned about an EU boycott.
HaKatan, in the war between Northern Ireland and the UK, it is the IRA who is seen as the terrorist. They are the ones performing acts of terror in effort to regain their land. I imagine they identify more with the Arabs in Gaza, and not as you said, with those seeking to quash terror. They might even go so far as to compare the British to “Nazis” YM”Sh.
wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!!!!!
they all hate us and will stop at nothing to destroy us. either we forget all our internal issues and focus on loving and doing chesed for each other JUST because we are Hashem’s children……or we see the Nevu’ot play out before our eyes, c”v. It’s all in our hands….
BS”D
The war is about Northern Ireland reuniting with this troublesome little Ireland. This Irish Republic is basically on the side of the IRA except that they don’t agree with its methods, at least in public.
As far as the world scene and the EU is concerned, Ireland is not even a minnow. It is but a guppy, especially because its economy has tanked recently.
ahhhhhhhh my hometown!!! i miss ireland!!!
asdf, I was wondering when you’d get here! But you failed the Ireland test when you showed your ignorance of the North Ireland conflict.