Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Tuesday 4 October 2016

"BDS is Under Attack in Ireland"

Our Israel-hating chums in the Emerald Isle, home to some particularly vociferous examples of the Israel-hating fraternity, are fuming.

As reported here:

'The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said it feels vulnerable following a decision by Bank of Ireland to close its bank accounts in the Republic and in Northern Ireland....

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Group has had accounts with Bank of Ireland since it was first established in 2001.
It said it was first contacted about this issue by the bank in July with a series of questions including what the funds in the account were used for and if it transferred any money to Palestine and if so to whom.
 The Campaign's treasurer Martin O'Quigley said it fully answered the bank's questions and provided it with a copy of its constitution and of its audited accounts for 2015.
It said most of its funds are spend in Ireland raising awareness of Palestinian issues.
The only money or aid it sends to Palestine is to a factory in the West Bank which manufactures traditional Palestinian scarves which the campaign buys as solidarity items.
But it said Bank of Ireland informed it that it does not fit the bank's appetite for risk as Palestine is deemed to be a high-risk country....
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Group has opened new accounts with AIB [Allied Irish Banks] but said it feels vulnerable that a bank could withdraw facilities without what it believes to be any good reason.
It is considering an appeal to the Banking Ombudsman. 
Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald branded the decision by Bank of Ireland as "outrageous"....'
 Meanwhile, the ISPC  have issued a statement on social media:
' #BDS is under attack in Ireland: As you may have heard on RTE Radio's This Week program  the Bank of Ireland have closed the accounts of the IPSC - after 15 years of banking with them - and not given us a proper reason, merely citing "risk".
Needless to say, this has had a damaging effect on our ability to finance ourselves through loss of time and income, and on our ability to organise in defence of Palestinian rights. It's difficult to escape the conclusion that this attack on our ability to bank is a politically motivated measure to silence a human rights organsiation that campaigns for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it fulfills its obligations under international law (a campaign the Irish government views as entirely legitimate). Such closures of accounts of BDS-supporting organisations have occurred all over Europe, in France, Germany, Austria and Britain.
The closure has of course had an adverse effect on our finances - and we ask you to please consider making a regular subscription to our help us in our "risky" work advocating for freedom, justice and equality for the people of Palestine."

For Martin O'Quigley, see this mind-boggling rant of his a year ago, in which, inter alia, he declares that Gaza will be "unliveable by 2020".


 To quote the uploader:
"Martin O'Quigley, Chairperson of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign spoke at the demonstration in solidarity with refugees and migrants in Dublin on Saturday 12th September 2015. Mr. O'Quigley was invited to speak about the situation facing Palestinian refugees in particular, having been denied their right of return to their homes by Israel for almost seven decades.
Many of those fleeing war, terror, repression and hardship in the Middle East and Africa are Palestinians – some are refugees for a second or third time. The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign is proud to endorse this demonstration calling on the Irish government to do more for refugees and migrants trying to reach Europe via dangerous journey in which thousands of people have died. In many cases either Western intervention, or Western indifference, has caused the crises which have led to the creation of the problems faced by these people.
 Therefore it’s not enough to merely take in those seeking better lives, the Irish government must seek to remedy the root causes, including supporting sanctions on Israel until it respects international law, ends it occupation of Palestine and allows the millions of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, a right denied them for almost 70 years." [Emphasis added]
On such arrant nonsense and misinformation and ill-will does the anti-Israel cause rest.

Look at the antisemitism contained in the comments on a report regarding the (no great friend to Israel) Irish president's praise of Shimon Peres here

Despicably,  taking an ill-deserved swipe at Peres (in the Irish Times on 30 September) was Dublin-based ex-pat Israeli academic Ronit Lentin, a known Israel-basher.
'Sir, – Israel’s former president Shimon Peres was anything but a “symbol of hope and reconciliation in the Middle East” (Editorial, September 29).
Deeply involved in the Zionist settler colonial enterprise in Palestine from its inception, Peres was charged with establishing the Israeli military and air industries (not its “defence industry” as some commentators call it), as well as Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona.
Peres was responsible for persuading France and Britain to attack Egypt in 1956, an imperialist war, not an Israeli response to an existential threat as argued at the time.
He was instrumental in instigating the 1967 war, and, as a member of the ruling (socialist) Mapai party, was one of the architects of the settlement project.
More specifically, Peres ordered the kidnapping of the whistle-blowing nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu and gave the order to massacre the Palestinians sheltering in the UN camp in Qana, Lebanon. Peres later claimed he didn’t know that people were hiding in the UN camp, but eyewitnesses said this was a lie and that Israel, which had occupied Qana in the Lebanon invasion of 1982, had a video of the camp and knew exactly what it was doing.
As an Israeli citizen I take no pride in Shimon Peres, a war criminal who should have been prosecuted rather than awarded the by now meaningless Nobel Peace Prize. – Yours, etc,...'
Odious stuff.

1 comment:

  1. Irish parliamentarians meeting with Palestinian extremists
    http://europalforum.org.uk/en/post/1667
    EuroPal Forum organised a Parliamentary briefing in Dublin on Tuesday 27th Sept 2016. The briefing was attended by members of parliament from various parties and a number of researchers and activists concerned with the Palestinian cause.
    The briefing was addressed by parliamentarians Richard Boyd from People Before Profit party (PBP), Aengus Snodaigh and Seán Crowe from Sinn Féin party and contributions from EuroPal Forum’s chairman Zaher Birawi and Palestinian thinker and senior journalist Dr. Azzam Al-Tamimi.
    Dr. Ahmed Yousef, the former consultant to the Palestinian former prime minister Ismail Haniya, joined the event from Gaza via Skype to give a testimonial about the situation there. A number of parliamentarians and senators attending contributed to the discussion.
    The briefing addressed ways to support Palestinians to achieve their national rights and the role of parliamentarians in Europe in influencing their governments to take more balanced stances towards the Palestinian- Israeli conflict. It also addressed the required role from the European governments to break the ongoing siege on Gaza for the past 10 years.
    The chair of EuroPal Forum, Zaher Birawi, confirmed the significance of the role of parliamentarians who are friends of Palestine and supporters of freedom and human rights to increase efforts to communicate the accurate narrative of the conflict and to initiate practical ideas to shift the policies of their countries towards solving the Palestinian conflict.
    Sean Crowe MP stressed on the importance of collaboration amongst all those who believe in the rights of Palestinians for freedom and independence, regardless of internal political differences amongst the various parties in Ireland. "The common beliefs should be sufficient to have a unified stance against Israeli aggression", he added.
    Richard Boyd MP stated that the challenge faced is how to influence decision makers in Europe and the governing parties to understand the nature of the conflict in its accurate political and historical context; and how to place the right pressure on them to take brave decisions refuting Israeli racism against Palestinians.
    Aengus Snodaigh MP spoke about his experience in joining efforts to break the siege on Gaza and the importance of parliamentarians to visit the Palestinian occupied lands to witness the reality on ground with their own eyes. He argued that that step would be enough for them to act in defense of the rights of Palestinians.
    Dr. Azzam Al-Tamimi stated that it is important to concentrate on resisting the racist Israeli ideology that is behind the actions of Israel. "That ideology is behind the creation of a racist occupation that can be compared to the apartheid that ruled South Africa" he added.
    Senator Frank Feighan from Fine Gail party of the governing coalition in Ireland affirmed the importance of communication with all parties, including those who might not agree fully with the Palestinian narrative. He argued that this is important in order to initiate a reach out for change in the European policies.

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