No Arms for Israel, No Irish Collaboration
20 July 2024
Protest at Shannon Airport.
We are now just over nine months into the Israeli onslaught against the people of Gaza. Demands have come and gone. For example, whatever happened to the demand for the Israeli Ambassador to be expelled? Though recalled as a diplomatic rebuke by Israel her status as an ambassador is still recognised by the Irish government and she is free to return to Ireland at any time.
Ireland continues to have full diplomatic relations with Israel; it has not backed the genocide case in the ICJ; and continues to allow trade with Israel. While the Irish government has belatedly recognised Palestine’s right to statehood it is not clear what is being recognised. Is it the historical Palestine of 1948 or just the lands of 1967, or even less still, those of the Oslo Accords and the Bantustans under the control of the PA?
The Irish sate is complicit in the transfer of arms to Israel. While there has been lots of concern about dual use goods from Ireland that have been exported to Israel, the most glaring case of complicity is the continuing use of Shannon Airport by the US military. The example of the airport reveals a number of Irish collaborators who are hiding in plain sight. The most obvious one is the Irish government which has allowed US military flights bound for Tel Aviv to pass through. There is also the trade union leadership who have done absolutely zero to put an end to this, despite many of the workers at the airport being unionised. The operations at Shannon are also facilitated by Irish based financial and insurance companies. The Irish media churns out pro-war propaganda on a daily basis and slanders public figures who stand for peace.
If we want to stop arms going for Israel we need a workers’ boycott. The trade union leaders who have spoken at Palestinian rallies must follow through by organising workers in Shannon and other ports to block all shipments that have any connection with arms transfers to Israel. More broadly it means boycotting the export of any goods to Israel. Quietly petitioning a government that has allowed the US to use Shannon for decades, including its mass slaughter of Iraqis, is not going to work. The Irish government and the trade union leadership do not support the Palestinian people. They are, as the UN special rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese has said, content to make statements without taking any serious action against the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli assault against the Palestinians is just one element of a broader war drive by the US to maintain itself as the dominant world power. Another element is the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. The end point of this is war against China, the country the US views as its primary rival. Under this new Pax Americana issues, such as the genocide of the Palestine in Gaza, will proceed unquestioned. The Irish government, in both rhetoric and action, has demonstrated that it is fully aligned with this project. The Taoiseach recently greeted Zelensky at Shannon Airport while the defence minister has called for more military spending and greater co-ordination with NATO. The Irish state is contributing to a dangerous escalation that could lead to a general war in which nuclear weapons are deployed and tens of millions of people die.
It is time end Irish collaboration. It is time to end Irish involvement with NATO. It is time to close Shannon Airport to the US military. It is time to really stand with the Palestinians by imposing comprehensive diplomatic and economic sanctions on Israel. The Irish government won’t do any of this willingly. It will only move when put under pressure from below by a militant and politicised campaign led by the organised working class.