Irish government: rhetoric can’t conceal complicity
Ireland has the reputation of being the European country that is most sympathetic to the cause of the Palestinians. While this is true of the Irish people the same cannot be said of the Irish government and the institutions of the Irish state. Behind the rhetoric the record of Irish officialdom both on the general issue of Palestine, and the on the immediate issue of the Gaza genocide, is very poor.
The Irish state, through its extensive links and cooperation with Israel, the United States and the EU, is deeply complicit in the oppression of the Palestinian people.
Military
The most obvious element of complicity is the use of Shannon Airport by the US military as a key logistics hub for the transfer of mutations and personnel to the Middle East. This has been the case since the Iraq war in 2003. In the period since Oct 7th there have been numerous US military flights that have made stopovers at Shannon enroute to Israel. One of the flights was carrying US general Erik Kurilla to Tel Aviv for a meeting with Israeli defence minister Gallant and the most senior IDF officials. There has also been the use of Irish airspace by US chartered cargo planes transferring mutations to Israel. Despite the evidence Irish ministers claim that none of this is happening.
Arms industry
The Irish military is also expanding its direct links with Israel’s defence industry spending more than $4 million on products made by Elbit Systems, the top Israeli weapons firm, over the previous five years.
Technology
The overlap between Israel’s military and industrial sector means that the range of cooperation is much wider. For example, Israeli and Irish branches of chipmaker Intel, are known to be working together on numerous projects. As part of an “intra-company transfer” permits have been issued for Israeli software engineers to work in Ireland.
Economy
There are numerous companies headquartered in Ireland that operate in Israel and in the West Bank. These include Esty whose platform hosts dozens of shops that explicitly list illegal settlements as their locations; and Airbnb which for years has listed properties in settlements.
The Israeli Bank Leumi is involved in the Irish hospitality sector providing finance for the refurbishment of a number of prestigious hotels in Dublin. This is despite the fact that Leumi has been blacklisted by the UN for funding settlement activities in the West Bank.
Finance
The Central Bank of Ireland has an agreement to facilitate the sale of Israeli sovereign bonds – which since October 2023 have been marketed as a means to support Israel’s campaign in Gaza. Proceeds are distributed across the Israeli economy – including illegal settlements and its military.
Imperialism
The reality is that the Irish state is integrated into the economic and military structures of US led imperialist bloc. Within this framework it is impossible for it to be in solidarity with Palestine in any practical or meaning way. This is the reason for the chasm between the Irish people and the Irish government.