Irish Jewish leaders have questioned the decision to have President Michael Higgins give the keynote address at an upcoming Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration in light of concerns that he has ignored antisemitism within the country.
Irish Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder warned that Higgins' speech may "ring hollow for many Irish Jews" after he had "neglected even to acknowledge the scourge of contemporary antisemitism in Ireland, let alone do anything to address it."
"He has failed to take seriously the concerns put to him by representatives of the Jewish community," said Wieder. "It is so important that Irish politicians and public figures come together to honor the memory of victims of the Holocaust. Yet the awful irony is that many of them are turning a blind eye to a troubling increase in anti-Jewish hatred in Ireland today."
Wieder noted that in May, in the wake of a diplomatic row between the Israeli and Irish governments, Higgins told the Irish Examiner that the Israeli government's claims of antisemitism in the country were a "PR [public relations] exercise."
An appropriate choice?
Jewish Representative Council of Ireland Maurice Cohen told the Jewish Chronicle on Monday that "It would be inappropriate for President Higgins to deliver the keynote speech at Holocaust Memorial Day."
Cohen told JC that Higgins had made several unsubstantiated remarks about Israel, and seemed to prefer criticism of Israel and Israelis over advocating for peace in the Middle East. One such remark was a claim that Israel was agressing against its neighbors and sought to establish settlements in Egypt.
In December, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar closed the Israeli embassy in Ireland, asserting that the Irish government had engaged in antisemitic rhetoric and actions to delegitimize and demonize the Jewish state.
Higgins said in a press briefing that the accusations were intended to harm Ireland and that the government disagreed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had led Israel to breach "the sovereignty of three of his neighbors in relation to Lebanon, Syria" and "would like, in fact, to have a settlement in Egypt.”
Sa'ar slammed Higgins on X as an "antisemitic liar," explaining that Hezbollah, armed groups in Syria, and Hamas had been breaching Israel's sovereignty in a joint war against the Jewish state, with thousands of missiles, rockets, and drones launched into its territory.
"Israel did what any country would - it defended itself against a brutal aggressor," said Sa'ar. "in the context of our peace agreement with Egypt -- Israel withdrew from a huge area -- all of the Sinai desert, and uprooted all of its communities there. This peace agreement has been maintained since 1979."
Holocaust Education Ireland issued a statement on Wednesday in response to backlash about Higgins's speech, explaining that each year the ceremony keynote address was delivered by the President, the Taoiseach, or occasionally by the justice minister. Higgins had been invited in September, before the degradation of Irish-Israeli ties in December.
"President Michael D. Higgins was issued an invitation in September 2024 to give the keynote address at the Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration in January 2025, which he accepted," said chairperson Professor Thomas O’Dowd. "The commemoration cherishes the memory of all of the people who perished in the Holocaust and recalls the millions of innocent Jewish men, women and children and all of the other victims, who were persecuted and murdered because of their ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliations or their religious beliefs. It is a solemn and dignified occasion. Holocaust Education Ireland is issuing this statement to clarify the purpose of Holocaust Memorial Day. We are grateful for the support and participation of the President and of a number of Taoisigh and government ministers on behalf of the state over the years."
Israeli ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich explained on social media in December that the decision to close the embassy came after Ireland's unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state as the war with Hamas progressed, the Irish government’s request for intervention in South Africa’s International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel with a call for the broadening of the definition of genocide, and support for measures she deemed anti-Israel at the ICC and EU.
"In addition we have seen concerns about the increasing atmosphere of hostility toward Israelis, Zionism, and in some cases the Jewish community being dismissed rather than addressed," said Erlich. "While we do not believe the majority of Irish people are comfortable with this anti-Israeli atmosphere, the current discourse in Ireland, regrettably, does not appear to allow space for a wider variety of views and voices."