Malcolm Gafson, who for twenty years has served as chairman of the Israel-Ireland Friendship League (IIFL), was devastated last December when he learned that Israel had decided to close its embassy in Ireland.
He was in Amsterdam at the time, visiting his aunt, who was celebrating her 100th birthday, and couldn’t do much from there in terms of trying to persuade the Foreign Ministry to reverse their decision.
As a long-term member of the Likud Central Committee, Gafson has a little sway in that direction.
Irish-Israeli diplomacy
When he made aliyah 45 years ago, he and diplomat Zvi Gabay lobbied for full diplomatic relations between Israel and Ireland. The two countries had established diplomatic relations in 1975 but did not have resident ambassadors.
It was not until the end of 1993 that embassies were opened in Tel Aviv and Dublin, with Gabay appointed as Israel’s first ambassador to the Emerald Isle.
Although the Iraqi-born diplomat subsequently had many other interests after completing his posting – most notably the struggle for the rights of Jews from Arab lands – he remained steadfast in his interest in Ireland until his death in July 2018 and was an honored guest at St. Patrick’s Day receptions and IIFL events.
The relationship between Israel and Ireland was always complex, partially because much of the largely Catholic population was antisemitic and also because of its pro-Palestinian stance. Two weeks before the opening of the Israel Embassy in Dublin, PLO leader Yasser Arafat opened a legation there.
Nonetheless, there were definitely times when the two countries, or rather the Jewish population of Dublin in pre-state times, were on the same page in striving to gain independence from British rule.
Gafson, a second-generation Dubliner with a pronounced brogue in his speech, when speaking of Ireland’s history, recalls how his grandfather told him how members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) would hide in the cellars of Jewish homes when the British forces came looking for them.
Later, following the opening of the Israel Embassy in Dublin, Gafson pays tribute to Gabay, whom he maintained contact with, by describing how he went all over the Republic of Ireland telling Israel’s story.
Gafson also formed close relationships with all of Ireland’s ambassadors and other Irish diplomats serving in Israel.The Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv remains open, and Gafson continues to be in contact with Irish Ambassador Sonya McGuinness.
Although he understands the reasons for closing the Israel embassy in Dublin, it pains him greatly.He could accept the downgrading of the embassy but not its closure.
“It’s important to be engaged,” he says, while admitting that “the situation on the ground was always turbulent.”
Ireland’s recent criticism of Israel’s policies and the ongoing war against Hamas and Hezbollah caused Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to declare: “The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used in Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish State along with double standards. Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel.”
Some of the Irish expats in Israel concur with Sa’ar’s deceleration and in conversations with Gafson and in social media messages, have scoffed at the idea that friendship exists between the two countries.
Yet, when speaking with Gafson, the Irish ambassador and other Irish diplomats assert that Ireland has no desire to sever diplomatic relations but maintains the right to voice criticism on issues with which it does not agree.
The IIFL, in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund, has planted trees in honor of distinguished Irish personalities, and this year will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the dedication of the Éamon de Valera Forest near Nazareth. A delegation of Irish Jews came to Israel for the occasion.
The IIFL will also celebrate Bloomsday in Jerusalem on June 16 and will invite the Irish ambassador and other members of the embassy, as it has done in previous years.
The annual event honors Irish writer James Joyce and fictional character Leopold Bloom, the Jewish hero of his book Ulysses, which remains the great classic of Irish literature more than a century after it was first published.
Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog, the grandfather of the President of Israel, was closely connected with de Valera before and after he became president of Ireland. At the rabbi’s request, de Valera gave instructions for Ireland to take in Holocaust child survivors, some of whom later came to Israel.