Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, announced Sunday that the country would be closing its embassy in Ireland, following that country’s decision to join South Africa’s “genocide” claim at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
South Africa has sued Israel at the ICJ, claiming that it is committing “genocide” in response to the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. South Africa’s case has elements of classic antisemitism, including the argument that Jews do not have the right to defend themselves when attacked, and misquotes of the Bible and Jewish teachings to claim that Jews are quilty a unique and religiously-motivated evil. It does not even acknowledge Hamas’s genocidal ideology.
South Africa’s case has failed to gain much traction, even before a sympathetic court that is biased against Israel. Nevertheless, the government decided last week to join South Africa’s “genocide” case — although critics noted it changed the definition of “genocide” in doing so. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, for example, observed: “Ireland will also urge the court to develop and use a broader definition of the term “genocide.”
The Times of Israel reported:
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announces he will be closing Israel’s embassy in Ireland, citing the “extreme anti-Israel policy of the Irish government.”
…
“The antisemitic actions and rhetoric that Ireland is taking against Israel are based on delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state and on double standards,” says Sa’ar in a statement. “Ireland has crossed all red lines in its relationship with Israel. Israel will invest its resources in promoting bilateral relations with the countries of the world according to priorities that are also derived from the attitude of the various countries towards it.”
At the same time, Sa’ar announces that Israel will open an embassy in Moldova, which already has an embassy in Israel. The opening is expected to occur in the next year, and Israel is beginning the process of finding a site and appointing an ambassador.
Israel had recalled its ambassador from Ireland in May after it joined Spain and Norway in recognizing a Palestinian state. Such a state does not physically exist; recognition effectively rewards Hamas for the October 7 terror attack.
There has long been sympathy for the Palestinian cause within the movement for Irish sovereignty over the entire island, including the six counties of Northern Ireland that are part of the United Kingdom. Both causes have also harbored terrorist elements. The difference is that the Irish Republican Army eventually agreed to stop violence; Hamas and the Palestinian cause have never ceased to use terrorism and refuse to accept the existence of Israel.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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