As Iran Readied Its Missiles for Israel, Ireland Hobnobbed with Its Emissaries

A tale that even by the dismal standards of relations between Ireland and Israel seems almost incredulous:

Irish political parties are in the habit of holding annual gatherings of their memberships to exchange ideas and bolster support. 

So it was that the Fianna Fáil party, Ireland’s largest political party by seats held, planned their 82nd ‘ard fheis’ in Dublin’s Royal Convention Centre this past weekend.

About three thousand miles away, the Iranian ayatollahs and the IRGC must have been busily putting the final touches on a barrage of missiles and drones they hoped might put an end to the Jewish State — a project decades in the making.

Nobody reading this will require reminding that modern day Ireland has turned into possibly the most permissive culture of Israel-hatred in the Western world. A more politically correct description would be that Ireland is the outlier in Europe when it comes to Israel. Why couch the truth in euphemisms?

In the span of just two weeks, Israel’s ambassador, Dana Erlich, has received hoax anthrax and had her face plastered around town with posters demanding her immediate expulsion. Appropriately, like their allies frantically clearing grocery store shelves of tainted Israeli products, the graphic designer chose yellow for the motif.

Posters erected in Dublin demanding the immediate expulsion of Israel’s Ambassador. Screenshot: Twitter/X (@danaerlich).

Ireland has recently had a change of leadership with the election of its fresh-faced 37 year-old leader Simon Harris.

Simon Harris, Ireland’s 37 year old new Prime Minister. Photo: Wikimedia (Creative Commons)

But lest anybody imagine that this might bode the beginning of a more conciliatory approach towards Israel from Dublin (hey, pigs might yet fly), the new PM has shown that, when it comes to Israel, he’s a new chip off the old Israel-hating block. 

Harris used his first speech to the Irish people to elaborate not upon the extent of his ambitions to solve Ireland’s housing problem or overhaul its healthcare system  but rather to reiterate the strength of his opposition to the Jewish State.

He reached for an interesting metaphor, casting the leaders of Israel as opprobrious, odious beings. The Irish people are “repulsed” by Netanyahu he told the audience unflinching to rapturous applause.

It was against this backdrop of never-relenting but quietly escalating vitriol that Israel’s ambassador in Dublin, Dana Erlich, was formally “disinvited” to the Fianna Fáil ard fheis (the move, it bears note, has wide precedent: Erlich was deemed too odious to meet Dublin City Council members while her Palestinian counterpart, who refuses to condemn October 7th, has taken on the stature of a semi-deity).

Dana Erlich, Israel’s Ambassador in Dublin

The spiteful disinvitation was leaked to the media, of course, replete with whatever mental gymnastics were required to make this accord with a policy of “neutrality.” 

But you’ll never guess who made this year’s invitation list?

The Iranian Ambassador.

No, actually. Ireland refused to invite Israel’s ambassador to a policy conference so that it could make space for the ayatollahs’ rep in Dublin.

I saw this posted firstly on Twitter but (as a one-time aspiring journalist) have learned the value of double-checking facts. 

But there it was. The morning’s edition of The Irish Times (Ireland’s newspaper of record) carried the following lines, conveyed nonchalantly:

“More than 1,500 of the party faithful were in place for Mr Martin’s speech at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre, including a number of ambassadors. Iranian ambassador Masoud Eslami was invited to the ardfheis but Israeli ambassador Dana Erlich was not.”

Those who share my vigorous criticism of Ireland’s unrelenting scolding of Israel have been wont lately to remind the Irish that they were the only apparently civilised state who chose to offer condolences to Germany on the death of Hitler.

Let me suggest that we don’t need to look decades into the past to support our idea that this animus isn’t grounded in anything like reason.