Irish premier ‘utterly’ rejects antisemitism claims

Irish premier Micheal Martin has “utterly” rejected claims that he is antisemitic, reportedly made by the Israeli ambassador to the US.

Mr Martin met Jewish leaders in Washington DC on Friday as part of a series of engagements for St Patrick’s Day.

Ahead of the meeting on Friday, Yechiel Leiter reportedly told Jewish Insider that anyone who cancelled their meeting with the Taoiseach “should be commended”.

Mr Martin said he “utterly” rejected the ambassador’s “false” comments.

Speaking on Friday before the meeting, he said it was possible “a number may pull out” but that some representatives of the Jewish community in the US would meet him.

“I will take the opportunity to have an open, informal discussion in terms of presenting the prism through which Ireland has looked at the Middle East,” he said.

After the meeting a spokesman for the Taoiseach said he welcomed the chance to discuss “the impact of rising antisemitism on Jewish communities around the world, including in Ireland”.

“It was a very positive engagement and we agreed a number of actions we can follow up on in the coming time.”

Speaking earlier on Friday, Mr Martin said the vast majority of countries back a two-state solution in the region.

He said: “It is the UN position and Ireland has always adopted the principles of the UN in respect to the Middle East.

“It’s just absurd that you would label someone antisemitic for being in favour of the principles of the UN in respect of their application to the Middle East issue.

“I think there’s an element of deliberate undermining of Ireland’s position and distortion of Ireland’s position in respect of this.”

He said that Ireland’s approach to the conflict in Gaza is consistent with how it responded to humanitarian crises in Ethiopia, Syria and Lebanon.

“I went to Israel after October 7 in solidarity with the people of Israel, given what happened with that horrific and barbaric attack by Hamas,” Mr Martin said.

“We have consistently condemned Hamas. I’ve called for the unconditional release of hostages from the very beginning.

“We called for an immediate ceasefire, which Israel didn’t like, but as far as we were concerned, the conduct of modern warfare is such that in urban conurbations, it leads to the killing of innocent people and innocent civilians to a degree that was not tenable.

“It was beyond the moral compass that so many families and children were losing their lives, and therefore we wanted a ceasefire as urgently as possible. We wanted a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which is still required.

“It is hell on earth in Gaza and the Irish position is fundamentally a humanitarian one, which is consistent with how we responded to Ethiopia, consistent with how we responded to Syria, consistent with how we’ve always responded to Lebanon.

“So there’s a consistency of approach in the Irish position, and to label it as antisemitic is wrong, false and a deliberate distortion of the truth.”

Senior figures in Israel’s government have accused leaders in the Irish coalition of encouraging antisemitism, with the Israeli embassy in Dublin also announcing last year that it would close.

Israeli politicians have also criticised Ireland’s decision to intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel, with Dublin asking the International Court of Justice to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes genocide.

In addition, Israel foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar called Mr Martin’s predecessor, Simon Harris, “antisemitic”.

Mr Harris, who is now deputy premier as part of coalition arrangements with Mr Martin, has rejected the characterisation.