Letters: Europe needs to act more like a bloc and less like a club of hopeful partners
If tariffs and power politics are now the language of Washington, Brussels will need its own dialect – strategic autonomy, economic resilience and fewer illusions.
Give it five years and we may see a European defence pact, a digital euro with teeth and fewer EU leaders crossing the Atlantic hoping for favours. The world isn't deglobalising, but it is getting colder.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh
Yes, the 'Nakba' goes back a lot farther, as Zionism began with Herzl in Basel
Declan Foley claims that I think 'the Israel war on Palestine began in 1948' ('Complex history of Israel's war in Palestine goes back a lot farther than 1948', Letters, July 4).
I don't. In my July 3 letter I used the qualification 'at the very latest' when specifying 1948, the year when the state of Israel was founded and the 'displacement and dispossession' of Palestinians began in earnest.
In fact this 'Nakba' became likely in 1897 when Theodor Herzl founded the colonial doctrine of political Zionism in Basel, Switzerland, and it became inevitable when Britain issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917, pledging to establish 'a national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine. Thus, in the words of the novelist Arthur Koestler, 'one nation solemnly promised to a second nation the country of a third'.
The eponymous Arthur Balfour, a notorious antisemite, pushed the Aliens Act in 1905, curbing Jewish immigration to Britain at a time when Jews were fleeing pogroms in Europe, so his motives weren't exactly pure.
The same could be said for his successors in the UK, the EU and – above all – the US, for whom international humanitarian law can be suppressed when it comes to support for their 'strategic ally' Israel.
Raymond Deane, Broadstone, Dublin 7
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Taoiseach should consider the 'disadvantage' being shown to state of Palestine
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Occupied Territories Bill must aim to apply pressure on Israel rather than 'disadvantage Ireland unduly'.
I would suggest to Mr Martin, and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris, that the Government should aim to ensure that none of the financial or political links between Ireland and Israel disadvantage Palestine unduly.
Art Ó Laoghaire, Bray, Co Wicklow
Ireland might yet feel the heat for one-sided stance on conflict in Middle East
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, on the one hand, expresses some apprehension regarding the Occupied Territories Bill, saying 'Ireland must not be disadvantaged unduly', while on the other hand, Tánaiste Simon Harris is 'open to expanding the bill to include services as well as goods'.
This clearly illustrates the quandary the Government has landed itself in, and no amount of floundering will help to pull Ireland out of this.
As for Ireland being 'disadvantaged unduly', our one-sided and singular view of the Middle East conflagration has not gone unnoticed, and we may yet discover just how 'disadvantaged' Ireland has become.
Peter Declan O'Halloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan
It seems Israelis are being murdered yet Palestinians are only being 'killed'
Sam Kiley ('Trump isn't the guide out of horror that Palestinians and Israelis so desperately need', July 3) writes about 1,200 Israelis murdered on October 7 and more than 400 Palestinians being deliberately killed while waiting for food aid.
Why are Israeli deaths described as murders and Palestinian deaths described as killed?
Let's call them both murders. Also, most accounts have more than 600 Palestinians murdered at distribution sites.
Michael Jordan, Point Road, Dundalk, Co Louth
Barriers disabled people face are man-made and most certainly avoidable
I laud Liam Herrick (July 2) for alluding to the salient fact that 'disability is not a problem to be fixed' and that 'Ireland needs public policy that is inclusive'.
Disabled people encounter insurmountable challenges in all areas of life, most notably health inequities.
Many die early, have poor health, and some languish in lasting and life-changing cognitive and physical impairments. However, what is disheartening is that most of the barriers faced by people with disabilities are man-made and avoidable.
It is time to unshackle our societies from the manacles of racism, discrimination, alienation, marginalisation, bigotries, prejudices, Islamophobia, antisemitism and intolerance that disable our societies.
It's time to advance human rights, dignities, diversity, inclusivity, social justice, fairness, equity, accountability and transparency if we are serious about being a fairer, inclusive society.
Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob, London
'Liveline' lost its edge long ago, and censorship by RTÉ is to blame for that
In his article ('In internet era of permanent outrage, 'Liveline' race is run', July 4), Frank Coughlan suggests Liveline has lost its edge because people can now vent their grievances on social media.
I suggest an alternative reason: Liveline has become so censored and politically correct and anodyne that so many topics are not allowed to be discussed. Examples include immigration, gender identity issues and women's rights.
Nothing that might cause controversy is discussed: righteous anger is allowed on topics like the Catholic Church, but nothing else. We saw that some years ago when the issue of the word 'woman'was discussed.
So let's not blame social media for the neutering of Liveline. RTÉ did it.
Julia Anderson, Greystones, Co Wicklow
Savour the fruits of our summer if you can't enjoy ever-changeable weather
We have seen some blue skies and the sun appear and then disappear, as is the way of the Irish summer.
But its authentic taste remains the same and can be savoured if you're fortunate enough to enjoy our current divine crop of strawberries and raspberries. A little bit of heaven.
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