Prominent US politicians calls Occupied Territories Bill ‘extreme antisemitic hate'
US
politicians have warned the
Government
that enacting the
Occupied Territories Bill
would be harmful for
Ireland
.
The proposed bill is expected to be put before the Dáil in the autumn. The legislation would prohibit trading with companies operating in illegal settlements in the West Bank and other occupied territories.
At least 10 members of Congress have shared their criticisms of the bill on X in what would appear to be a concerted campaign.
They were joined by the US ambassador to Israel Mick Huckabee who posted on X: 'Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication? It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland! Call
@IsraelMFA
& say you're sorry!'
[
Government effort to ban occupied territories trade gets EU boost
Opens in new window
]
Lisa McClain, the chair of the House Republicans, stated that 'any legislation boycotting, divesting, or sanctioning Israel would be a huge mistake for Ireland.
'This type of extreme anti-Semitic hate is unacceptable and should be rejected.'
On X, Rep McClain linked to an article from The Hill website which warned that the passing of bill would create a 'real and immediate legal risk not for Israel, but for American companies and investors'.
The article, authored by three legal academics, Mark Goldfeder, Anat Beck and Erielle Davidson, outlines that the United States has had a long-standing policy going back to 1977 that US companies will not be allowed to participate in any boycott of Israel.
'Federal anti-boycott laws make it illegal for US companies to comply with foreign government boycott requests targeting Israel,' it says.
'That means American firms that change their behaviour in response to Ireland's new law – whether by cancelling contracts, terminating suppliers or rerouting goods away from Israeli partners in the West Bank – could face serious penalties at home.'
More than 36 US states have adopted laws that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel, it said .
Well-known US senator Lindsey Graham posted: I hope that Ireland will reconsider their efforts to economically isolate Israel, as they are in a fight for their very existence. I do not believe these efforts would be well received in the United States and they certainly would not go unnoticed.'
Senator Rick Scott also linked to The Hill article: 'This foolish move not only wrongfully targets Israel & the Jewish Community, but also harms American businesses. They should think twice about the message they're sending by passing this bill, which complicates our economic relationship & targets our ally.'
This foolish move not only wrongfully targets Israel & the Jewish Community, but also harms American businesses. They should think twice about the message they're sending by passing this bill, which complicates our economic relationship & targets our ally.
Other members of congress who have warned Ireland about the consequences of the problem including congress members Mike Lawler, Mike Crapo, Peter Stauber and Claudia Tenny among a growing number of US politicians, most of them Republican, who have vocally opposed the Occupied Territories Bill
Two weeks ago US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Senator Jim Risch said the Occupied Territories Bill 'will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering' for the State.
Writing on X, the veteran Republican senator for Idaho said: 'Ireland, while often a valuable US partner, is on a hateful, anti-Semitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering.
His comments were rejected by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
'I would reject any assertion that this is anti-Semitic. I'm appalled of that assertion and that's something we're going to correct,' he said in response to Senator Risch's comments.
'We will work on our economic interests. We'll work to explain our position to interlocutors in the US and to the US administration.'
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