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Irish Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, July 9th: On Gaza suffering, anti-Semitism and women in the home
Sir, – As the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade this week continues its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025, we must keep the reality of life for Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank to the fore. In the West Bank, illegal settlements, the separation wall, severe restrictions, forced displacement, and violence create a daily reality of profound suffering. Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The Israeli and US backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has replaced 400 UN aid distribution points with just four overcrowded militarised aid sites which have become deadly flashpoints. Armed groups, reportedly backed by Israeli authorities, routinely open fire on starving civilians, resulting in more than 500 desperate and hungry Palestinians being killed and nearly 4,000 injured while trying to access food in the last month alone. READ MORE The long-awaited and welcome draft Occupied Palestine Territory Bill proposes to ban the importation of goods from illegal Israeli settlements. However, it omits services, which make up around 70 per cent of Ireland's trade with Israel. This omission risks rendering the Bill toothless, leaving the bulk of Ireland's commercial ties with illegal settlements untouched. This is an issue close to home. For example, Airbnb, which operates its European headquarters in Dublin, continues to profit from illegal settlement activity and recording global revenues of $2.5 billion in 2024. If services are excluded, companies like Airbnb can legally continue facilitating and profiting from breaches of international law through their Irish operations. We urge Irish politicians to act with courage. Without a ban on services, Ireland risks this Bill being an empty gesture, when really our legal obligations to act against genocide demand much more of us. – Yours, etc, KAROL BALFE, Chief executive, ActionAid Ireland, Dublin 2. Anti-Semitism and Ireland Sir, – Fintan O'Toole is right to say there are many figures in Irish history who we can be proud to say stood up against the vile poison of anti-Semitism. However, reading his article (' Ireland has a proud history of opposing anti-Semitism ,'(July, 8th), an outsider would be forgiven for thinking that this island has no history of racism against the Jewish people. In 1904, the racist rantings of a priest in Limerick led many in the city to cruelly boycott the businesses of their Jewish neighbours, causing most to flee the city. During the Holocaust, while many Jews pleaded to be let into Ireland, the attitude of the State was that these people were not like us and their plight was none of our business. This callous indifference meant many of these Jews were instead condemned to die in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor. More recently, last year a man in a Dublin nightclub was asked, 'Are you Jewish?' and when he replied that he was, he was allegedly beaten up by a gang of anti-Semitic thugs. So yes, let's remember with pride the brave Irishmen and women who stood up against anti-Semitism. But we should not delude ourselves that this island of ours is uniquely free of anti-Semitism. – Yours, etc, JAMES WILSON, Dublin 8. Sir, – Fintan O'Toole assures us that Ireland has a 'history of solidarity' with the Jewish people. Indeed it does, but had he relied on history more recent than the 19th century he might have reached a different conclusion about the current state of anti-Semitism in Ireland. – Yours, etc TERESA TRAINOR, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16. Sir, – I would like to commend Fintan O'Toole. Even if Ireland's record in relation to anti-Semitism is not unblemished, this piece constitutes an excellent tutorial for the new US ambassador to Ireland on the indivisibility of human rights and human compassion. It would seem that this principle needs to be relearned not just in the US but in Europe, particularly in relation to the Middle East conflict. – Yours, etc, MARTIN HAWKES, Terenure, Dublin 6. Sir, – The widely regarded architect of the deaths of at least 57,0000 Palestinians in Gaza writes to the Nobel Peace Prize committee nominating the person who supplies him with the funds and weapons to achieve this result. The Nobel peace award is given to a person who contributes most to 'the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the holding and promotion of peace congresses'. This is surely a case of 'return to sender'. – Yours, etc, MARTIN Mc DONALD, Dublin Women in the home Sir, – Regarding the article ' Ireland should hold another referendum on women in the home , UN committee says', July 8th): May I suggest that official Ireland ignore this advice, resist the habit of seeking a do-over when a referendum result doesn't align with its preferred outcome, and instead start to read the room that a majority of the electorate are in. – Yours, etc, LIZ FITZPATRICK, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. Sir, – Last year, Irish people voted against the proposal to delete the word 'mother' from our Constitution in favour of ambiguous, nebulous gender-neutral wording. Now, we learn that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) wants our Government to have another crack at it! We are a highly educated, literate, informed society. We read and debated the proposed wording last year, and we clearly understood that, far from diminishing a mother's status in society, the word 'mother' in our Constitution is a recognition of the unique role that a mother plays within the family –whether she works outside the home, within the home, or both. We have already had our say – and resoundingly so. –Yours, etc LORAINE McSHERRY, Nenagh, Co Tipperary Sir,– Over 70 per cent of the people who voted in 2024 rejected the proposal to remove Article 41.2 from the Constitution, despite the relentless onslaught of messaging in favour of a Yes vote from the government and so-called civil society organisations. I can only guess that many of those people were women. It strikes me as somewhat hypocritical of a committee for the elimination of discrimination against women to decide that those women didn't know their own minds when they cast those votes. – Yours, etc, EMER BOLGER, Dublin 9. They think it's all over. .. Sir, – The qualification rounds for the 2025-26 UEFA competitions are under way. Yet, the 2024-25 season is effectively still in progress, as the FIFA Club World Cup hasn't concluded yet. There used to be a clear boundary between seasons, but it has been whittled away so much that the seasons are now overlapping. – Yours, etc BRIAN QUIGLEY, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. Public access and Ireland Sir, – Keep Ireland Open welcomes Wicklow County Council's announcement that public access to the splendid Magheramore Beach has been secured (' Magheramore Beach: The €613,000 Wicklow council paid to secure access was likely less than cost of court challenge ,' (July 5th) However, we are dismayed that it required a payment of €613,000 to a Chinese investor who had recently bought the site at auction. This was the cost of avoiding the risk of having the High Court adjudicate if a right of way that has been used by the public for decades, at least, is in fact a public right of way. Unfortunately, Magheramore is but one of many beaches and seashores that are rendered inaccessible to the public because Irish law permits paths that were traditionally used to access the sea, and the countryside generally, to be blocked with barriers and barbed wire. Contrast this with the situation in England where the default is to manage land for the benefit of people and nature – as recently described in your pages (' No denying that King Charles is a climate visionary ', (July 1st). The 2,700 miles long King Charles III England Coast Path will be the longest managed coastal path in the world. It is a scandal and a disservice to our citizens that traditional access routes continue to be lost to the public because neither legislation or the political will exists to protect them. A clause legally obliging local authorities to identify and preserve public rights of way which give access to seashore, mountain, lakeshore, riverbank, cemetery, monument or other places of natural beauty or recreational utility by marking them on maps and indicating their location on a list, was removed from the Planning and Development Act 2024. There is still an opportunity to have this clause reinstated as the legislation passes through Leinster House. Keep Ireland Open calls on politicians to implement legislation to protect the social, economic , health (mental and physical) and environmental benefits of outdoor recreation in the same way as they are respected and protected in English law. – Yours, etc, TONY McDERMOTT, Director, Keep Ireland Open, Dublin 6W. Buses and timetables Sir, – I can empathise with Gillian Lawless' experience regarding Dublin Bus delays en route (Letters, July 7th). As a regular bus user, I dread hearing the announcement 'there will be a short delay ...'. Firstly, how 'short' is short? I once experienced a delay for the best part of six or seven minutes. In that time, a number of buses overtook us, as we languished at a bus stop, counting down time. Secondly, any delay on the bus has consequences for me and no doubt many others ( in my case missing a connecting train, waiting up to 45 minutes for the next train, and being late home in the evening). Thirdly, there is no indication on the outside of any bus that it may be subject to a delay en route. Why not put an initial beside the bus number (to indicate the possibility of a scheduled delay), so that passengers can make an informed decision prior to embarking? Or better yet, get rid of this 'on schedule' requirement entirely. – Yours, etc, MARY FOGARTY, Balbriggan, Co Dublin. Sir, – Ms Lawless feels passengers who are already on board buses are penalised by buses being held at stops to get back on schedule. Surely the customers who would be penalised are those who turn up at their stop to find the bus has departed earlier than time-tabled? One of the basic aims of any transport provider is to stick to the published schedule where possible. Buses being held at stops to stay on schedule is common in many other countries. – Yours, etc, DAVID GORDON, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. Ireland's links with Japan Sir, – During my years in Japan I have noted with bemusement the surprising manifestations of Ireland's soft power: the presence of Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), famous in his adoptive country though forgotten in Ireland until a few decades ago; the Japanese fascination with Yeats (translated into Japanese in the 1890s), Wilde, Joyce, and Beckett; the visits of Irish writers (Heaney, Montague, Muldoon, Mahon, Kennelly, Welch, O'Toole) as guests of the Japanese branch of the International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures, flourishing since 1984; the children singing Beidh aonach amárach i gContae an Chláir at the St Patrick's Day parades in a dozen cities; the brilliant young performers of the harp and of Irish dancing; the diligent Japanese students of the Irish language. Now, with the opening of Ireland House, which dominates an attractive new piazza in the very centre of Tokyo, proudly displaying the Irish and European flags, and combining Japanese and Irish spaces in an architectural poem which provides a radiant new platform for Irish hospitality, it is clear that the affinity and interaction between the two nations is something wider and deeper than I had suspected. Ireland has made a weightier investment in the new embassy than in any other overseas project. And it is a sound investment, injecting new life and colour into the Tokyo landscape, confirming economic opportunities for both countries, and sealing an alliance in devotion to the values of democracy and peace. A threshold has been crossed, and the Irish-Japanese entente is no longer a matter of sentiment, but a significant factor in global civilisation today. – Yours, etc JOSEPH S. O'LEARY, Tokyo, Japan. Sir, – Your correspondent Denis Staunton contributed an interesting article regarding the life of Lafcadio Hearn (' Celebrating the Irish writer whose ghost stories still grip Japan, ' (July 4th). Should anyone want to further their knowledge of the writer's life and times they would be well advised to visit the beautiful Lafcadio Hearn gardens in Tramore , Co Waterford. They celebrate his peripatetic life with a section of the garden given over to Victorian, American, Greek and Japanese gardens. – Yours, etc, DARREN MAGUIRE, Co Meath. Guardian ad litems Sir, – The Association of Guardians Ad Litem (AGALI) was established last year and is mandated to represent the majority of guardians ad litem in Ireland. The guardians are independent, court-appointed professionals who are charged by the court in child care proceedings to represent the voice of the child and what is in the child's best interest. AGALI notes Harry McGee's article (' Unregulated court guardian service cost €21m last year ', June 27th) and welcomes the Child Care (Amendment) Act 2022 which provides, inter alia, for the setting up of the national guardian ad litem service, and has met the officials appointed to lead the service. AGALI is committed to collaborative engagement with the new service and will continue to seek appropriate resourcing, professional standards and effective legal representation for children. This is part of creating a nationally consistent, child-centred and trauma informed service; one that upholds the integrity and effectiveness of the crucial independent service that guardians provide to the 3,500 children who are the subject of current active child care proceedings. AGALI is concerned the plans as outlined for the new service will dilute the voices of children. The service is also to be a division within the Department of Children, Equality, Disability Integration and Youth, when the State continues to fail so many children in its care. Guardians work tirelessly in the discharge of their duties under close review of the court. The role of the guardian is one element of our childcare system that has, because of its independence, been able to continue to deliver a high quality service that responds to the individual needs of our most vulnerable children. – Yours, etc, Dermot Simms, Chairperson, AGALI, Dublin.
Al Jazeera
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
LIVE: Israel kills 5 Gaza aid seekers in latest distribution point violence
Israeli forces have killed at least five Palestinians this morning who were waiting near an aid point in al-Akhawah, near Rafah in south latest killing of aid seekers comes despite the inconsistent opening of US- and Israel-backed aid points, which the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said yesterday would shut down war on Gaza has killed at least 54,677 Palestinians and wounded 125,530, according to Gaza's Health estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive. Update: Date: 2m ago (06:03 GMT) Title: A recap of recent developments Content: Update: Date: 5m ago (06:00 GMT) Title: Welcome to our live coverage Content: Thank you for joining our live coverage of Israel's war on Gaza, as well as its attacks on the occupied West Bank and the wider region. Follow this page for continuous updates and analyses of the latest developments. You can read about key events from Friday, June 6, here.
Telegraph
04-06-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Starmer criticises ‘appalling' Israel over Gaza
Sir Keir Starmer has described Israel's recent action in Gaza as 'intolerable'. The Prime Minister said the region was experiencing 'dark days' and labelled the conduct of Benjamin Netanyahu's government as 'appalling'. His comments come after the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli and US-backed group, paused food deliveries at its three distribution hubs in Gaza on Wednesday, after health officials said at least 27 Palestinians had been killed in a series of shootings near the sites this week. Sir Keir told the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon that Israel's approach in Gaza was 'counterproductive' and repeated his calls for a ceasefire. He also raised the possibility of the UK imposing sanctions on Israel. The issue was raised during Prime Minister's Questions by Claire Hanna, the leader of Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party, who said that 'these are very dark days and Gaza is a stain on the soul of humanity'. Sir Keir said: 'She's absolutely right to describe this as dark days. Israel's recent action is appalling and in my view counterproductive and intolerable and we have strongly opposed the expansion of military operations and settler violence and the blocking of humanitarian aid. 'You will have seen we've suspended the FTA (free trade agreement) talks and sanctioned extremists supporting violence in the West Bank. 'We will keep looking at further action along with our allies including sanctions, but let me be absolutely clear, we need to get back to a ceasefire. 'We need the hostages who've been held for a very long time to be released, and we desperately need more aid at speed and at volume into Gaza because it's an appalling and intolerable situation.' Sir Keir's comments risk reigniting a war of words with Mr Netanyahu, who recently accused him and other world leaders of siding with Hamas. In May, a joint statement issued by the UK, France and Canada criticised Israel for expanding its ground operation in Gaza and for preventing aid from entering the war-torn strip. The statement warned: 'If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.' It prompted a furious response from Mr Netanyahu who, speaking after a deadly attack on Israeli embassy staff in Washington, said: 'I say to president Macron, prime minister Carney and prime minister Starmer, when mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you, you're on the wrong side of justice.' The issue was also raised during PMQs by Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, who asked Sir Keir whether he will 'push at the UN Security Council for humanitarian corridors to get the desperately needed aid urgently into Gaza'. Sir Ed told the Commons: 'I welcome the remarks of the Prime Minister on Gaza because I'm sure all of us are appalled by the latest scenes – starving people desperate for food, water and medicine met with chaos and violence. 'The US-Israeli programme is clearly failing and nothing short of lifting the full blockade on aid will do, but given the Netanyahu government refuses to do that, will the Prime Minister take more decisive action today? Will he push at the UN Security Council for humanitarian corridors to get the desperately needed aid urgently into Gaza?' Sir Keir said the Government was 'working at pace with our allies on that very issue, to take whatever measures we can to get that humanitarian aid in'. 'We'll continue to do that because that aid needs to get in at speed and at volume,' he added.
The Guardian
03-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
First Thing: At least 27 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire at food point, Gaza officials say
Good morning. Israeli forces killed at least 27 Palestinians as they waited for food at a distribution point set up by an Israeli-backed foundation in Gaza on Tuesday, according to health officials in the territory. It is the third time people have been shot waiting for food in three days, with Israel admitting for the first time during the recent events that its soldiers shot at people who were approaching them. The Gaza civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told Agence France-Presse: 'Israeli forces opened fire with tanks and drones on thousands of civilians who had gathered since dawn near the al-Alam roundabout in the al-Mawasi area, north-west of Rafah.' Gaza's health ministry said 27 people were killed early on Tuesday, with the International Committee of the Red Cross confirming that its Rafah hospital received 184 injured people – 19 of whom were already dead on arrival and eight more who subsequently died of their wounds. What is the Israel-backed foundation? Amid Israel's aid blockade, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation recently took over the handling of food aid. But the UN has objected, saying it cannot meet the population's needs and lets Israel use food as a weapon. A man is facing a federal hate crime charge for allegedly attacking a Colorado rally for Israeli hostages in Gaza with a makeshift flamethrower and molotov cocktails, injuring 12 people. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is alleged to have shouted 'Free Palestine' as he attacked the crowd in Boulder on Sunday. The FBI said he told police he planned the attack for a year and had specifically targeted what he labeled as the 'Zionist group'. The Boulder county district attorney told the press on Monday that Soliman would be prosecuted for a federal hate crime and 16 counts of attempted murder. Eight people were treated in hospital following the attack. Is the attack linked to any group? Officials said there was no indication of that. Prosecutors in Milwaukee have charged a man with four felonies over his attempt to stitch up an undocumented immigrant by sending forged letters in his name with a threat to kill Donald Trump. The handwritten, fake letters were sent to Wisconsin's attorney general, Milwaukee police and US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Ice), and became a huge story after the White House and Trump's backers discussed them, believing them to be genuine. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, was among those who fell for the hoax, releasing a statement lauding immigration authorities for arresting the undocumented man. But WISN-TV reported on Monday that a criminal complaint alleges that Demetric Scott admitted to authorities he wrote the letters in the name of Ramon Morales-Reyes, whom he was previously charged with assaulting. How was the hoax revealed? It began to unravel after one of Morales-Reyes' children told an immigrant rights group that he cannot read or write in either Spanish or English. Peru's culture ministry has cut the protected archaeological park around the iconic pre-Columbian Nazca Lines almost by half, with critics warning it will weaken environmental protections and expose the area to illegal mining. Salem police have arrested a man in connection with a mass stabbing that injured 12 people at a homeless shelter on Sunday evening. Climate-led species' collapse is emptying nature reserves of insects, entomologists have warned, even in regions free of pesticides. A man identifying himself as one of the prisoners who escaped from a New Orleans jail last month has posted videos on social media to plead his case to the public and claim that he was 'let out' of prison. Fewer than one in five western Europeans hold a positive view of Israel, a poll of six countries has found, as its public support continues to fall. The YouGov survey found that between Germany, France, Denmark, the UK, Italy and Spain, only between 13% and 21% of respondents in any country had a favorable opinion of Israel. In three countries – Germany, Denmark, and France – public support had plummeted to the lowest point since polling began in 2016. With 400 million subscribers, MrBeast is undeniably one of the most popular entertainers around. (For context, this is also approximately the number of native English speakers globally.) The 27-year-old content creator, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is 'monomaniacally committed to a lethally pure conception of algorithmically determined entertainment', writes Mark O'Connell in this look at what, in his view, makes the YouTuber 'some type of genius'. Vanuatu's climate minister has criticized Australia for extending one of the world's biggest liquefied natural gas projects, which experts warned could be lead to up to 6bn tonnes of greenhouse gases being emitted in future decades. Ralph Regenvanu told the Guardian that the decision raises questions over its bid to co-host the Cop31 summit with Pacific nations. An adventurous dog called Amber has been rescued after going on a 100-mile solo walk in southern England that even involved doggy-paddling to an island, before being picked up by a passing ferry. Amber was said to be doing well considering her efforts, with the woman who had been fostering the animal saying: 'What a girl!' First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you're not already signed up, subscribe now. If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@
Irish Independent
02-06-2025
- Irish Independent
Gaza ministry says Israel kills more than 30 people at aid centre, Israel denies
LATEST | Conflicting reports over what happenedGaza Humanitarian Foundation says no casualties, aid distribution was normalWitnesses say Israel fired at people gathering at Rafah aid distribution siteIsraeli military denies forces fired at civilians at or near siteHamas says it is ready for new indirect talks Nidal al-Mughrabi and Hatem Khaled ©Reuters Today at 04:55 More than 30 Palestinians were killed and nearly 170 injured on Sunday in south Gaza near a food distribution site, the health ministry said, as witnesses reported Israeli soldiers fired on people trying to collect aid and Israel denied it. The U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said food was handed out without incident on Sunday at the distribution point in Rafah and there were no deaths or injuries.
