Oh, Ireland! Are you serious? A five-year prison sentence or a monetary fine of up to 250,000 euros (around 1 million shekels) for anyone who imports goods from Judea and Samaria? This is the bill your senate passed this month. Ireland is strong when it comes to encouraging terror, but very weak when it comes to knowing history. U.S. President Donald Trump, justifiably, would call this a "fake law."
Ireland is "not impressed by the oppression of the Palestinians and the way they have been treated like dirt in their own country," in the words of Irish Senator Terry Leyden. Their country? Based on the criterion for an "occupying heir," Ireland is essentially British soil, which ruled it for hundreds of years – no?
Ireland cannot "stand by and watch the destruction of an entire population." Really, an entire population? The one invented with the creation of the PLO in 1964, whose flag is actually the flag of Greater Syria – from its rule under Emir Faisal of Iraq – before the French took it? Or the population in Gaza, whose leaders treat their people like a crime syndicate holding hostages? And what is Jordan in the eyes of the Irish, whose population is 80% Palestinian?
In Ireland, 90% of the citizens are Christian – so what don't they know? Forget for a moment that the land promised to Israel in the Bible and the numerous times the land was conquered and plundered from us throughout history. Let's discuss for a moment the "occupying" settlement in Hebron, where the forefathers and mothers of the nation of Israel are buried. The continuous existence of the city's Jewish existence, from biblical times to now, was only severed due to the horrific massacre perpetrated by the city's Muslims against the Jews. Are you sure the return of Jews to Hebron falls under the category of "cruel occupation?" That is to say, are you telling the butchers of Jews to carry on, because those who slaughter Jews will inherit their land?
Ireland has joined the supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement against Israel. Do they know over there that this boycott group was established around the time of the Gaza "disengagement," when Israel uprooted communities from Gaza and completely evacuated them? As a country that has experienced prolonged terror, perhaps Ireland understands what it means when terrorism is encouraged. In the 13 years since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, the coastal enclave has functioned as a refugee camp. For Hamas, it's more important to make the lives of Israelis miserable than to give their own people better lives. In its worldview, those who left Kfar Darom – itself a remnant of an ancient Jewish village – will ultimately buckle elsewhere under the pressure of slander and terror.
But why should we complain about the ignorance of the Irish or their hidden anti-Semitism, when their "concerned brothers" in Israel (former MKs, diplomats and former Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair) have written articles beseeching Ireland to "support any legislation that will help enforce the distinction between Israel itself and the settlements in the occupied territories in the West Bank and east Jerusalem."
The Irish only want to listen to the Palestinian leaders, who claim Israel in its entirety is an illegal settlement; and they ignore the fact that these laws mainly harm Palestinians, who will lose their source of income from those very same "occupied territories." During the next round of voting over the proposed law, Ireland will have to decide whether it supports terror, or would rather fill the holes in its knowledge of history.
