Irish-Israeli community and Jewish community ‘feeling very under threat’, ambassador tells parliamentary group

A member of the Ireland-Israel parliamentary friendship group has claimed anti-Semitism is on the rise here after Israel’s ambassador warned TDs and Senators of growing concerns among Israeli and Jewish communities.

Israeli ambassador Dana Erlich attended a behind-closed-doors meeting with TDs and Senators, including members of the Ireland-Israel parliamentary friendship group, in a private room in the Saddle Room restaurant of the Shelbourne Hotel on Wednesday afternoon.

Fianna Fáil Senator Ned O’Sullivan, who is a member of the group, said after the meeting that he is “very concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism in the country”.

Mr O’Sullivan said anti-Semitism “is becoming a real problem. People aren’t facing up to it and it’s becoming more of a problem every day.”

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A source present at the meeting said Ms Erlich told the group, some of whom later met with the Palestinian and Egyptian ambassadors, that the Irish-Israeli community and Jewish community are “feeling very under threat” amid widespread criticism of the bombardment of Gaza.

That came before Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also warned Fine Gael TDs and Senators of “growing signs of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia spreading across Europe” on Wednesday evening. He reiterated calls for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.

Oireachtas members were informed of the meeting by Fianna Fáil Senator Aidan Davitt, who is the convener of the Ireland-Israel parliamentary friendship group. Mr Davitt said that those attending raised a range of issues, including the safe release of eight-year-old Irish citizen Emily Hand, who is believed to be held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

The group also raised the evacuation of roughly 40 Irish citizens who are stranded in the besieged enclave, which has been subject to weeks of bombardment by Israeli forces following a raid by Hamas that claimed the lives of 1,400 people in Israel. The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip has said the bombardment has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people.

Mr Davitt said the bombardment and deaths in Gaza were also raised during what he said was a “courteous and civil and a good, frank and honest discussion”.

The meeting was attended by a range of TDs and Senators, mostly from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Most of those present were circumspect about sharing details of the meeting, only saying that it was brief, had been interrupted by Seanad votes and saw Ms Erlich mainly in “listening mode”. Among those who attended the event were Mr O’Sullivan and Mr Davitt, Fine Gael’s JP Phelan, Senators Gerry Horkan, Lorraine Clifford Lee and Martin Conway.

Asked about the comments made at the meeting, a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy said: “As the ambassador has said on several occasions, there is a worrying rise of anti-Semitism globally and here in Ireland and we have heard concerns raised by the Israeli and Jewish communities here”.

“Since arriving in Ireland recently, Ambassador Erlich has been carrying out a wide range of diplomatic duties, which includes meeting with TDs [and] Senators. Since the barbaric Hamas attacks and abduction of civilians from Israel into Gaza on October 7th, the ambassador has been and continues to be very active in furthering such engagement and representing Israel in all appropriate forums.

“Ambassador Erlich is always open to meeting with members of the Oireachtas and plans to continue to do so.”

The embassy also said that it intends to seek to arrange a screening of footage of the October 7th attacks for TDs and Senators in Leinster House and is “working on a date and the logistics”. The embassy spokesman did not address whether the Houses of the Oireachtas have been contacted about holding an event. The graphic footage was shown to a group of Irish journalists in the Israeli embassy on Tuesday. The Houses of the Oireachtas did not respond to a request for comment.

Elsewhere, Sinn Féin has confirmed that the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, Wahba Abdalmajid, will address its Ardfheis this weekend. Sinn Féin TDs criticised Fianna Fáil for inviting Ms Erlich to its ardfheis last week, and the party said it would invite neither her nor the Russian ambassador, Yury Filatov, to its gathering.