Taoiseach Micheál Martin has warned there can be no place for anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic rhetoric in Ireland as he expressed his sympathy to Australia and to the Irish Jewish community in the wake of the Bondi mass shooting.
Mr Martin also said “we have to protect our Jewish community from any violent acts or any increase in anti-Semitism” and it was an issue the Garda was giving significant attention to.
In the Dáil he offered his sympathy “and solidarity with the Australian people and with our Jewish community here in Ireland as they come to terms with the horror and the grief of the mass shooting event at Bondi Beach on Sunday.
“Fifteen people, including a 10-year-old child and a Holocaust survivor, were cruelly murdered and more than 40 others were injured for no other reason than their Jewish faith and identity as they gathered to celebrate Hannukah,” the Jewish holiday celebrating the wintertime ‘festival of lights’.
READ MORE
The Taoiseach said he was “acutely conscious of the feelings of vulnerability and isolation that an event like this can have on our own small Jewish community.
“And I want today to take this opportunity to send a very clear message from this time as head of Government, that our Jewish neighbours are an important and very valued part of our society, and that there can be no place for anti-Semitism or anti-Semitic rhetoric in our State.”
Earlier Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald expressed her condolences “to the families of those whose lives were so brutally taken during the horrific gun attack on Bondi Beach on Sunday.
“Our thoughts are with those families, with the injured, with the wider Jewish community, and of course, with the people of Australia and Sydney. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-aimneacha.”
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns also expressed her “utter revulsion at the attack in Sydney on Sunday. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, friends and the wider Jewish community.”
Independent TD Paul Gogarty said “there’s always a risk that abuse towards our own Jewish community may increase and there may be a risk of copycat incidents” in Ireland.
He asked if the Taoiseach had had discussions with the Garda Commissioner or anyone involved in security “to see what can be done to re-assure our own Jewish community in the light of these attacks.
“Whatever our views on the Israeli state’s treatment of Palestinians our Jewish citizens have a right to live in peace and not be tormented by anyone.
“So they will be feeling a little bit of fear now and they need re-assurance,” Mr Gogarty said.
Mr Martin said “historically our Jewish community has made a very significant contribution to the formation of the Irish State, during the War of Independence and afterwards for many decades.
“We have to protect our Jewish community from any violent acts or any increase in anti-Semitism. An Garda Siochána and the Garda Commissioner are very aware of this and the Minister for Justice is as well.
“And across the board we review all security in respect of all issues. Be in no doubt this is a matter that the Garda are giving significant attention to.”
Labour’s Alan Kelly and Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins also expressed their sympathies.
