reaction
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The Gaza war is driving a wedge between the two countries.
by theo mcdonald
A mural of Joe Biden has been defaced in his ancestral village in Ballina, Co. Mayo.Credit: Getty
America and Ireland have always had a long and valuable history, but the atmosphere has changed in recent months. The reason for this can be summed up in one word: “Gaza.”
Since the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel, the United States’ biggest ally in the Middle East, has waged a brutal campaign to alienate Ireland’s political leaders. This week, Ireland’s longest-serving senator, David Norris, said: last speech On the Senate floor, he condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza. At the same time, Dublin City Council voted to fly the Palestinian flag atop buildings, and some Irish politicians even supported it. intifada.
All the while, much of the public’s anger has been directed at America.President Joe Biden Mural built When he recently visited his ancestral village of Ballina, Co. Mayo, he found it stained with blood. Special feature Commonly known as “Genocide Joe”.
Protesters at a reception at the US ambassador’s residence in Dublin last month actively He confronted Irish politicians who were leaving their homes. Furthermore, some politicians called The annual Shamrock Festival held at the White House has been boycotted. “The United States is the biggest supporter of what is happening in Palestine right now. Without American support, it could not have happened,” said People Before Profit’s Irish MP Paul Murphy.
But some politicians are becoming more cautious. Former Taoist leader Michael Martin and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald Rejected Appealing for a boycott of the visit, the latter said: “We need to be very careful about the idea of a boycott. The relationship between Ireland and the United States is very long-standing and very valuable.”
That might be the understatement of the year. Sinn Féin has relied heavily on the United States for diplomatic pressure and funding for decades. It was Bill Clinton who provided then-Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams with a visa to visit the United States in 1994, and who funded Sinn Féin’s armed wing, the Provisional IRA, through groups such as the Irish Northern Aid Committee. It was a diaspora in America (NORAID).
Since then, Sinn Féin has been firmly associated with the Stars and Stripes, but that affinity has been called into question amid Israel’s shelling of Gaza. In the same way, Immigrant’s positionSinn Féin is finding it difficult to balance pro-Palestinianism with closeness to the United States.
Gaza is not the only foreign policy rift between the two countries. Earlier this month, Chinese Premier Li Qiang landed In Dublin, they received a warm welcome from Irish politicians, with President Michael D. Higgins offering a “100,000 welcome”. Beyond pleasantries, diplomatic progress was also achieved. Ireland’s suspended beef exports to the People’s Republic have resumed, and China has announced plans to unilaterally allow Irish nationals to enter the country without visas.
As the only country in the EU with a trade surplus with China, Ireland is caught in the middle of an economic battle between the West and the Global South. How it approaches solidarity with the Global South and dependence on the West will influence domestic politics and soft power foreign policy for years to come.
Ireland’s American dream is over and the nightmare is just beginning.