We are certainly the most anti-Israeli and that's born from a deep rooted anti-Semitism that goes back beyond the foundation of the State.
Right from the Start our governments have been anti-Semitic. In 1943 in his maiden speech to the Dail Oliver Flannagan, later Minister for Defence, said “There is one thing that Germany did and that was to rout the Jews out of their country,” he declared, saying that Ireland should follow suit. “They crucified our savior 1,900 years ago and they are crucifying us every day of the week.” He, and many across the political parties, opposed Eamonn de Valera's plans to take in Jewish orphans freeing the Nazi's. In the 1930's our policy was only to accept Jews who had converted to Christianity.
Before that there were the anti Jewish pogroms in Limerick in 1904, caused by the anti-Semitic editorial policies of the Limerick Leader and an inflammatory sermon by a Redemptorist priest called Fr John Creagh. He said "The Jews were once chosen by God. But they rejected Christ, they crucified Him. They called down the curse of His precious blood on their heads . . . They were scattered over the earth after the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and they bore away with them an unquenchable hatred for the name of This post will be deleted if not edited immediately Christ and his followers . . . The Jews came to Limerick apparently the most miserable tribe imaginable, with want on their faces, and now they have enriched themselves and can boast a very considerable house property in the city. Their rags have been exchanged for silk . . . How do the Jews manage to make their money? Some of you may know their methods better than I do, but it is still my duty to expose these methods. They go about as peddlers from door to door, pretending to offer articles at very cheap prices, but in reality charging several times more than in the shops . . . They forced themselves and their goods upon the people and the people are blind to their tricks . . ."
The resulting attacks on Jewish men women and children were shocking. Fr. Creagh doubled down and called for a Boycott and the Limerick Leader became even more anti-Semitic. The only political figures to denounce the attacks were John Redmond and Michael Davitt.
The attacks worsened over the following months. When they became aware of the severity of the attacks and the hatred preached by their fellow servant of God the Confederation of Bishops did what you'd expect and supported him wholeheartedly; ‘We tender to Fr Creagh our very best wishes on his recent lectures on the ways and means of Jewish trading and at this meeting representing 6,000 members of the Confraternity we express our full confidence in his views’.
By the end of 1903 the number of Jewish families in Limerick has dropped from 35 to 6.
The support of terrorism by SF and the left in this country is born of an ethno-nationalism that is deeply disturbing and their reaction to the terrorist attacks by Hamas flows from that.
There are strong echoes of the mod in the racist protests against immigrants we are seeing here now.
