Ireland has formally joined South Africa in legal action against Israel and wants to CHANGE the definition of genocide.
This week Ireland confirmed that it has now joined South Africa in their baseless case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide.
In December, Ireland’s Cabinet voted to affirm its stance that “genocide is being perpetrated before our eyes by Israel in Gaza,” and approved a motion to intervene in the court case led by South Africa. On Monday the Irish government invoked Article 63 of the ICJ Statute and submitted its intervention to the court’s registry in The Hague.
Ireland’s decision has been officially welcomed by Hamas.
Deputy prime minister Micheal Martin said that the Irish government is “concerned” that there is a “narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide”
Mr Martin continued: “By legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state.”
Under the convention, the definition of genocide refers to acts committed with the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.
Clearly, this criterion is not being committed by Israel by deed or intent. Israel’s aim is to destroy Hamas, a proscribed terror group. Hamas responsible for the October 7 massacre, is responsible for repeatedly breaching international law by firing rockets at Israeli civilians, is breaking international law secondly by using Palestinian civilians as human shields, is holding Israeli citizens hostage in Gaza, and has vowed to wipe out the Jewish state.
Hamas is committing genocide, however Israel is doing everything it can to protect civilians in Gaza.
The Irish government is attempting to change the definition of genocide because it is unable to convict Israel under the correct definition. Israel is simply not committing genocide. Ireland’s actions are just an appalling way to demonise the Jewish state and delegitimise Israel’s right to defend itself.
In December, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the closure of Israel’s embassy in Ireland due to “extreme anti-Israel policy of the Irish government”.
“The antisemitic actions and rhetoric that Ireland is taking against Israel are based on delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state and on double standards,” Sa’ar said on Sunday. “Ireland has crossed all red lines in its relationship with Israel. Israel will invest its resources in promoting bilateral relations with the countries of the world according to priorities that are also derived from the attitude of the various countries towards it.”
In May, Israel recalled its ambassador Dana Erlich after the Irish government joined Spain and Norway in announcing it would unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state.
Rabbi Yoni Wieder, Chief Rabbi of Ireland, said in a statement that the decision to close the embassy “will be a blow for Israeli individuals and families living in Ireland, many of whom have contributed tremendously to the Jewish community in Ireland.”
He added: “Ireland has not engaged constructively with Israel over the past year, instead preferring to vilify and roundly criticise Israel without any recognition of the complexities of the situations in Gaza and Lebanon. Irish political leaders have routinely failed to acknowledge that Israel is waging war against Jihadist terrorist organisations intent on its destruction.
“The anti-Israel narrative in Ireland has become extremely hateful, and full of disinformation and distortions. And already in the immediate aftermath of the October 7th massacre, whilst many other European countries flew Israeli flags above government or public buildings – no such solidarity was shown in Ireland,” Rabbi Wieder said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the case “meritless” following South Africa’s original genocide claim.
“The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state, along with double standards. Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a statement.
