Rachel Moiselle
@RachelMoiselle · Think tanks & analysts — US/UK
Rachel Moiselle is an Irish writer and doctoral researcher who comments on Israel, Gaza, and antisemitism.
Robbie Keane was manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv and is referred to as ‘Rabbi Keane’. Former Ireland defender Kenny Cunningham expresses empathy for October 7th victims and says that Ireland should play against Israel in Nations League and is now ‘Knesset Cunningham’. But always remember, folks, there is no antisemitism problem in Ireland.
I have taken time to comment on this because I honestly can’t believe it. A former Ireland defender, Kenny Cunningham, has expressed deep humanity on Israel/Palestine, of a kind that is sadly all too rare in the Irish public sphere. ‘I think it would be a good thing to see the Israeli team come on to the pitch in the Aviva. I think it would be a good thing to see the Israeli national anthem respected inside the Aviva, because that for me would send a signal, maybe from the Irish people to the Israeli people who have suffered as well in this conflict. On a human level, we are actually together here. There are politicians making decisions around this, but genuinely between the Israeli people and the Irish people there is a bit of understanding there on a human level about what has been happening.’ Crucially, Cunningham does what other Irish pundits repeatedly fail to do: he acknowledges October 7th. He does so not prosaically or dismissively, but rather with an assertion that it was harrowing and an affirmation that it ‘precipitated the recent stage of the conflict’. This chronology, which matters, is very rarely emphasised in Irish media. It cannot be stressed enough that this simple expression of basic human decency is, in fact, an act of profound moral courage in the Irish public sphere. Cunningham will undoubtedly be faced with intense vitriol in the days and weeks to come, as he would have been very aware of before making this statement. However, there are also a very many people here who greatly appreciate Cunningham’s stance. They may not be as loud as the anti-Israel extremists, but that does not mean their depth of feeling on this issue is any lesser. Indeed, quite the contrary given that many have been deeply personally impacted by October 7th. They will never forget this significant act of bravery in our febrile political and media climate that is consumed by vicious partisanship.
Personally, I don’t think the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) or the Democratic congresswoman for Oregon should feel compelled to make any statement. In all likelihood they did not know of the virulent antisemitism present on John Gillick’s public Twitter account. Nonetheless, I think sharing this photo is vital as it so perfectly illustrates the fact that antisemitism permeates Irish society from the top down. John is part of and mixing with the highest echelons of Irish society. He is standing right next to our head of government, the man who holds the most powerful political office in Ireland. And yet on his personal Twitter account, the following sentiments were expressed: ‘Jews in ireland need to be thrown out. They are traitors and land thieves. Our children need to be educated more about how evil Israel and Jews are.’ ‘Israel and Jews are human scum . Ireland needs to cut all ties and deport any Jew living in ireland that supports Israel.’ ‘Jews are evil.’ AIG immediately running for cover for John was no surprise. We so rarely see any sort of accountability for antisemitism in Ireland precisely because it is indulged in (with much sanctimonious delight) by the powerful and wealthy in this country.
Good morning, everyone. This is absolutely appalling, but tragically unsurprising. Someone very high up in AIG saying multiple antisemitic things publicly online. Not in an anonymous account, but rather one where he had identified himself. Some of these statements could amount to incitement to violence. ‘Jews in ireland need to be thrown out. They are traitors and land thieves. Our children need to be educated more about how evil Israel and Jews are.’ ‘Israel and Jews are human scum . Ireland needs to cut all ties and deport any Jew living in ireland that supports Israel.’ ‘Jews are evil.’ As I have always said, in Ireland, antisemitism permeates society from the top down. How does John feel enabled to espouse such open antisemitism on an account where he is easily identifiable? It’s simple, there are no repercussions for antisemitism in this country. He will always be given the benefit of the doubt. His antisemitism will always be rationalised, diminished, excused. He will never be denounced by his compatriots in the way that those of us who highlighted antisemitism in this country have been.
The region of Israel and Palestine is known as the ‘Holy Land’, so honestly I think she means that she is so filled with sorrow that her land and grounds is the true holy ground, such that it makes the Holy Land look like Disneyland by comparison.
But Magneto was a refugee twice over and an immigrant! He lost his entire family in the Holocaust, and after Word War II ended he sought refuge in Ukraine. After his daughter was murdered by a mob there, he fled to Israel as a refugee for a second time. He then chose to move to the US as an immigrant. The only way this can be read is that Magneto is going to be a different *type* of refugee/immigrant. In other words, not a Jewish one.
The arrogant hubris of seemingly the entire Netanyahu family knows no bounds.
Read again. This is perfectly legitimate criticism and not bigotry, just as legitimate criticism of the Israeli government is not bigotry. Something that anti-Israel Irish people have been (correctly albeit redundantly) repeating ad nauseam for three years. Now it appears they are total hypocrites given they can’t handle even a fraction of the same criticism in return. I know many reasonable people who believe the Irish government’s foreign policy amounts to supporting Hamas and Hezbollah. I disagree in the main, but it is legitimate criticism all the same. The push to victim blame a Jewish couple for an Irishman threatening them with murder and saying ‘I’m sorry Hitler didn’t finish the job’ (which would mean they wouldn’t have been born) is utterly repugnant.
> ‘If you come to Ireland you can eat in my house.’ > ‘Thank you so much, man. I thought everyone in Ireland hated Israel!’ > ‘I don’t hate anybody.’ This is the representation we need! The vicious anti-Israel mob in this country drowns out such voices, but there are a lot more Irish people like this decent man than one might think. All respect and admiration to him. It takes no small amount of bravery for an Irishman to go on camera and say this. A rather tragic fact as there is nothing at all controversial in what he said; he speaks positively of Palestinian, Israeli, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian friends alike.
Who made you the arbiter on who is and isn’t a ‘real’ Irish person? The man in that video, who expresses nothing but love for Palestinians and Israelis alike, is just as Irish as you. A Dubliner judging by his accent. Our Irishness is not contingent on our adherence to the anti-Israel movement.
These are the people our government have appeased and our media have lauded for three years. Extremists, of course, but also fundamentally unserious people who have no direction to their movement beyond punishing and abusing those even tangentially related to the word’s only Jewish State. Embarrassing clownery.
I think what makes this account particularly devastating is that this Irish Jew did everything ‘right’ in the eyes of Irish people who claim they are ‘just anti-Israel’. They passed every litmus test imposed on the Jewish community, one that the majority cannot meet. They were at pains to state in the second sentence that they were not Zionist and reiterated that throughout the post. They denounced Israel, and said they were involved in pro-Palestine support/advocacy. And it still wasn’t enough. They were still treated with utter contempt. I would, in fact, contend that the new litmus test in Ireland is not whether a Jew is a Zionist or not. Now it seems to be, does this Jew affirm that Ireland has no serious antisemitism while simultaneously expressing appropriate amounts of shame in their own Jewish identity? Soon there will be no litmus test at all.