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Irish President Michael D. Higgins speaks at the National Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration at the Mansion House in Dublin, January 26, 2025. (Photo: President of Ireland/X)
Irish President Michael Higgins criticized the Jewish state during his Holocaust Remembrance Day speech at the Mansion House in Dublin on Sunday night. He blasted Israeli military operations against the terrorist militia Hamas in Gaza.
Higgins who has an history of anti-Israel statements, appeared to equate the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Israelis with Israel exercising its right of self-defense against Hamas forces in Gaza.
“The grief caused to families by the horrific acts of October 7, and the response to them, is unimaginable. The loss of civilian lives, the displacement of people, the destruction of homes and institutions – all are beyond comprehension,” Higgins stated .
“The current agreement must end the killing and urgently provide a massive increase in humanitarian aid to save more lives. It is essential that all remaining hostages are freed and that every stage of the agreement is fully implemented,” he continued.
Jews who attended the event and protested against Higgins’s remarks, were forcibly removed from the venue.
Maurice Cohen, chairman of the Irish Jewish Council of Representatives argued that Higgins presence at the Holocaust memorial event was “inappropriate” as it could offend many attendees.
“This solemn occasion requires respect, sensitivity, and a commitment to honoring the memory of the victims. His participation may offend many in the audience, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who expect dignity and unity on such an important day,” Cohen stated.
President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina, accompanied by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, arrive at a Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Mansion House in Dublin, January 26, 2025. (Photo: PA via Reuters)
Ireland’s Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder echoed similar sentiments merely a week before the event.
“President Michael Higgins ignores the current scourge of antisemitism in Ireland, let alone takes any action to address it,” Wieder assessed .
“He has not taken the concerns raised by representatives of the Jewish community seriously, and in May, he dismissed discussions about antisemitism in Ireland as ‘public relations.’ With this approach, I fear that his speech marking Holocaust Remembrance Day will cause anxiety for many Irish Jews,” the chief rabbi added.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar blasted Higgins for attacking the Jewish state on the Holocaust Memorial Day.
“Even on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Irish President Michael Higgins couldn’t help himself and resorted to a cheap, despicable provocation,” Sa’ar stated on social media.
“The biggest murderous attack against Jews since the Holocaust was perpetrated from Jihadist Gaza. Nonetheless, he [Higgins] echoed Hamas’ anti-Semitic lies and propaganda at a Holocaust memorial ceremony, leading to the removal of Jews, descendants of Holocaust survivors, from the event,” Sa’ar continued.
In December, Higgins criticized Israel’s decision to close its embassy in Dublin by denying the existence of antisemitism in Ireland.
“I think to suggest that because one criticizes Prime Minister Netanyahu, that one is antisemitic, is such a gross defamation and slander,” Higgins claimed.
Furthermore, the Irish president claimed that Israel had “breached” the sovereignty of its neighbors including Egypt.
“I take it as a very serious business to actually brand a people because in fact they disagree with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, who is in breach of so many bits of international law, and who has breached the sovereignty of three of his neighbors, in relation to Lebanon, Syria, and would like in fact actually to have a settlement into Egypt,” Higgins inaccurately claimed.
Ireland is considered as one of the most anti-Israel countries in Europe and the Western world.
In May 2024, Ireland joined Spain and Norway in unilaterally recognizing “Palestine” as a state, despite objections from Israel that such diplomatic move constituted a de facto reward for the Hamas Oct. 7 atrocities against Israeli civilians including women, children and Holocaust survivors.
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