This article is taken from the ‘Jewish Chronicle’. It was written by an Irish man and contains the usual ‘anti-British’ bias but please note its highlighting of the changing attitudes and increased ‘antisemitism’ amongst Irish republicans, north and south, as the street protests here in Ulster shows!
Demonstrators gathered at Writers Square before marching along Royal Avenue to Belfast City Hall – BBC News 15/10/23
Speakers included a number of politicians, Rev Bill Shaw and Dr Hani Mandhi who has family in Gaza – BBC News today, 28/10/23
Sinn Fein/IRA, were to the fore at these protests. That is not surprising since they have been long time allies of Hamas and employed the tactics of the Palestinian terrorists during the many years of the ‘Ulster Troubles’, kidnapping, torturing, murdering men, women and children in their pursuits of their evil cause, were to the fore at these protests!
These protests serve to highlight the growing ‘anti-Jewish’ sentiment in Europe also. I am sending it out for Christians should be aware of this development, since it is one of the signs of the approach of the close of this age and the ‘Great Tribulation’, Matthew 24:15-21.
The Saviour said of the Jews: “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” Luke 21:24.
This was a direct result of the rejecting of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, as their Messiah.
The ‘times of the Gentiles’ will continue until Christ returns, and the Jewish remnant remaining will be saved and the heritage of Israel restored in every way.
The closing days of ‘the times of the Gentiles’ will see ‘antisemitism’ reach its peak.
“The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn,” Zechariah 12:1-10.
The persecution and hatred of the Jew will end at Christ’s return and His redeeming of His ancient people from darkness, unbelief and sin. The Jew will then become a blessing to the whole earth.
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you,” Zechariah 8:23.
“Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? . . . For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” Romans 11:12, 15.
For this reason, I would seek to have us all to take note of the tide of hatred toward the Jew increasing, a signal of the approach of the final fulfilment of prophecy related to this age.
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster.
How Ireland came to be the most anti-Israel country in the Europe
From supporting the overthrow of the British to leading condemnation at the EU in just decades
October 27, 2023 13:39
It’s long been a running gag in Dublin that when a new Israeli Ambassador arrives, the first question they’re asked is: What did you do wrong to end up here? In some cases, this was literally true.
One memorable ambassador was Boaz Moda’i, a diplomat who had previously held a senior position in the Israeli Dept of Foreign Affairs until he was accused of harassing female employees. Israeli police issued a restraining order and recommended he be prosecuted.
He was then sent to Dublin. Moda’i aside, there is no doubt that Ireland has been a cold house for Israeli diplomats, but it could be argued that the disdain flows both ways.
In 2010 secret agents, allegedly Israelis killed the Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in Dubai, entering the country on forged Irish passports. To add insult to injury, one of the passports was associated with the real Dublin address of the brother of a former Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds. One Israeli official was expelled, and we moved on. But it wasn’t forgotten.
Ireland’s perceived coolness towards Israel seems counter-intuitive. Irish nationalists were keen to point out the parallels with the Jewish experience, the centuries of suffering and dispossession, and the huge Diaspora, a small people colonised by a mighty Empire.
And it is well known that pre-Israeli independence, there was a mutual admiration between the IRA and groups like the Irgun and the Stern gang who looked to Ireland for inspiration in their struggle against the British. But as the Irish state matured, it became more aware of its unique position as one of the few countries in the EU that had been a British colony. As the power dynamic shifted in Israel and the Palestinans post-1967 and the Troubles began in earnest in the North, Irish public opinion tended to sympathise with the Palestinians. This coincided with an impulse to have more of a presence in international affairs, particularly in Europe and the UN. Ireland is proud that it was the first EU member state to commit to a two-state solution, something it has pursued with more commitment than its larger European allies, and which has led Israel to see it as hostile.
Ireland’s stance towards Israel is also partially a reflection of the different relationship it has with its own Jewish population. Neutral in WWII, and with a tiny Jewish community of a few thousand on the whole Island, the Holocaust simply didn’t happen here, nor was there any major antisemitic political movement, despite certain low-level antisemitism, still to be found.
Other European countries’ more positive attitudes toward Israel can often be explained by their Holocaust experience. Germany and Austria’s experience as perpetrators of course has led to more steadfast support of the Jewish state than others in Western Europe.
Other countries that previously had high numbers of Jews and whose experience of the Holocaust involves levels of complicity and collaboration: France, The Netherlands (in particular), Lithuania, and Hungary have all shown a willingness to support Israel.
This Irish deviation from other European views led to Irish anger at Ursula van der Leyen’s trip to Israel after the atrocious events of October 7. Many in Ireland felt that she did not reflect the Irish government’s stance, and some even argued that her solo run would weaken support for the European Union in Ireland.
When, in the immediate aftermath, the EU issued a statement condemning the attack, Ireland, joined by Denmark and Luxembourg, attempted to add a call to avoid escalation, this was firmly rejected by the EU, with Ireland eventually capitulating and signing off on the statement.
Last week, when Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins accused Israel of breaking international law in its treatment of civilians in Gaza, the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, was quick to accuse the President of spreading ‘misinformation’.
Michael D. Higgins is a unique figure, widely respected and even loved across the political spectrum. The ambassador’s attack on the beloved President met with outrage and immediate calls for her expulsion. To make it worse, another Israeli official tweeted an accusation, quickly removed, that Ireland was responsible for building Hamas tunnels.
There is no doubt that the government’s harsher stance on the conflict enjoys widespread support in Ireland. When Paddy Cosgrove, founder and chief executive of Web Summit, tweeted his shock at the IDF’s bombing of Gaza, and condemned the actions of Western leaders, “With the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing,” he was merely echoing a widely-held Irish sentiment. However, his statement led to American tech giants like Google, Meta, and Intel pulling out of the Web Summit.
This week, news broke that an employee of the Israeli-owned software company Wix had fired one of its 500 employees in Dublin for posting anti-Israeli messages. This is particularly sensitive, as Ireland’s present prosperity owes much to its position as a European headquarters and tax haven for some of the world’s leading digital companies. An unintended consequence of this is the influx of young Israeli and Jewish-American tech workers, which has galvanised Dublin’s struggling Jewish community.
Faced with dwindling numbers the community was considering selling its iconic Synagogue in Dublin and downsizing, but the new blood may have made it possible to avoid this. At the ceremonial lighting of the menorah outside the Lord Mayor’s residence last Chanukah, it was striking to see so many young couples in North Face jackets pushing baby buggies. However, the firing of a young Irish woman for expressing political opinions became a big story, with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar feeling compelled to comment on it in the Irish parliament on Tuesday, pointing out that under Irish law, it may well constitute unlawful dismissal. Things were made worse when internal memos from Wix were leaked to The Irish Times, in which management encouraged employees to “support Israel’s narrative.” The issues raised here about the relationship between freedom of speech and control by big tech companies have ramifications that go way beyond the present Hamas-Israel conflict.
Despite all this, many Irish people can empathise with Israel’s post-7 October trauma. But Israel, when appointing the next Ambassador to Ireland, might consider sending someone who is a little more, well, diplomatic.