Why is Ireland’s president pushing an anti-Israel conspiracy theory?

There can be little doubt that when Israel looks for friends in Europe, it doesn’t spend too much time looking towards Ireland.

After all, Ireland only established somewhat grudging diplomatic relations with the Jewish State in 1975 and didn’t open an embassy in Tel Aviv until 1996. Since then, things have been tense, to say the least. It’s fair to say that a posting to Dublin is not the most sought after gig if you’re an Israeli diplomat.

This political indifference bordering on open hostility is mirrored in Irish media and academic circles. Being avowedly anti-Israeli is the go-to position for Irish progressives to the point where it has become the last socially acceptable prejudice.

That was clearly demonstrated during this year’s Eurovision by the Irish entry to that competition of international naffness, Bambie Thug, a self-proclaimed queer, nonbinary ‘witch’ and ‘ouija pop star’ (she’s actually a 31-year-old woman from Cork who lives with her boyfriend). She said she cried when she learned that Israel’s Eden Golan had made it to the grand final. After the event, she accused Israeli broadcaster, KAN, of putting her life in danger. (As an interesting aside, the Irish jury gave the Israeli entry no points, while the Irish public gave it 10.)

Ms Thug’s behaviour was a classic combination of main-character syndrome, victimhood and Israeli-bashing – an intoxicating mix in polite Irish circles. But while most of us could laugh at the antics of a pop singer making a fool of herself, recent diplomatic developments at the very highest level are far from a laughing matter.

Irish president Michael D Higgins has always been a staunch critic of Israel, yet his outburst on Sunday left journalists stunned. When attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he was asked about the criticism he received for sending a letter to new Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. The letter congratulated Pezeshkian’s election victory in July and said that Tehran had a ‘crucial role’ to play in achieving ‘peace’ in the Middle East. Yet rather than simply explain that the note was a diplomatic nicety and leave it at that, he decided to allege a conspiracy instead.

‘You should ask where the criticism came from, how the letter was circulated and by whom and for what purpose’, Higgins snarled. When pressed by the assembled hacks, he doubled down and blamed the Israeli embassy in Dublin. ‘One of your journalistic colleagues got [the letter] from the Israeli embassy’, he said.

It was an extraordinary allegation and, by all accounts, the only people more surprised than the journalists in the room were the Irish civil servants, who were hearing this claim for the first time.

When asked how the Israeli embassy might have come into possession of the letter, Higgins said he didn’t know because ‘she is not in residence’, referring to Israeli ambassador Dana Erlich. Of course, the reason ‘she’ is not in residence is because she was recalled to Jerusalem in May following the ridiculous Irish decision to unconditionally recognise a Palestinian state.

Higgins’s trip down the conspiratorial rabbit hole had all the tropes we have come to expect – the tentacles of the all-powerful cabal of Jews apparently reach so far as to have access to the protected diplomatic documents of a sovereign nation.

There was just one problem with this theory. And it became very clear, very quickly and, for Higgins, in a rather humiliating manner. The source of the incriminating leak of the letter was actually… the Iranian government itself, which reposted it on its official social-media account. It deleted it soon afterwards, but not before it was picked up by the Jewish Chronicle in London.

Rather than simply apologising and moving on, Higgins and the Irish government seem determined to stick to their guns. His supporters in the media, which is most of the Irish media, have been quick to point out that the term he employed was ‘circulated’ rather than ‘leaked’ – even though the question he was asked used the word ‘leaked’.

The response from Erlich, the Israeli ambassador, seemed more resigned than furious, stating that Higgins’s accusations were baseless and potentially slanderous. She also added:

There is no understanding or empathy for the daily attacks and threat Israelis are under, the thousands of missiles that are fired indiscriminately towards civilians, the trauma that we are all experiencing, and the concerns for our future. Sadly, these issues receive little attention in Irish media and political circles and have evoked almost no vocal criticism or condemnation in Ireland.

As if to prove her point, when questioned about Higgins’s bizarre claims about the letter, taoiseach Simon Harris said:

My concern is not with an exchange of letters but is on… the horrific, bloody humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the Middle East. I have no interest in getting into any tit for tat or back and forth with the Israeli embassy or government that is continuing to allow this to continue. Children are dying on a daily basis [and] many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, are denied humanitarian aid.

Higgins’s bizarre outburst has raised many questions about his suitability for office. He is now 83 and recovering from a stroke. The general consensus within Irish political and civil-service circles is that next year’s presidential election can’t come soon enough.

In the meantime, the Israeli embassy is holding a memorial service next month to mark the first anniversary of the pogrom of 7 October. It will be interesting to see if the Irish government sends an official representative.

Ian O’Doherty is a columnist for the Irish Independent.