The Jewish community in Ireland is enraged at Irish President Michael Higgins being the main speaker at the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day to be held on January 27. Higgins was invited by The Holocaust Education Trust, a local non-profit that states as its mission to "promote Holocaust education, awareness and remembrance throughout the Island of Ireland."
The Irish president has been leading an anti-Israeli policy and has denied that there was antisemitism in his country, attacked the Israeli embassy in Dublin and condemned Israel for its war against Hamas. His words eventually led to Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's decision to shut down the embassy.
Maurice Cohen, chair of the Rep Council, described the invitation to Mr Higgins as “inappropriate”, adding: “This solemn occasion demands respect, sensitivity, and a commitment to honouring the memory of victims.
“His participation risks offending many in the audience, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who expect dignity and unity on such a significant day.”
Rabbi Wieder said: “President Higgins has neglected even to acknowledge the scourge of contemporary antisemitism in Ireland, let alone do anything to address it. He has failed to take seriously the concerns put to him by representatives of the Jewish community, and back in May he described talk of antisemitism in Ireland as ‘a PR exercise’. With that attitude, I fear his address marking Holocaust Memorial Day will inevitably ring hollow for many Irish Jews”.
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Oliver Sears, a Dublin art gallery owner who is president of Holocaust Awareness Ireland, said: “Holocaust Memorial Day belongs in the sanctity of the victims and their families. For us, this time is sombre, precious and inviolable. Given President Higgins’ grave insensitivity to Irish Jews, we are deeply disturbed that he will yet again cause further insult”.
Ireland’s Chief Rabbi, Yoni Wieder, added: “President Higgins has neglected even to acknowledge the scourge of contemporary antisemitism in Iireland, let alone do anything to address it. He has failed to take seriously the concerns put to him by representatives of the Jewish community, and back in May he described talk of antisemitism in Ireland as a ‘PR exercise’. With that attitude I fear his address marking Holocaust Memorial Day will ring hollow for many Irish Jews”.
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Wieder continued: “It is so important that Irish politicians and public figures come together to honour the memory of victims of the Holocaust.Yet the awful irony is that many of them are turning a blind eye to a troubling increase in anti-Jewish hatred in Ireland today.”
In December, Gidon Sa’ar, Israel’s foreign minister, accused the president of being “an antisemitic liar” after Mr Higgins declared that Israel was seeking to build settlements in Egypt.