Ireland most “anti-Israeli country in Europe” says Shatter

Former Fine Gael Minister Alan Shatter has dubbed Ireland “the most anti-Israel country in Europe.”

The former Fine Gael TD and Minister, writing in London-based newspaper The Jewish Chronicle, said that “the hostility to Israel has resulted in narratives being used on a regular basis that replicate the narratives in Nazi Germany in the 1930s.”

Shatter, who unsuccessfully ran in last year’s general election in Dublin Rathdown as an independent, said there has been an “explosion in anti-semitism” since the October 7 attacks in 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza which followed.

In April, it was announced that 52,000 people have been killed in the war, with the war also being the most deadly war for journalists in recorded history.

Over 230 journalists, mostly Palestinian, have been killed since the war started in late 2023.

Shatter said that certain elements of Irish society have embraced the “Hamas narrative,” claiming that “the mainstream press primarily adopts the Hamas narratives; any explanation of events that comes from the Israeli side is treated as dishonest or treated with cynicism.”

The former TD claims he has been “cancelled” since the war started, and that he is no longer asked to contribute to Irish publications owing to what he calls his “nuanced” takes on the conflict.

Shatter wrote “a Zionist in Ireland is regarded as a pejorative term, and Kneecap are sailing along on that.”

“Part of the reason why the Irish journalist class  –  most of the Irish media – are uncritical of Kneecap is because Kneecap are simply saying stuff that most of them agree with,” he claimed.

Shatter stated that the Irish media has “failed” in its reporting on the war, claiming that “the mainstream press primarily adapts the Hamas narrative.”

In late April, a protest was held at RTÉ’s Donnybrook campus by pro-Palestine protesters who said that RTÉ was “both-sidesing” the conflict.

Much of the media discourse this week has centred around Belfast hip-hop group Kneecap, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin wading in and asking them to clarify their stance on their support of Hamas and Hezbollah, with the group later stating they do not support the organisations.

Southside TD Paul Murphy criticised the Taoiseach for “joining in the witch hunt of Kneecap because they dared to use their platform to oppose genocide.”

Shatter said that he left Fine Gael in 2018 as he said the party lost its “moral compass”, with the subtext that Simon Harris’ recognition of the state of Palestine last May personally rankled Shatter.

“Our Taoiseach and our foreign minister never miss an opportunity to be critical of Israel,” he said.

The decision of the Israeli government to close its embassy in Ballsbridge last year was “welcomed” by the Irish government, Shatter suspects.

“The decision of the Israeli government was a massive diplomatic own goal of no benefit to Israel, and I suspect secretly welcomed by the Irish government,” he wrote.

Speaking to Southside People in her Brussels office last November, Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan warned that there is a “chilling effect” in Europe for speaking out against the Israeli government for fear of being seen as “antisemetic.”