Rane suspended from Fine Gael over Israeli comments

Fine Gael has suspended councillor Punam Rane from the party for 18 months after making controversial comments about Jewish people at a council meeting last October.

At a meeting of Dublin City Council held on October 7 last year, the Kimmage-Rathmines councillor said, “America should take a stance. But how many of you know that the entire US economy today is ruled by the Jews, by Israel? They will never be able to take a stance.”

“I’m just saying the US economy is ruled by the Israelis; it’s not wrong,” she said.

The comments came during a debate about the Occupied Territories Bill, which would compel Ireland to limit trade with Israeli settlements in Gaza.

Rane’s comments were criticised by party leader Simon Harris, who called the comments “utterly wrong, absolutely offensive and entirely inappropriate.”

At the meeting, People Before Profit councillor Conor Reddy said Rane’s comments were “tremendously unhelpful,” adding “to equate Judaism and Zionism is a complete fallacy; it’s wrong.”

The Kimmage-Rathmines councillor apologised for her comments, saying they were “wrong” and that she apologised for it.

Her comments were referred to Fine Gael’s disciplinary committee, and the decision was made to suspend the councillor for 18 months as a result.

The party taking nearly months to suspend Rane as a result of her comments has brought Fine Gael’s disciplinary process under the spotlight.

For a frame of reference, it took the Social Democrats less than a week to suspend Eoin Hayes (who, coincidentally, was first elected to Dublin City Council in the Kimmage-Rathmines constituency alongside Rane last June) from the party as a result of the Palantir affair, yet it took Fine Gael nearly six months to suspend Rane.

Hayes’ suspension was made “indefinite” in February, whereas Rane’s suspension is 18 months.

Fine Gael’s current way of handling disciplinary issues was voted upon by party members at a 2019 conference, which the party states is “robust.”

Rane will sit as an independent on Dublin City Council during her suspension, with future participation in Fine Gael to be decided upon at the end of her 18-month suspension.

It is unknown if Rane will remain part of the governing coalition on Dublin City Council during her suspension, which currently has Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour and the Greens teaming up to run Dublin City Council until 2029.

Rane’s suspension now leaves the governing coalition two seats shy of an overall majority on Dublin City Council, but Rane is expected to still vote alongside her former Fine Gael colleagues during her suspension.

Rane was first elected to Fingal County Council in 2019, winning a seat for Fine Gael in the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart constituency, before moving to the Kimmage-Rathmines constituency ahead of last June’s local elections.