Ireland-Israel ties now in deep freeze amid letter row

Last July, President Michael D Higgins penned a letter to incoming Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian - a one-page document which would trigger a diplomatic war of words and reveal the deepening chasm between the Irish and Israeli governments.

The letter itself was fairly pro forma - offering President Higgin's congratulations to President Pezeshkian on his recent election and ending with a reference to the desire for peace in the Middle East.

The Irish Government's position is that the letter conformed with normal diplomatic protocol between heads of state.

President Higgins's critics, including the Israeli embassy in Ireland, argue the letter shouldn't have been pro forma given Iran's human rights record and its ongoing financing of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

What turbo-charged the dispute was the president's accusation last Sunday, while at the United Nations in New York, that the Israeli embassy in Dublin had "circulated" his letter.

He didn't provide any evidence for the contention, telling the media: "You should ask where the criticism came from, and how the letter was circulated, and by whom, and for what purpose."

The Israeli embassy in Dublin dismissed the allegations as "highly inflammatory and potentially slanderous and the embassy rejects it completely."

With such diametrically opposing positions, it became a running story.

When President Higgins was subsequently asked about the row by journalists, he replied he'd no regrets about saying what he said: "The Israeli embassy had used his letter improperly."

It wasn't a surprise that the Government rallied behind the president.

What was notable was the forthright way that Taoiseach Simon Harris addressed the issue.

He suggested Israel shouldn't be focused on President Higgins's letter but rather "continuing to allow [a] horrific humanitarian situation continue" in Gaza.

The Taoiseach then added pointedly: "You'd like to think that Israel would be more concerned with the fact that 14,000 children in Gaza are dead, that at least 20,000 are missing, many presumed dead."

While Mr Harris stated he had "no interest whatsoever in getting into any sort of tit for tat or back or forth with the Israeli embassy", it was inevitable there would be a response.

The embassy released another statement last night saying it found the positions being adopted by the Irish Government "to be unfriendly and not in the spirit of bilateral cooperation."

It contended there's been a "troubling rise in anti-Israel discourse in Ireland, which has often mutated into antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel."

It added: "These accusations have promoted an inhospitable environment for the Jewish and Israeli communities in Ireland."

The row over the letter is probably over, especially given President Higgins has declared that he won't comment any further on the matter.

However, the diplomatic blows being traded by the Taoiseach and the Israeli embassy starkly illuminates the gulf between the Irish and Israeli governments.

Last May was a pivotal moment.

The Government recognised the Palestinian state, with Mr Harris saying Ireland and Norway wanted to give a glimmer of hope to the Palestinian people in their darkest hour.

Israel's response was to immediately recall its ambassador and claim the Irish Government's decision amounted to a reward for Hamas and its murderous slaughter on 7 October.

It's been all downhill since then. Ireland's diplomatic relationship with Israel is now in the deep freeze.

We may still have an ambassador in Tel Aviv. The Israeli's still have an embassy in Dublin.

But it's a tenuous relationship at best, which will not improve for as long as Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon continue.