Ireland ignores antisemitism as Jews face rising hostility

Oftentimes, it is difficult to grasp the scope of a situation, with media reports raising exceptional incidents so that they are perceived as the norm. This, too, is the case with antisemitism in Ireland, according to a few community and civil leaders.

Ireland is not a systemically antisemitic society, and anti-Israel sentiment usually does not translate into persecution or violence toward the local Jewish community, they argue, but by the same token, they contend that government officials and public figures have refused to acknowledge and address growing antisemitism, and ignored how the anti-Israel movement has served as catalyst and cover for anti-Jewish incidents.

Jewish Representative Council of Ireland chairman Maurice Cohen said that the number of antisemitic incidents had grown as of late. In a few weeks, the council is set to issue a report on almost 150 incidents that had been reported over the last five months. These incidents range from antisemitic graffiti to Jews being refused service in a shop and even refused treatment in hospitals. These were not anti-Israel incidents, said Cohen, with Israel-related events recorded only if they were used as a pretext for a personal attack on a person.

Irish Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder said that some of the increasingly common antisemitic graffiti in Ireland had explicit calls to kill Jews. He also knew of one man who had been verbally abused on a bus, being called a “genocidal Jew,” and another assaulted in a Dublin pub because he was wearing something that identified him as Jewish. Jewish parents and their children had confided in the rabbi about bullying at school, including one child who had reportedly been chased around the playground while classmates shouted “from the river to the sea.”

Irish Taoeiseach Michael Martin speaks during a cultural reception ahead of the UK/Eire Summit at the Museum of Liverpool last March in Liverpool. (credit: Cameron Smith/Getty Images)

Wieder said it is important to maintain balance when discussing antisemitism in Ireland. While there has been an alarming rise in incidents of hostility toward Jews, this does not mean that antisemitism has become a day-to-day issue for all Jews in Ireland. However, it does point to “persistent and serious concerns that have yet to be properly addressed.”

“There is little reason to think that the average Irish person gives much thought to Judaism or to Jewish people. For most people, it’s not an issue on their radar,” said Wieder. “But there is certainly a minority who do hold anti-Jewish views, and who actively seek to intimidate or target Jewish people. In the current climate, those individuals feel more emboldened to express their hostility openly than they would