Meeting with Jewish leaders still going ahead, Irish premier says
Micheal Martin said he wanted to make sure that there was no misrepresentation of Ireland’s position on Israel.
A meeting between Irish officials and Jewish leaders in Washington DC has not been called off, the Irish premier has insisted.
There had been media reports that a planned meeting between Mr Martin and Jewish leaders on Friday was no longer going ahead.
However, the Taoiseach told reporters on Thursday: “It is my understanding the meeting is going ahead. No, there are some indications about some organisations may or may not attend.”
Mr Martin said the meeting was scheduled following contact from representatives of the Jewish community in the US.
He said: “We’re very open to meeting with as broad a range of representative organisations of the Jewish community in America to engage with them in a respectful way, in respect of our perspective on the Middle East and the conflict and the war in Gaza.
“We’ve been very, very consistent in terms of condemning the horrific attack by Hamas on October 7, we call for the unconditional release of hostage from the very, very beginning, an end to the war and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
He added: “We’re open, and hopefully the meetings will go ahead, but we’ll get clarification on that later.”
Asked about groups pulling out of the meeting, Mr Martin said: “That’s not a matter for me. We’re open and that still is the case.
“We were approached, and we responded in the right way. And you know, I’ve had good communications with the Jewish community in Ireland, and I’ve had meetings and engagement with representatives there.
“AI intend to continue that to make sure that there’s not a misrepresentation of Ireland’s position on this or any deliberate distortions of Ireland’s position, particularly in relation to allegations of antisemitism and so forth.”
Mr Martin said he signed the IHRA guidelines on antisemitism and had visited Kibbutz Be’eri after the October 7 attack.
Senior figures in Israel’s government have accused leaders in the Irish coalition of encouraging antisemitism, with the Israeli embassy in Dublin also announcing last year that it would close.
Israeli politicians have also criticised Ireland’s decision to intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel, with Dublin asking the International Court of Justice to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes genocide.
In addition, Israel foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar called Mr Martin’s predecessor, Simon Harris, “antisemitic”. Mr Harris, who now serves as deputy premier as part of coalition arrangements with Mr Martin, has rejected the characterisation.
