This Tweet includes words that I think to be important from the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister):
I think he really does reflect Irish feeling when he says this.
But also some aspects of Scottish opinion as well.
And maybe the opinion of many in Wales as well.
But I doubt Westminster focussed political parties will ever understand that when they have not come close to doing so to date.
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I see the parallel. People in South Africa see the parallels with their own recent history there too.
It is a horrible and tragic situation. The current Israeli Government seems determined to see everyone as an enemy, even the US, and we seem further from a fair and peaceful resolution of the situation in Israel/Palestine than ever.
But there is also a 2000+ year history of displacement, dispossession, forced immigration, discrimination and genocide on the other side of this conflict. The people of Israel now are by and large not those who escaped from pogroms or the Holocaust, but their parents and grandparents were. Many have no wish to see that repeated, but unfortunately some are willing to take almost any steps to (as they see it) protect themselves. Up to and including destroying schools and hospitals, and starving children. The totally disproportionate response is one end of a long history of hate and distrust. And I am not referring to Hamas.
Likud’s founding position is that “between the Sea and the Jordan” is solely Israeli. There is no space for compromise there.
Agreed
Agreed, a profoundly depressing and awful situation. The abused for centuries Jews have become the abuser. How do you break this cycle?
Peter Hain writes today in the Guardian about a bill which would ban public authorities boycotting ( a verb we get from Irish history) businesses or goods overseas. It has , as Hain says, implications for free speech and human rights. So if a public authority or college boycotted things from the occupied Golan Heights or West Bank, they could be fined. That is giving de facto recognition to the Israeli occupation. It is as in opposition to our obligations under international law.
It seems to be designed to favour Israel.
I think it is undeniable the British establishment is ‘on Israel’s side’. Most of the Conservative parliamentary party are Conservative Friends of Israel CFI including most of the front bench. Half the Labour party too. The Tory newspapers only print stories about ‘the threats’ of the pro-Palestine marches. We never have a headline such ‘10,000 children killed in Gaza.” They would if the Russian did, or even the Americans. Cameron was against the South African submission to the ICJ. The govt have not uttered any criticism of Israel.
Labour has opposed the BDS movement saying the BDS can be used as a cover to whip up hatred towards jewish people and question the right of the State of Israel to exist. I presume they voted or abstained on this bill-now in the Lords.
Alan Duncan, the former minister wrote in his book “The CFI and the Israelis think they control the Foreign Office. And they do.” he claims he was prevented from being Middle East Minister because of his sympathy for Palestinians.
Hain also points out the history of working class movements taking a stand on foreign affairs such as support for the Union in the US Civil War. Change may come from below.
https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3475
Within an hour of Mr. Varadkar’s announcements yesterday, there were rumours that his strong speech in the White House had resulted in Israeli displeasure sufficient to cause this resignation – “for personal and political reasons”. Couldn’t be true … could it??
The thought did occur to me…
This powerful message sent to the US President from Carlingford, Ireland, home of Joe Biden’s maternal ancestors, roots the history.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1769420882605134256
Very good, in my opinion
And right to call 1848 the Great Hunger
This was imposed. It was not a natural phenomenon.
I’ve had this debate recently with a very good Irish friend who persists in calling the deliberate starvation of the Irish as a famine.
A famine is an act of god or natural disaster. The British were exporting tens of thousands of tones of food produce and livestock to the English mainland every year of the so called famine and let the indigenous people starve for profit.
The famine trope has been rolled out for generations to deflect the blame away from the greed of British absentee landowners who let a million starve and another million board coffin ships to the four corners of the world.
You are right
This was no famine
It was a starvation
Ref Ireland & the lates 1840s – the film “Black 47” offer a (realistic?) view of how it looked.
I discussed last night with the Ukrainian lady who stays with us the similarities between Stalin, who organised the starvation of Ukrainians ( while food was being exported from Ukraine), Pol Pot (murdered circa 1/3 of his fellow countrymen – mostly through starvation) ………and the architect of 1 million Irish people dying of starvation ….Mr Trevelyan (mostly remembered for his reform of the UK civil service) who watched whilst Ireland exported food as 1 million people starved. It should be no surprise that he was a keen student of Thomas Malthus & his rigid adherence to Malthusian population theory during the Irish famine is often attributed to this formative tutelage. As I noted to our Ukrainian guest – 1 million people starved to death – next to England – when the Uk was THE world power & hyper rich.
It is important to remember that all these events happened due to people in power making decisions to murder others based on … their inhumanity and total absence of empathy. . Stalin, Pol Pot and Trevelyan – monsters all. & this “pantheon” soon to be joined by Netenyahu and his crew, given their actions in Gaza. Humans, they never learn.
Thanks
And not to forget the Bengal Famine where the British engineered the deaths of at least 3 million people by exporting their food.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/three-million/id1734979990
I totally trust the Irish POV on this – absolutely I do.
I’ve commented on Richard’s blog on starvation in Gaza so will not repeat it here, except to say that for me the parallels with Ireland and South Africa are blindingly obvious. One can add to that as Mike P says, Stalin and Ukraine, being repeated today by Putin. Timothy Snyder’s histories of Russia and Ukraine are excellent, available on podcasts for ‘easy’ listening.
There is an added tragedy in that Jewish communities in South Africa were very active in the campaigns against apartheid and some died in that cause. Similarly in civil rights in the USA. They know what it means to be persecuted and oppressed. However Israeli governments supported that regime in South Africa. And now finds itself cosying up to other Far Right regimes and politicians. Precisely the kinds of people who have been the most viciously anti-semitic, but who currently share the Netanyahu regime’s deep prejudices. Like today’s Conservative government.
Thanks
An Gorta Mor can be translated either as The Great Famine or as The Great Starvation.
Starvation it was