Irish Examiner view: Pushing for peace in Palestine

A smoke plume erupts during Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 12. Picture: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty

The savagery in Gaza continues, with images of death and devastation now a daily feature of our media consumption. However, we cannot allow ourselves to become inured to those images. What Israel is doing to Palestinians living in Gaza must not be tolerated.

The obvious question is what we in Ireland can do to help those suffering the horrors of war, disease, and starvation in Gaza, and our State representatives are working hard to find a solution.

It is to Ireland’s credit that it is showing strong leadership when it comes to this conflict. Ireland was a co-sponsor of the recent UN Security Council resolution which sought an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, only for that resolution to be vetoed by the US, with the UK abstaining.

The operational difficulties of the Security Council are referenced by Tánaiste Micheál Martin, writing in the Irish Examiner today, but the war in Gaza has exposed the mechanisms with which it can be totally neutered.

America’s use of the veto, and its seemingly unequivocal support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, is a stain on that country’s reputation that will linger. Unedifying is the best way to describe the sight of US president Joe Biden twisting himself in knots to signal his personal doubts about Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu alongside an ‘unshakeable’ support for an independent Jewish state. How warm would Biden’s welcome to Ireland be if he were to visit now?

Ireland has continued to work for peace despite this setback, joining Spain, Belgium, and Malta in writing to other EU leaders ahead of a summit this week and jointly calling for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire that would end the conflict.

Those calls are not limited to Europe, either; last night the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a draft resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, a vote which underlines global support for a halt to the fighting.

It should be unnecessary to add that such actions do not amount to evidence of a country working against Israel, or supporting the unspeakably horrific actions of Hamas, but point instead to a State which is taking its humanitarian obligations seriously in attempting to bring about an end to the atrocities being perpetuated on millions of defenceless people.

Our neutrality compromised

It was reported on these pages yesterday that a Russian submarine which had been lurking near the entrance to Cork Harbour some months ago had to be chased away by a British navy helicopter and warship. While on the surface this has echoes of the old Skibbereen Eagle promise to keep an eye on the tsar of Russia, it is indicative of far more serious matters.

For one, the need for British intervention in the first place illustrates the ongoing crisis in the Irish naval service.

While recruitment is an ongoing challenge for our navy, in this case the inadequacy of our naval technology is the key point. In the 90s, the existing sonar technology on Irish ships became outdated and was deemed too expensive to be replaced. 

Security experts have identified a Russian focus on testing British sea defences west of its landmass, and that such tests show an awareness of Ireland’s technological inadequacies in this area. This is sobering to contemplate: That an aggressive rogue state which had no compunctions about invading a neighbour, Ukraine, and engaging in a lengthy conflict is exploiting Irish security weaknesses.

There is another side to this development, one which refreshes a discussion which stirred here in recent months: our neutrality. Last June there was a general debate about Ireland’s security policy at Government-organised public meetings, while last month the Tánaiste announced specific plans to remove the triple-lock mechanism. In both cases, the traditional attachment to neutrality was asserted strongly.

However, cases such as the one mentioned above raise awkward questions. Exporting problems to be addressed by our nearest neighbour is not an approach that has ever really been fruitful for Ireland, but if the British navy is effectively policing our seas then can we honestly claim to be neutral?

A frank appraisal of what our neutrality truly means in the face of 21st-century security challenges would be a valuable starting point when answering that question.

Questions remain over musical 

Given the time of year, it might seem a little Scroogeish to point to issues with the Late Late Toy Show, particularly
as the most recent version was broadcast in the wake of the horrifying attack on Parnell Square just the day before.

However, a close relative of that annual celebration remains stubbornly in the headlines. This week more information emerged about the troubled Late Late Toy Show: The Musical, an RTÉ venture which lost over €2m.

The show was discussed in detail at Oireachtas hearings in the summer, and some staggering facts were uncovered: 20,000 people eventually went to see the show, but only 11,044 of them were paying customers

Not all the facts have yet been revealed, however. This week we learned that RTÉ’s own audit and risk committee had “significant concerns” with how sponsorship revenue for the show was reflected in its accounts. However, the minutes of the meeting do not specify what those concerns were. It may only be a matter of time before RTÉ management is back at Oireachtas hearings and promising to improve. Again.

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