Irish Examiner view: Ireland is not immune to antisemitism

A couple lay flowers at a tribute to shooting victims outside the Bondi Pavilion at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Monday, a day after a shooting. Picture: Mark Baker/AP

The gun attack on a Jewish community celebrating Hanukkah on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, claiming 15 lives, has sent shockwaves around the world, again brining the growing incidents of antisemitism front and centre.

Jewish leaders in Sydney and in other major cities have been warning about rising levels of attacks on their communities in recent years, and they have said the actions of governments must change immediately in light of this heinous attack.

Any belief in this country that we are somehow immune is misguided. The Irish Jewish community has already felt the wrath of vicious antisemites and, while it has received welcome assurances from An Garda Síochána about stepping up security at Jewish centres and events, it too is feeling as isolated and threatened as many others globally.

As Ireland’s chief rabbi, Yoni Wieder, stressed yesterday that threats cannot be addressed by policing alone. He said “there are no guarantees” that violence against the Jewish community will not be seen here.

He stressed that there is a deep and ugly hatred of Jewish people festering here as well as across the globe. That hatred has to be identified and struck out.

“We must not get into the cycle of building ever higher fences and deploying ever more guards. That is not the solution. There is a deep and ugly hatred against Jewish people festering in parts of the Western world and, regrettably, within parts of Irish society as well,” he said.

A sharp rise in the incidence of growing animosity against the Jewish community in Ireland has been evident in recent times. Targeted graffiti in Dublin, explicitly calling for Jews to be killed, has been identified in recent months.

Mr Wieder said the people responsible for the attack “and those who cheer them on” want Jewish people “to live in fear in Sydney and far beyond it”.

“For many months, we’ve had targeted graffiti in Dublin explicitly calling to kill Jews.

“Against that background, and coupled with the fatal attack that we saw first in Manchester on Yom Kippur and now in Sydney on Hanukkah, people are starting to recognise the hard truth that no one can guarantee that things will not turn violent here too.”

It’s a warning we cannot ignore.

Optimism for peace in Ukraine remains

For the people of Ukraine, optimism about the success of talks to end Russia’s illegal war with their country is something that is invariably pushed to one side as they soldier against the daily threats of drones, cruise missiles, and targeted attacks on the country’s energy and rail infrastructure.

A majority would, of course, love to see a peaceful conclusion to the conflict which is killing so many of their sons and daughters on the frontline, as well as those innocent civilians caught up in Russia’s relentless bombardment of their towns and cities.

With a bravery borne of the righteousness of their situation, they hold dear to the thought that their country will not be emasculated in front of their eyes by people demanding a settlement without any real appreciation of their history and seemingly endless struggles against malevolent neighbours.

For all their natural suspicions about the sort of deal their resident, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, may be forced to swallow in the face of the wishes of external forces, there are still beads of optimism across Ukraine that an acceptable solution to the war may soon be arrived at.

With Ukrainian diplomats in Berlin engaged in deep discussions with the envoys of US president Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, reports that “a lot of progress” had been made on a potential solution have buoyed up everyone with some skin in this game.

Western leaders backing the Ukrainians are in town keeping a close eye on events.

There several major stumbling blocks on the table, including Kyiv having to cede control of its eastern Donbas region.

That Zelenskyy has expressed readiness to drop his country’s bid to join Nato, if it can obtain legally bindingsecurity guarantees, is seen as major progress. A deal may appear elusive at this point.

However, everyone involved, including the Russians, knows that a swift resolution is needed. Let us hope one can be found.

Fishing communities face decimation

The news last weekend of a further reduction in quota numbers for Irish fishermen came as another sickening blow to an industry already struggling for survival.

With the loss of an estimated 57,000 tonnes of fishing quota, along with the commensurate threat to 2,300 coastal community jobs, the industry is fighting for survival.

The representative group, Seafood Ireland Alliance, has warned that the wider economic impact could reach €200m, with coastal communities around Castletownbere, Killybegs, and Howth facing “decimation”.

Accusing member states and the EU Commission of reneging on established commitments within the common fisheries policy, which were designed to protect both the fleet and the industry here, it suggested that the Irish Government was complicit in all this.

Fisheries’ interests in Ireland have, for years, pointed the finger at various governments for sacrificing their industry in order to protect agricultural interests.

Successive administrations have vehemently denied any such bias.

However, the evidence of a beleaguered industry suggests that the Government was, at best, caught off guard by the new quota agreement.

It needs to act fast to help an industry struggling to see a future.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here