Irish president rejects call for him to stay away from Holocaust memorial
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The Irish President has rejected calls from Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the country to cancel a planned speech to mark National Holocaust Memorial Day. Dana Erlich accused Michael D Higgins of making “anti-Israeli” statements and said he should stay away from the event planned for the Mansion House in Dublin next Sunday in light of the “concerns of the Jewish community”.
In December, the Israeli government announced plans to close its embassy in Ireland as it accused the Irish government of “antisemitic rhetoric” and pursing “extreme anti-Israel policies”. The move came after Ireland formally recognised the state of Palestine and amid moves by the government to ban imports from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
In response to the Israeli government’s move, President Higgins said it was a “deep slander” and “gross defamation” to accuse Irish people of being antisemitic and said it was “part of a pattern to damage Ireland”. In an interview with the Independent on Sunday newspaper, Ms Erlich said Mr Higgins’ presence at the memorial event would overshadow it.
“The fact that, right now, we are not talking about the event, but we are talking about his presence. I think it distracts from the event,” she said. “If there were many events it would have been different, but I think the president has many opportunities to speak about and echo his opinions — I think on that event it should be something solemn, focusing on Holocaust remembrance, Holocaust education, and preventing antisemitism from rising again.”.
