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Jewish leaders speak at Irish parliament debate over bill to ban West Bank goods

Jewish leaders in Ireland participated in a session of the Irish Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs today, debating Dublin’s proposed Occupied Territories Bill, which would prohibit the import of goods from East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

A draft of the bill — which would make Ireland the first European Union member state to implement such a ban — was officially published in June, though with its parliament set to recess on Thursday, further debate is not expected until the fall.

Alan Shatter, former Irish justice minister and representative of the Ireland Israel Alliance, strongly opposed the measure, claiming it “echoes legislation drafted during the Nazis in the 1930s.” Maurice Cohen, Chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, also warned that the bill, whether intentionally or not, sends an “anti-Jewish message.”

“This is not diplomacy. This is not a strategy. It’s performance politics dressed as principle. And in that theatre, we’re not helping Palestinians — we’re just congratulating ourselves,” Cohen told the committee.

Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder told the committee that the bill “demonizes Israel” rather than holding Iran and Hamas to account. In a message to The Times of Israel, Wieder added: “If Ireland was genuinely motivated by humanitarian concerns as the committee said today, it would also be trying to put pressure on Hamas to release the hostages.”

The American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, B’nai B’rith International, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations also issued a joint statement condemning the legislation, warning that it “could create significant risks for US companies doing business in Israel and would fuel rising antisemitic and anti-Zionist sentiment in Ireland and elsewhere,” adding that the bill “undermines the prospect for a negotiated two-state solution by attempting to unilaterally predetermine the final status of disputed territories.”

On the other side, RTE News reported that Ireland Palestine Alliance argued the bill was a necessary response to Israel’s ongoing occupation and its disregard for rulings from the International Court of Justice. Fatin Al Tamimi, from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “genocide,” and argued that the bill could lead other countries to take action too, saying if Ireland passes the bill, “everybody will follow.”

Some Irish MPs have also criticized the bill for practical reasons, saying it would isolate Dublin economically and strain ties with key allies.

The debate comes amid increasingly strained relations between Dublin and Jerusalem. In December, Israel closed its embassy in Dublin after the Irish government announced it would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state and passed a nonbinding motion declaring that “genocide is being perpetrated” by Israel in Gaza.