Israel’s decision to shutter its embassy in Dublin is a retrograde step, and, as Dan Mulhall, a 40-year veteran of diplomacy, put it when I spoke with him last week, “an overreaction” and a “bad day for diplomacy”.
Dan Mulhall served as Ireland’s Ambassador to the UK during the Brexit referendum, and to the US during Trump’s first term. He talks about his career, the importance of diplomacy, and the decision by Israel to shutter its embassy in Dublin.
The move by Israel to shut its Dublin embassy comes in reaction to what Israel's foreign minister described as the Irish government's "extreme anti-Israel policies". The pro-Palestinian movement here, however, still expects tougher domestic action on economic ties to Israel.
The newly elected TD Eoin Hayes courted controversy over shares he held in the US company whose intelligence software is used by the Israeli military. The NTMA held €300,000 worth of shares in the company at the end of 2023.
Gardaí and Gsoc have sizeable contracts with Cellebrite, a company with links to Israel’s security forces.
The company has been met by protesters in Cork voicing opposition to the firm and its parent company RTX over doing business with the Israeli military.
The Currency has sent multiple requests for details on licences granted by the trade department. While ministers defend oversight as tight, lack of transparency raises legitimate concerns over the system.
The tech industry, a vital cog in Gaza's economy and link to the outside world, has been decimated as Israel’s assault halts life in the strip. Amid the devastation, tireless work is ongoing to keep the sector alive.
In the last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that at least 123 journalists and media workers are among the nearly 43,000 confirmed killed in Gaza. Others are being targeted. It is far past time for western journalists to say no more.
The department, headed by Tánaiste Micheál Martin, has already come under criticism for millions spent on contracts with Israeli arms companies whose products are widely used in Gaza and Lebanon.
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