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Embattled Irish Jewish Leaders Congratulate Country’s New President Despite Anti-Israel Record, Seek Fresh Start
President-elect Catherine Connolly is applauded by Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheal Martin and Irish Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Simon Harris at Dublin Castle, on the day of the announcement of the results of the Irish presidential election in Dublin, Ireland, Oct. 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland’s Jewish community has welcomed the election of the country’s new president, expressing hope that her leadership will foster unity despite her record of anti-Israel remarks and previous comments defending Hamas.
On Friday, Catherine Connolly won a historic landslide victory, securing 63 percent of the vote — the largest margin in Ireland’s history — defeating center-right candidate Heather Humphreys.
As a left-wing lawmaker who has served in Ireland’s parliament since 2016, Connolly’s election marks the rise of a prominent anti-Israel voice at a time when the country has emerged as one of Israel’s fiercest critics amid the war in Gaza, a stance that has only intensified in recent months.
“My message is use your voice in every way you can, because a republic and a democracy needs constructive questioning, and together we can shape a new republic that values everybody,” Connolly said in a post on X following her victory.
“My message is use your voice in every way you can, because a republic and a democracy needs constructive questioning, and together we can shape a new republic that values everybody.” – President-Elect Catherine Connolly. pic.twitter.com/Go6D2SIdzm
— Connolly for President (@catherinegalway) October 25, 2025
In Ireland, the president serves largely as a symbolic figure, representing the country in diplomatic matters and fulfilling key constitutional duties but without the power to enact laws or policies.
In the past, Connolly has drawn repeated criticism from the country’s leaders and the local Jewish community for her anti-Israel rhetoric, which has been accused of going too far into the realm of antisemitism. The Irish president-elect has even defended the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
At first, Connolly said she was “reluctant to unequivocally condemn Oct. 7.”
She later clarified that Hamas’s atrocities — which included murdering 1,200 people, kidnapping 251 hostages, and perpetrating widespread rape and other sexual violence — were “absolutely wrong,” while also asserting that the attacks did not constitute genocide and that the history of the conflict “did not start on Oct. 7.”
Many anti-Israel activists have similarly framed Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion as a justified response to Israeli policy toward Gaza and the Palestinians more broadly in an apparent attempt to defend the massacre.
Connolly has also sharply criticized Israel, labeling it a “terrorist state,” claiming it is not “democratic,” and accusing it of seeking to “accomplish Jewish supremacy.”
‘If we in this Dáil cannot recognise that Israel is a terrorist state, then we are in serious trouble.’
Catherine’s full speech on the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill /
Óráid iomlán Catherine ar an mBille: https://t.co/fYEisivU8B pic.twitter.com/6zE0DNmGc3— Connolly for President (@catherinegalway) June 27, 2025
Despite her well-known record of hostilities toward the Jewish state, the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland (JRCI) — the main representative body of Irish Jews — congratulated Connolly on her presidential victory.
“The Jewish community in Ireland looks forward to working constructively with the president, as we have with her predecessors, in fostering mutual respect, understanding, and the flourishing of all communities that make up the fabric of Irish life,” Maurice Cohen, president of JRCI, said in a post on X.
“We are sincerely hopeful that President-Elect Connolly will engage positively with Ireland’s small but very proud Irish Jewish community,” she continued.
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland warmly congratulates Catherine Connolly on her presidential win.
We are sincerely hopeful that President-Elect Connolly will engage positively with Ireland’s small but very proud Irish Jewish community. pic.twitter.com/mkBkiNlodd
— Rachel Moiselle (@RachelMoiselle) October 25, 2025
Ireland’s Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder also congratulated Connolly, expressing hope that she would use the office to “unite rather than divide,” while acknowledging lingering concerns about her past rhetoric and views.
“She has described [Hamas] as ‘part of the fabric of the Palestinian people,’ yet seems entirely untroubled by that reality. She appears not to object to its remaining in power, even as it openly beats and executes its own people,” Wieder told the Jewish Chronicle.
“Such views do not reflect the outlook of someone committed to a secure and peaceful future,” he continued.
“I would hope that President Connolly will take the opportunity in due course to engage directly with Ireland’s Jewish community, hear our concerns, and understand better how the conflict continues to affect our small community here,” he said.
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Lebanon Plans UN Complaint Against Israel Over Border Wall
A UN vehicle drives near a concrete wall along Lebanon’s southern border which, according to the Lebanese presidency, extends beyond the “Blue Line”, a U.N.-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, as seen from northern Israel, November 16, 2025. REUTERS/Shir Torem
Lebanon will file a complaint to the U.N. Security Council against Israel for constructing a concrete wall along Lebanon’s southern border that extends beyond the “Blue Line,” the Lebanese presidency said on Saturday.
The Blue Line is a U.N.-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israeli forces withdrew to the Blue Line when they left south Lebanon in 2000.
A spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, said on Friday the wall has made more than 4,000 square meters (nearly an acre) of Lebanese territory inaccessible to the local population.
The Lebanese presidency echoed his remarks, saying in a statement that Israel’s ongoing construction constituted “a violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and an infringement on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Dujarric said the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had requested that the wall be removed.
An Israeli military spokesperson denied on Friday that the wall crossed the Blue Line.
“The wall is part of a broader IDF plan whose construction began in 2022,” the spokesperson said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
“Since the start of the war, and as part of lessons learned from it, the IDF has been advancing a series of measures, including reinforcing the physical barrier along the northern border.”
UNIFIL, established in 1978, operates between the Litani River in the north and the Blue Line in the south. The mission has more than 10,000 troops from 50 countries and about 800 civilian staff, according to its website.
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Iran Says US Is Not Ready for ‘Equal and Fair’ Nuclear Talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Washington’s current approach toward Tehran does not indicate any readiness for “equal and fair negotiations,” Iran’s foreign minister said on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump hinted last week at potential discussions.
Following Israel’s attack on Iran in June, which was joined by U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, attempts at renewing dialogue on Tehran’s nuclear program have failed.
The United States, its European allies and Israel accuse Tehran of using its nuclear program as a veil for efforts to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Tehran and Washington underwent five rounds of indirect nuclear talks prior to the 12-days-war, but faced obstacles such as the issue of domestic uranium enrichment, which the U.S. wants Iran to forego.
“The U.S. cannot expect to gain what it couldn’t in war through negotiations,” Abbas Araqchi said during a Tehran conference named “international law under assault.”
“Iran will always be prepared to engage in diplomacy, but not negotiations meant for dictation,” he added.
During the same conference, deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh accused Washington of pursuing its wartime goals with “negotiations as a show.”
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Israeli Government Decides ‘Independent’ Commission to Investigate Oct. 7 Failures
The Israeli Supreme Court in Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – The Israeli government has approved the creation of an “independent” commission of inquiry to examine the failures that enabled the Hamas assault of October 7, 2023.
However, in a move sharply criticized by the opposition and contrary to the recommendation of the Supreme Court, the panel will not be a formal state commission of inquiry. Instead, its mandate, authorities, and scope will be determined directly by government ministers.
According to the decision, the commission will receive full investigative powers and must be composed in a way that ensures “the broadest possible public trust.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will form a special ministerial committee tasked with defining what the inquiry may investigate, the time periods to be reviewed, and the authority it will receive. The committee has 45 days to deliver its recommendations.
For the past year, the government has repeatedly resisted calls to establish a state commission, arguing at first that such a body could not operate during wartime. Later, some ministers accused Supreme Court President Isaac Amit of being incapable of appointing an impartial chairperson.
But on October 15, the High Court of Justice ruled that there was “no substantive argument” against forming a state commission, giving the government 30 days to respond.
Netanyahu maintains that responsibility for the October 7 failures lies primarily with Israel’s security agencies rather than with political leaders.
His critics accuse him of creating a weaker, government-controlled inquiry designed to limit scrutiny of his decisions, undermining the prospect of full accountability for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.