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Ireland elects left-wing politician with record of anti-Israel rhetoric as president
Ireland’s new president will be a left-wing politician who has sharply criticized Israel in parliament and faced backlash for comments defending Hamas.
The election of Catherine Connolly, a member of the Irish parliament since 2016, marks the elevation of a vocally anti-Israel voice at a time when Ireland has stood out internationally for its critical stance on Israel. Last year, Israel announced that it would shutter its embassy in Ireland, citing “antisemitic rhetoric of the Irish government.”
Connolly won by a landslide after securing 63% of the votes on Friday, the largest margin in Ireland’s history. She defeated Heather Humphreys, a member of the center-right Fine Gael party.
While Irish presidents represent the country for matters of diplomacy and play an important constitutional role, the position is largely symbolic and they do not have the power to enact laws or policies.
“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,” wrote Connolly in a post on X following her victory.
Connolly drew criticism from Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in September after she described Hamas as “part of the fabric of the Palestinian people,” and said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer should not have “any say about Hamas” leading a future Palestinian state.
After Martin criticized her remarks, saying she was “reluctant to unequivocally condemn 7 October,” Connolly later clarified on BBC Radio that Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack was “absolutely wrong,” but added the attacks did not constitute an attempted genocide and that the history of the conflict “did not start on 7 October.”
“I come from Ireland which has a history of colonization. I would be very wary of telling a sovereign people how to run their country,” Connolly told BBC Radio. “The Palestinians must decide, in a democratic way, who they want to lead their country.”
Ireland has historically supported Palestinians in their conflict with Israel, a stance often linked to the country’s own history of British imperial rule.
As a member of Ireland’s parliament, Connolly has also fiercely criticized Israel, referring to the country as a “terrorist state” and saying that it was not “democratic” — including in comments predating the war in Gaza.
In 2021, Connolly formally accused Israel of attempting to “accomplish Jewish supremacy,” swiftly drawing condemnation from Jewish leaders who said her remarks smacked of antisemitic rhetoric.
The members of the Irish rap duo Kneecap, which has protested Israel on stage and drawn a terrorism charge, now dropped, over the display of a Hezbollah flag, urged voters to cast their ballots for Connolly.
Ireland’s current president, Michael D. Higgins, who served his maximum two terms, also has a record of sharply criticizing Israel.
In January, Jewish attendees were forced to leave a Holocaust memorial ceremony in Dublin after they protested Higgins’ remarks during the event about the war in Gaza, which he called a “horrific loss of life and destruction which has taken place.”
Last month, after a United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza, Higgins called the finding a “very, very important document” and suggested that Israel and countries who supply Israel with weapons should be excluded from the United Nations.
Connolly, a 68-year-old lawyer and psychologist, describes herself as a socialist and pacifist. She is also critical of the European Union and NATO and worked to legalize same-sex marriage and abortion in Ireland.
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The post Ireland elects left-wing politician with record of anti-Israel rhetoric as president appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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UN Rapporteur on Sexual Violence Denies Hamas Atrocities: ‘No Investigation Found That Rape Occurred’
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
i24 News – Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, sparked controversy over the weekend by publicly denying claims of sexual violence committed by Hamas during the October 7 massacre in Gaza.
In a statement shared on social media, Alsalem asserted, “No Palestinian cheered for rape in Gaza. No independent investigation has found that rape occurred on October 7.”
Her comments immediately drew strong criticism from Israeli officials. Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, called the statement “a moral disgrace” and accused Alsalem of insulting the victims and their families. “Any UN representative who denies rape by Hamas must be removed from her position. Period. This is a stain on the UN’s reputation,” Danon said.
He further condemned Alsalem for what he described as a violation of “every basic international standard.” Danon emphasized that Israel would not tolerate any attempt to downplay or cover up the atrocities committed by Hamas, saying, “This is an insult to the victims and their families, and a violation of every basic international standard. Israel will not allow the covering up of Hamas’s horrific crimes.”
Danon also directly addressed UN Secretary-General António Guterres, urging him to respond to what he characterized as a dangerous and misleading statement. “António Guterres, your silence is complicity,” he wrote, signaling that Israel expects the UN leadership to publicly reject Alsalem’s remarks.
The dispute underscores ongoing tensions between Israel and UN human rights officials, particularly regarding how allegations of atrocities in conflict zones are investigated and reported.
Critics of Alsalem argue that her denial undermines the credibility of international human rights mechanisms and diminishes the suffering of victims, while supporters may point to the lack of independent, verifiable evidence as a basis for caution in making public accusations.
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Netanyahu Faces Far-Right Backlash After US-Backed Statement on Palestinian State
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the plenum of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, November 10, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state after protests by far-right coalition allies over a US-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence.
Netanyahu spoke two days after Israel‘s key ally the United States and many Muslim-majority nations endorsed a draft U.N. resolution backing President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, saying the process offered a route to Palestinian statehood.
The 15-member U.N. Security Council began negotiations on Nov. 7 on the draft, which would mandate Trump’s proposal for a “Board of Peace” transitional administration in Gaza to address issues including post-war reconstruction and economic recovery.
Trump’s 20-point plan includes a clause saying that if there were reforms within the Palestinian Authority, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”
That point infuriated Israeli far-right leaders who had opposed the Trump-brokered October ceasefire in Gaza, testing Netanyahu’s awkward governing coalition of conservatives and ultra-nationalists.
On Saturday far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich called on Netanyahu to denounce the idea of a Palestinian state. Ben-Gvir threatened to leave the governing coalition if the prime minister did not act.
‘OPPOSITION TO PALESTINIAN STATE NOT CHANGED’
Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday: “Our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed. Gaza will be demilitarized and Hamas will be disarmed, the easy way or the hard way. I do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone.”
A far-right walkout could bring down Netanyahu’s right-wing government well before the next election, which must be held by October 2026.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also issued statements on X against a Palestinian state on Sunday, without mentioning Netanyahu.
Trump’s Gaza plan ended major fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas after two years of war that devastated the Palestinian enclave and triggered spillover conflicts across the Middle East.
Netanyahu embraced Trump’s plan during a visit to the White House in September but until Sunday had made no new statement on the Palestinian statehood issue.
WESTERN MOVES TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE
Ahead of his White House visit, Netanyahu said he would respond to a number of major Western nations including France that formally recognized a Palestinian state in September, angering Israel, but has not followed up with any diplomatic actions.
Smotrich had on Saturday accused Netanyahu of failing to live up to his promise and called on him to formulate a response immediately: “Two months have passed in which you have chosen silence and political disgrace.”
He urged Netanyahu to “make clear to the entire world (that) a Palestinian state will never arise on the lands of our homeland.”
The ceasefire came into effect on October 10 although there have been repeated, though scattered, outbreaks of violence since then.
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Israeli Minister: Turkey Poses ‘Greatest Threat’ to Israel
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
i24 News – Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, warned in an interview with the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation that Turkey currently represents “the greatest threat to the State of Israel.”
He specifically criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for pursuing “a very aggressive foreign policy” in the region.
Chikli pointed to Turkey’s growing military presence in northern Syria, including the construction of bases supporting jihadist forces led by al-Julani, as a direct security concern for Israel. “Israel must realize that evil will come from the north,” he said, emphasizing the strategic risks posed by Ankara’s activities and influence.
The minister urged Israel to strengthen its political and economic ties with regional partners, highlighting Cyprus, Greece, and Italy as key allies.
He called for enhanced cooperation across the Eastern Mediterranean to counter regional threats and bolster Israel’s security and economic interests.
On defense matters, Chikli reaffirmed Israel’s opposition to selling F-35 fighter jets to countries in the region, stating that such deals could only be considered if linked to broader normalization agreements with Israel.
He also spoke on Israel’s firm stance on Palestinian statehood, saying that the creation of a new Palestinian state would not be accepted as part of any potential normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.