“The decision to close the embassy was justified,” he told Can Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich. The Irish government is adopting anti-Semitic measures, she stressed. “The delegitimization that Israel is undergoing and the fact that Zionism has become a pejorative term in Ireland constitutes a modernization and a transformation of ancient anti-Semitism,” she said.
As ambassador, Erlich shared that beyond the overt anti-Israeli one-sidedness characterizing the Irish political system, she herself suffered a systematic campaign of delegitimization. “Posters against me calling for my deportation as a 'terrorist' were held up at protests. There were images of me with blood on my face, which was not condemned by the Irish government.” .
The decision to close the embassy followed a series of measures taken by Ireland, including recognition of the Palestinian state and participation in South Africa's legal complaint against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Although the ambassador approved the closure of the Israeli embassy, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's decision was not supported by opposition leader Yair Lapid, who expressed harsh criticism: “This is apparent flight and capitulation, it is a victory for anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli organizations,” he wrote on social media.
Saar replied: “Be ashamed, Yair! Be ashamed for choosing to define the Irish relationship with Israel as 'criticism'. This is blatant anti-Semitism based on delegitimization, dehumanization and double standards towards the Jewish state Understand it: the era of bowing your head to enemies and persecutors is over!”
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