Sinn Féin motion on Israel carries

Government party councillors in County Monaghan have abstained in a vote on a SF motion calling for a ban on trade in services with Israel to be inserted in the Occupied Territories Bill currently going through the Dáil.

The motion, brought before the June meeting of Monaghan County Council, called on Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Helen McEntee and Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, to address the current exclusion of trade in services from the wording of the proposed legislation.

When the proposal was voted on following debate, it was passed on a show of hands with support from the eight SF councillors and Independent Seamus Treanor; while Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael representatives abstained.

In moving the motion, Cllr Seán Conlon said it was SF’s view that Ireland can do more to react to the “barbaric actions of this rogue State of Israel” and end economic support for a country capturing land illegally for the purposes of economic gain. Amending the Occupied Territories Bill, as the motion suggested, will send the clearest possible message to Israel that there is no economic future for them in this policy, which is being rejected by more and more sovereign States.

“This initiative was needed in 2018 when the Occupied Territories Bill was first proposed and it is needed now more than ever,” Cllr Conlon said. By refusing to amend the Bill, he believes, the Irish Government is enabling the establishment by Israel of illegal settlements and the driving of Palestinians off their lands.

Cllr Pat Treanor (SF), who seconded the motion, said there are times when taking a stand against injustice is what matters most and this is one of them. People are running out of language to convey their distress about the genocide being carried out by Zionists against Palestinians, he stated.

Cllr Treanor thought it important the Monaghan public see the county council being proactive in vocalising its support for those facing genocide and illegal occupation. In terms of the arguments around costs to the economy and jobs, Cllr Treanor said that should be weighed against the value of children’s lives, and the future of a society and a population.

“American and other international companies are here in Ireland because they are making profits on the backs of workers and, if they could do this better elsewhere, they would be doing so,” Cllr Treanor commented.

Cllr Seamus Treanor (Ind) said every councillor condemns what is happening in the Middle East but politicians are sometimes very selective in their condemnation. He claimed that 50,000 Christians were “slaughtered” in Nigeria last year and thousands were also killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Cllr S. Treanor also referred to the executions by Iraq of its own citizens, and the treatment of women in Afghanistan “where they won’t even let them see a male doctor now". He claimed Iraq has passed legislation “so dirty old men can marry 10-year-old girls” and asked why protests haven’t taken place outside the Iraqi Embassy in Dublin over this.

While supportive of the motion, the Independent councillor sounded a cautionary note by referring to the up to 300,000 people employed in Ireland by US companies, the connections many of these companies have with Israel, and the enormous tax take they yield.

Cllr Pauric Clerkin (FG) thanked his party colleagues on the Council for allowing him speak to the motion, as the struggle and genocide in Palestine is something he has followed for as long as he can remember. Referring emotionally to the deaths of children in Palestine, Iran and “other countries where there should be a level playing field”, he said FG has decided to abstain on the motion as they believe the Irish Government is doing its best to have a strong voice at European and world level and is currently working with Spain to try to have the EU-Israel trade agreement ended.

“We need strong leadership at European level – we can’t do this alone,” Cllr Clerkin stated.

He said this issue has become politicised and all eyes of certain parties are focused on the Occupied Territories Bill. He expressed his belief that Ireland needs to be stronger and go further than the Bill but they can only do that if they work together with other countries.

The motion was then passed by a show of hands.

Afforded a right of reply to the debate, Cllr Conlon said President Catherine Connolly recently said that 140 conflicts are taking place around the world. Ireland, he noted, is powerless in the majority of them but in the case of the Palestinian conflict they do have a voice.

He accepted Ireland has done much and recognises Palestine as a State but many of the actions taken are symbolic. Irish people are socially conscious and aware of what is going on in the world and, through their actions and Government advocacy, they can perhaps be the first to implement economic sanctions and this example could be followed and impact the situation.