How would one describe the attitude of the elite class in Ireland towards Israel? Unhelpful, blinkered, and based on a fairytale-like view of the conflict that has existed between Israelis and Palestinians since 1948. Why link student protestors at Trinity College Dublin with the current government of Ireland to illustrate that from youth to senior posts in government, Israel can only expect to be demonized, not receive a more balanced understanding for decades to come in the Republic of Ireland?
By now, it is clear that the faculty at Trinity College Dublin has intellectually capitulated to student protestors and let their young students betray their values. However, it should have seen what was coming. As many people are aware, Trinity College houses the Irish national treasure, the Book of Kells, which makes the university vulnerable to coercion. This has been the tactic of Trinity College Dublin Student Union for some time now, speaking on the student lead campaign against rental price increases in the past, student union president László Molnarfi said in the college publication Rebel, ''Through direct action, we gain a voice and a bargaining tool at the negotiating table with College.''
Trinity College might once been the alma mater of the father of conservatism, Edmund Burke. Still, the management is a long way from following his wisdom to the detriment of the Palestinian people, ''The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'' Why evil triumphed at Trinity is because the faculty has given in to supporting the flawed ideas of BDS, "boycott, divest and sanction." However, this, most of all, will hurt the Palestinians.
How are the Palestinian people to rebuild their economy after the devastation HAMAS has brought upon them? Take the example of Sodastream, who left the West Bank years ago because of BDS pressure. The result was hundreds of Palestinians lost their well-paying jobs that reportedly paid 3-5 times the local prevailing wage.
Of course, the BDS Movement, in reality, cares little if a Palestinian worker has money in their pocket. Their view is that ''Arguing against BDS because it may hurt Palestinian workers is patronizing - it claims to know what is in the best interests of Palestinians better than Palestinians themselves do. Not to speak that this argument is usually made by people who oppose rights for Palestinians or any resistance to Israel's oppression.'' A simple question to ask to prove BDS is guilty of what they accuse their detractors of being is if working for an Israeli company is not in the ''best interests'' of Palestinians, why did they work for Sodastream? Israel cannot be accused of by the supposedly left-leaning Trinity Students Union of poor workers' rights.
Have you ever heard more naive logic? The standout line from Taoiseach Simon Harris's speech in recognition of Palestinian statehood was ''Recognising the statehood of Palestine sends a message that there is a viable alternative to the nihilism of Hamas.'' Has Harris read any polling of Palestinian political opinion lately? According to polling on the Foundation For Defense Of Democracies, ''Before October 7, Fatah would have defeated Hamas in a head-to-head vote of all Palestinians 26 to 22 percent. If elections were held today, Fatah would lose to Hamas 17 to 34 percent.'' An independent Palestinian state would very likely be led by Hamas; where is this viable alternative Simon Harris thinks exists?
Welcome to Ireland, where the students who will staff future Irish governments take a national treasure hostage on the side of religious lunatics and believe at the same time Israel cannot do anything good. While rewarding terrorism, the Irish state is at the same time building modular housing for Ukrainian asylum seekers. The Irish state should focus more on building houses in Dublin than what buildings are left standing in Gaza, says this 30-year-old still living with his parents.
