Ashura is considered sacred among Sunnis as well, who make up the majority of Muslims worldwide. It is customary to fast from sunrise to sunset on that day, although it is not obligatory. In some countries, it is even observed as a public holiday. According to Islamic tradition, the Prophet Muhammad established it as the first fast day before the month of Ramadan was designated for fasting, giving the day religious significance for most Muslims.

Among Shiites, however, the day has a completely different meaning and has shaped the sect's identity for centuries. It all began on Ashura in the year 680 CE, when Husayn ibn Ali was journeying toward the camp of his supporters near the city of Karbala, in present-day Iraq. Husayn was the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph, and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. On that basis, he laid claim to the caliphate.

Husayn's supporters believed that leadership of the emerging Muslim empire should remain with Ali's descendants, not with the Umayyad dynasty, a different branch of the Quraysh tribe. However, the newly appointed Umayyad caliph, Yazid ibn Muawiyah, seized the opportunity to assert his control. On October 10, 680, his army attacked Husayn's convoy and massacred dozens of his followers. Since then, Ashura has been observed as a day of mourning for Husayn's death for over 1,345 years.

After the massacre, Husayn's head was severed and sent to Caliph Yazid in Damascus. His body was buried in Karbala. The event became a symbol of ultimate sacrifice in Shiite Islam and a mythic tale of the few standing against the many. As a result, believers commemorate the day each year through prayers and weeping. The tragedy also marked Shiites as a persecuted minority by the Sunni majority, a reality that persisted for centuries, with few exceptions.

Shiites continued to uphold the legitimate claim of the imams, Ali and his descendants, to leadership. These imams were venerated as saints, and many were persecuted and executed by Sunni Islamic empires.

Today, some Shiites still hold public rituals that involve self-flagellation to the point of bleeding. During the ceremony known as "tatbir," participants strike their heads with sharp objects to draw blood as a sign of mourning for Husayn.

Experts suggest these rituals originated outside the Middle East. One theory posits that the custom came from Central Asia to Iran and then spread to the broader Middle East. Another suggests it derived specifically from Christian Orthodox communities in the Caucasus, who practiced bodily self-torment to mourn the death of Jesus. This has led to controversy among Shiite clerics over the legitimacy of the practice.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly banned the tatbir ritual, calling it a fabricated tradition that should not be practiced. Nonetheless, he did not issue an outright ban, merely stating he would be "disappointed" if it continued. His predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, said the ritual was acceptable as long as it caused no harm, but advised against it in general. To curb the practice, some Shiite clerics have suggested donating blood as an alternative.

Ashura is also a time for sermons and proclamations by Shiite clerics, which sometimes stir controversy. Just days ago, influential Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr declared that Allah's curse still applies to the descendants of the Umayyad dynasty for killing Husayn, calling it a "divine decree." In response, Iraqi Sunni cleric Mohammed Ayash al-Kubaisi pointed out that members of the Umayyad family were closely related to the Prophet Muhammad's family through intermarriage within the Quraysh tribe.

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"This is an act of desecration and unacceptable contempt," Cisint told Il Tempo. "Italy is in a constant state of retreat, and that is a serious mistake. We must work to bring people back to churches instead of yielding such important spaces to Islam."

Gesù coperto con un telo durante la preghiera islamica a Monfalcone. L'europarlamentare della Lega Anna Maria Cisint: "INACCETTABILE!" pic.twitter.com/Jn34WehY2s

— Lega - Salvini Premier (@LegaSalvini) June 6, 2025

Don Flavio, the priest in charge of the church, said he would review the image documenting the event, but noted, as quoted in Il Giornale, "Clearly, no one should have done something like that."

Cisint emphasized, "No Islamic edict requires the symbols of other religions to be concealed in order to pray." She described the act of covering the statue as "ostentatious, brutal and provocative," adding that it amounted to a "deep insult to devout Christians."

"The West, meanwhile, extends a hand to its executioner in a gesture of peace that is, first of all, useless and, second, ridiculous - or rather, tragic," she continued, as cited in Il Tempo. She warned that "relations between peoples and religions must be managed with extreme caution, without granting concessions."

"Respect means knowing where you are, whose house you are in, and what the rules of the game are," Cisint concluded.

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Pope Francis revealed he survived a double suicide bombing attempt during his historic 2021 Iraq visit after British intelligence and Iraqi police foiled the plots, according to reporting by The Guardian.

In his forthcoming autobiography "Spera" (Hope), excerpts of which were shared with Corriere della Sera on Tuesday, the 88-year-old pontiff detailed how the assassination attempts were prevented during his landmark trip.

Despite strong warnings against traveling to Iraq in March 2021 due to raging COVID-19 cases and severe security risks, particularly in the northern city of Mosul, Francis proceeded with what would become the first papal visit to the country. British intelligence alerted Iraqi police about the planned attacks immediately after Francis landed in Baghdad, with Iraqi authorities subsequently informing Vatican security.

One would-be attacker was identified as a woman planning to detonate explosives during the papal visit to Mosul. "A truck was also heading there fast with the same intention," Francis wrote in the autobiography, co-authored with Italian writer Carlo Musso and set for January publication.

When Francis later inquired about the bombers' fate, he received a terse response from security. "The commander replied laconically: 'They're no longer here.' Iraqi police had intercepted them and made them explode. This struck me as well: Even this is the poisonous fruit of war."

The pontiff completed his three-day tour of six Iraqi cities, describing himself as "a pilgrim of peace." The visit came after thousands of Christians in northern Iraq were killed under Islamic State control between 2014 and 2017, with hundreds of thousands more fleeing violence and persecution.

Speaking amid the ruins of a Mosul church, Francis called on the country's diminishing Christian population to forgive past injustices and focus on rebuilding.

The visit saw the deployment of 10,000 Iraqi police officers, with curfews enacted to control the COVID-19 spread.

While initially planned for posthumous release, the autobiography will now be released on December 24, the beginning of Jubilee 2025, a 25-year Catholic celebration of faith renewal. Publisher Mondadori notes that this marks the first papal autobiography, though Francis has authored other memoir-style works.

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Switzerland's controversial ban on face coverings in public spaces, commonly referred to as the "burqa ban," will be implemented starting January 1, 2025, the government announced on Wednesday according to Reuters.

The measure, which narrowly passed in a 2021 referendum, was spearheaded by the same political group that successfully campaigned for Switzerland's 2009 ban on new minarets. The Federal Council said in a statement that violations of the new law would result in fines of up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,144).

The ban includes several exemptions, including air travel and diplomatic premises. Religious sites, including places of worship and other sacred locations, are also exempt from the prohibition, according to government officials.

The legislation permits face coverings for health and safety purposes, traditional customs, and weather-related conditions. Additional exceptions include artistic performances, entertainment events, and advertising activities.

The government also outlined provisions for face coverings during demonstrations, stating that if such coverings are necessary for personal protection while exercising freedom of expression and assembly, they may be permitted. However, this requires prior approval from relevant authorities and must not compromise public order.

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In a strategic outreach to Arab and Muslim voters, former President Donald Trump has promised to restore stability in Lebanon and the Middle East, while criticizing the current administration's regional policies during campaign stops targeting Muslim communities in Michigan.

Trump recently addressed Lebanese-Americans, stating: "Your friends and family in Lebanon deserve to live in peace, prosperity, and harmony with their neighbors, and this can only happen when there is peace and stability in the Middle East."

Taking to X, Trump launched a critique of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris: "During my administration, there was peace in the Middle East, and it will return very soon! We will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon."

The Trump campaign has intensified its outreach to Muslim voters in Michigan, capitalizing on growing dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's support for Israel during the current conflict in Gaza.

During my Administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon! I will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon. I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace,…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2024

During a Saturday campaign event in Novi, Michigan, Trump shared his stage with prominent Muslim community leaders, telling supporters: "They can decide the election."

In a significant endorsement, Imam Belal Al-Zuhairi praised Trump as "the peace candidate" and highlighted his pledge to "ending American involvement in endless wars."

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The Taliban has fired hundreds of men from Afghanistan's security forces due to their inability to grow beards, according to a report by The Telegraph. The notorious ministry for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice revealed this information along with other updates in its annual report.

During a press conference in Kabul, Mohibullah Mokhlis, the ministry's director of planning and legislation, stated that "281 beardless officers were identified, confirmed, and dismissed" from the country's security services over the past 12 months. He added, "The hairstyles of 450 military mujahideen were corrected to comply with Sharia law. And some who repeated the [hairstyle] violation were sent to military courts."

The Taliban has prohibited barbers in several provinces from shaving or trimming beards, claiming that the edict aligns with Sharia law. According to Islamic law, which is strictly upheld by the Taliban, it is mandatory for Muslim men to have a beard that is at least the "length of a fist."

The Taliban dismissed more than 280 members of its security force for their failure to grow beards. pic.twitter.com/jpIY1nlsEF

— 91 thoughts (@Marc4_ke) August 22, 2024

 One former Taliban security officer, who was recently dismissed, complained, "I cannot grow a beard, and they constantly called and harassed me. Around three months ago, the commander told me that I could no longer stay in the unit because of my beard." He added, "I joined them for financial reasons, but throughout my year with them, I faced lots of harassment over my inability to grow a beard. They would say I wasn't a true Muslim."

The officer also mentioned that about 10 other people were dismissed on the same day, including middle-aged men with significant experience, solely due to their inability to grow beards.

In addition to the beard-related dismissals, the Taliban regime disclosed that 21,328 musical instruments had been destroyed in the past year. Jalil Ahmad, a former guitar teacher in Herat, recounted how morality forces had stormed his home earlier this year and beaten him for owning several musical instruments.

Ahmad described the incident: "They knocked on the door, and I saw them through the window. I told my family not to open it, but one of them climbed over the gate and jumped into the yard. He unlocked the door, and five more officers stormed into the house." The 31-year-old was then taken to a police station, where he said he had been severely beaten.

Officials reported on Tuesday that more than 13,000 Afghans had been detained for "immoral acts" over the past year, with half of those having been released after 24 hours.

The morality ministry, which has faced criticism from human rights organizations and the United Nations for its restrictions on women and limitations on freedom of expression, also announced that a new plan was being developed to ensure compliance with Islamic dress rules. This plan will be overseen by Supreme Leader of Afghanistan Hibatullah Akhundzada.

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France is facing criticism from human rights organizations over its decision to ban its female athletes from wearing hijabs during the upcoming Paris Summer Olympics. The controversial policy, announced last September by French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, has reignited debates about religious freedom and secularism in sports.

According to reporting by the Daily Mail, Amnesty International, along with ten other rights groups, has accused France of "discriminatory hypocrisy" for refusing to allow its athletes to wear the hijab during Olympic competitions. The organizations argue that the ban prevents athletes "from exercising their human right to play sport without discrimination of any kind."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has declined to intervene in the matter, stating that "freedom of religion is interpreted in many different ways by different states." The IOC previously announced that athletes would be permitted to wear hijabs in the Olympic Village, but France's ban extends to competition venues.

Amelie Oudea-Castera, France's sports minister, defended the ban last year, citing the principle of secularism, calling it "a ban on any type of proselytizing. That means absolute neutrality in public services. The French team will not wear the headscarf."

Critics argue that the policy contradicts not only the IOC's own guidelines but also international treaty obligations that France is required to uphold. Anna Błuś, Amnesty International's Women's Rights Researcher in Europe, stated, "Banning French athletes from competing with sports hijabs at the Olympic and Paralympic Games makes a mockery of claims that Paris 2024 is the first Gender Equal Olympics and lays bare the racist gender discrimination that underpins access to sport in France."

The IOC should insist that France overturn its ban on French athletes wearing the hijab at #ParisOlympics or face sanctions. It's discriminatory and in part based on gross misrepresentation of the Olympic Charter.
on how France dresses its Islamophobia up as secularism pic.twitter.com/O8aA9h7dFG

— Nicholas McGeehan (@NcGeehan) April 17, 2024

 France is currently the only European country that prohibits headscarf-wearing women from participating in most domestic sports competitions. The French Council of State upheld a similar ban on female footballers wearing hijabs during games in June 2023.

Rights groups have expressed concern about the potential consequences of blocking headscarf-wearing women from participating in sports. Amnesty International claims that such bans have resulted in negative mental and physical consequences for women and caused "humiliation, trauma, and fear." The United Nations Rights Office has also indirectly weighed in on the issue. A spokeswoman in Geneva stated that "no one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear or not to wear."

As the Paris Olympics approach, scheduled to begin in just ten days, France has shown no signs of reversing its stance on the hijab ban. The Daily Mail reports that many Muslim athletes participate in sporting events while wearing specially designed hijabs. However, under the current French policy, these athletes may be forced to choose between their religious beliefs and representing their country at the Olympics.

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John, 15 (full name withheld) is the only Jewish student at his school in Dublin, the Irish capital. Since October 7, he cannot forget or suppress this fact for a moment. Like many other Jews living in the country, he is trying to survive under incessant antisemitic fire.

"A month ago, some kids at school laughed about how Jews were gassed, and they know he's Jewish," says his mother, Masha (last name withheld). "I told him to ignore it, but the next day, another kid he had never spoken to approached him during recess and gave him a CD with recordings of Hitler. I went to the principal for clarification, and she said my son wasn't behaving properly either."

"The system did not support him at all, and instead of dealing with the antisemitism, they looked for ways to bury these claims and blame him for other things. My son cried and asked me to stop pursuing it because they don't care, and it's better not to cause an uproar."

According to her, the new climate created around Jews and Israelis is hostile in Ireland, which this week recognized a Palestinian state along with Spain and Norway. The incidents created an effect very reminiscent of what happened to assimilated Jews in Europe 80 years ago.

"My children did not grow up with a strong Jewish identity, but now it's different," she says. "We have never felt so close to Judaism as we do now. Since October 7, I feel people treat me differently as soon as I mention that I am Jewish. After the Holocaust, we thought such events could not recur, but it is astonishing to see how quickly the mood against Israel and Jews is changing."

Sadly, Masha and her son, John, are not alone in this sad, frightening, and ugly Irish story, which is only intensifying. In the Jewish community in Ireland, reports of verbal attacks against Jewish and Israeli children in educational institutions are increasing, with some children having to transfer to different schools. The situation is similar for Jewish students at academic institutions.

"As early as October 9, the national student union here organized a pro-Palestinian demonstration, and many student unions, including the university where I work, issued statements supporting the Palestinians – just two days after the massacre," says Lior Tevet (37), a mother of two, originally from Ramat Gan, who moved to Ireland with her husband and has been working as a course instructor at an Irish university for six years.

"Last semester, I taught a course on Nazi Germany after realizing that Holocaust education in Ireland is terrible. I walk into class, everyone knows I'm from Israel, and the atmosphere is tense. During the lecture, a student asked me why Israel does what it does, and another student wore a kaffiyeh. In the middle of the class, while I'm speaking, she tells me, 'I'm wearing a kaffiyeh, that must be a trigger for you.'"

In another incident reported in the local media, Tevet clashed at the university with Richard Boyd Barrett – leader of the virulently anti-Israel People Before Profit party – who faced off against a pro-Israel lawyer. During the confrontation, rife with lies and conspiracies, Tevet interrupted to ask the lecturer to stop distorting the truth. In response, a Muslim man in the audience stood up and started yelling at her: "We will do another October 7 to you again and again. Allahu Akbar."

On May 22, Irish Prime Minister Simon Coveney announced the recognition of a Palestinian state. Norway joined Ireland, which is leading this move in Europe, and Spain also announced that it would recognize a Palestinian state the following week.

Ireland's dramatic step joins a series of other measures it has been taking against Israel in recent months. Among other things, it supports a European Union probe into "human rights violations" by Israel during the Gaza war, joined the EU's call to review trade agreements with Israel, and routinely condemns Israel.

In a spontaneous response to the dramatic announcement, Tevet immediately went to protest symbolically in front of the Irish Parliament alongside Enush Hortig – an Israeli living in Ireland – and a few local pro-Israel friends. "For years, Israel neglected its relationship with Ireland and thought it was an insignificant country and did not need to address the growing protests against Israel," Tevet says. "I hope there is a silent, dormant majority here, but for now, I am concerned that this recognition will legitimize further actions against us."

"This is a win for terrorism, and it adds to all the antisemitic moves the government is taking here against Jews," said Hortig. "Yesterday, there was an announcement of the crowning of a new chief rabbi after 18 years without one in the country. The president was invited but found a way to avoid the ceremony. Other invited politicians also did not show up, and in the end, very few members of parliament attended. The president found time to go to a women's soccer game in support of the Palestinians but disappeared when it came to the inauguration of a chief rabbi. They oppress us, they don't recognize us, and there is zero understanding of the moves Israel makes in its justified war of self-defense."

Our Voice is Silenced

The concerning situation in Irish educational institutions is just a small part of the gloomy picture in the country associated with the green color, which coincidentally is also the color of Hamas' flag. The land of James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Roy Keane, U2, and The Pogues is changing and turning it in a problematic direction. The whiskey, beer, music, and joie de vivre – the immediate associations evoked by Ireland – hide a not-so-simple reality for Israelis and Jews living there today.

"The pro-Palestinians have taken over the public discourse, no one knew how to respond in time, and now the pro-Israel voice is not heard at all," says Maurice Cohen (74), head of the Jewish community in Ireland and a Zionist Jew born in Dublin. "It is not heard in the media, not in politics, and not within society. The only voice heard across all strata of Irish society is the pro-Palestinian one. Israel is portrayed here as the absolute evil in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

According to him, this is not an entirely new phenomenon but rather an escalation of an existing reality. "For years, alongside the rise in support for the Palestinians, antisemitism has been brewing in Ireland," he explains. "October 7 simply brought antisemitism from under the table to above the table, and since then, the combination of anti-Israel sentiment, antisemitism, and antizionism has become the trend leading the normative public discourse."

The Irish hostility is reflected, among other things, in the growing demand by political and academic bodies to boycott Israel and boycott local businesses owned by Israelis and products from Israel. This is alongside school curricula that educate an entire generation to love the Palestinians and hate Israel through historical distortion, verbal attacks on social media against anyone who voices support for Israel, and even hostility towards Israelis in need of medical treatment.

All of this is compounded by the significant presence of a hostile Muslim/Arab community in the most important power centers of international technology giants and various social platforms reaching hundreds of millions of people daily, including TikTok and Instagram. The current reality in the country is certainly reminiscent of the 1920s and 1930s in Germany, except that this time it is a country that claims to be neutral.

"If you talk to people in Ireland, they will say they are not antisemitic," says Cohen. "They will say they are against Israel and then talk about colonialism, saying 'IDF soldiers kill babies,' and 'Israel is committing genocide,' but as soon as you tell them that reality is different, they will change the subject and not let the facts convince them. You cannot convince them; there are pro-Palestinian organizations here that have done significant work over decades, and there are hardly any Jews in Ireland who can influence them back."

There are only about 1,200 Jews in total who are native to Ireland, and they are joined by about 2,000 Israelis who have moved to the country in recent years, partly because Ireland is a tax haven for tech companies. "Our visibility is low," explains Cohen. "If there were four Jews in parliament in the past, now there are none. We do what we can, but the movement against us is very strong. There are problems with the cost of living in Ireland, immigrants, difficulty buying a house, and the news criticizes Israel in the headlines. If we can get rid of the obsession with Israel, it would be a paradise to live here. Right now, the situation here is concerning."

"Systematically, the mood has changed for the worse against Israel, and hatred of Israel is now at the heart of the consensus," explains Alan Shatter (74), who served as Minister of Justice, Equality, and Defense in Ireland, a Zionist Jew who was active in international parliamentary frameworks that influenced foreign policies.

According to him, there is currently not a single parliamentary voice supporting the Jewish state. Attacking Israel has become, in effect, a means of creating electoral capital, and since general elections will be held in Ireland in the next nine months, the future does not bode well. "The tone in the media has also changed rapidly for the worse against Israel, with the Israeli side not being presented," he says. "The replacement of Prime Minister Leo Varadkar by the new Prime Minister Coveney did not change the tone. The new Prime Minister condemned Israel from the very first moment of his tenure."

"Anyone watching television or reading newspapers might think that Israel is aggressively destroying Gaza and killing as many civilians as possible. They will not hear about rockets fired at Israel by Hezbollah or Hamas, nothing will be said about the tunnels, and there will be no mention of civilians being used as human shields."

"Some of the Irish know there are hostages, but there is no focus on them and what their fate is now. The Irish media will not report that Hamas said it would repeat the horrors it committed on October 7. In the Irish government's call for a ceasefire, there was no talk of tunnels in Gaza, no condemnation of Hamas for not releasing the captives, and no mention of Hamas' agenda calling for the destruction of Israel."

"This is the narrative of the government, this is the media, and this is what the public hears and reads. Being anti-Israel  is acceptable and 'politically correct.' Music organizations, theater, cinema, trade unions, nurses, universities – in all of them, you will hear condemnation of Israel. Teacher organizations protest against Israel and introduce curricula on Palestine. They are prohibited according to the Irish education system, but the government turns a blind eye."

Shatter recounts that "almost every weekend, there are thousands of people shouting 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,'" and that the protesters call themselves "the Catholics of Northern Ireland." "They think Zionism is evil and that all Zionists are evil," he says. "The only reason Israeli trade is not boycotted is that Ireland is bound by the agreements of the European Union, of which it is a member.

"There are politicians who live under the illusion that they are neutral when they condemn Israel and do not talk about the context. They think their one-sidedness promotes peace agreements, but the selective narrative they create against Israel actually contributes to increasing antisemitism. In their eyes, the only good Jew is an antizionist Jew."

Video: Reuters

Historical Enmity

For around 800 years, the Republic of Ireland was under British occupation and fought against it. During the 16th century, the official religion of England became Protestant, while the Irish remained mainly Catholic, creating an additional layer to the conflict. In 1916, Ireland rebelled, and after a long struggle against British occupation, Southern Ireland became independent, and British rule ended in 1922.

The newly independent Ireland was predominantly Catholic, while in Northern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom until today, there was a Protestant majority and a Catholic minority. For decades in the previous century, a bloody struggle took place between Protestants and Catholics, involving many acts of terrorism and murder, and ended in 1998 with the signing of a peace agreement between Britain and Ireland.

The peace agreement led to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) declaring an end to the armed struggle against the British and accepting that Northern Ireland would remain part of Britain, but with new political structures that promoted equal representation in government for Protestants and Catholics.

How is this related to Israel? Well, it turns out that it is very much related.

"The conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland was, for the Catholics, a war between the settlers and the natives. The settlers were the British Protestants who came to the Catholic island, and the indigenous inhabitants were the Catholics in Northern Ireland, who had a religious connection with the Irish Republic," explains Shatter. "While the Protestants wanted to remain part of Britain, the Catholics wanted to liberate themselves and join the Republic of Ireland."

"In the 1970s, IRA terrorists formed ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and their fighters underwent training in Tunisia with the Palestinians. The motto of the IRA was that just as the Palestinians were fighting against Israel, so the Catholic Republicans were fighting against the British against Protestant rule. Palestinians were seen as indigenous fighters against the Israeli settlers."

"If you had visited Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, in the 1970s to the 1990s, you would have seen in the Catholic districts images and wall paintings of Palestinian terrorists depicted as heroes. On the other hand, if you had visited the Protestant districts, you would have seen images and wall paintings glorifying IDF soldiers."

And so, a conflict thousands of kilometers away from Israel became intertwined with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as the Catholic-Republican narrative from the North gradually seeped into the neighboring Republic of Ireland. The party representing the Catholic majority in Northern Ireland today is Sinn Féin – a nationalist party with a left-wing political orientation that advocates for a fully independent island of Ireland separated from Britain.

Sinn Féin is currently the largest opposition party in Ireland. It belongs to the national right, but also to the economic left, and it supports BDS and is a vehement critic of Israel. "They called for expelling the Israeli ambassador from Dublin," says Shatter. "They don't want two states for two peoples. They hear calls for the destruction of Israel and don't protest against them. Incidentally, there is a possibility that they will be partners in forming the next government and may even lead its establishment."

The hostile attitude of parts of Ireland towards Israel intensified after the Six-Day War, in which Israel became perceived as a force that conquered a weaker state. "In the 1970s and 1980s, there was still support for Israel in Ireland, but it was gradually eroded by groups working in solidarity with Palestinians over the past 20 years, including the creation of a process of dehumanization of Israelis out of a desire to replace Israel with Palestine," explains Shatter.

Jewish life in Ireland developed in the 1970s of the 19th century when Jews from Eastern Europe arrived in a country still under British occupation. Further waves of immigration came in the following decades and around World War I. At its peak, the Jewish community in Ireland numbered around 5,000 Jews, and the relationship between Ireland and the Jewish people and Israel has had its ups and downs.

According to testimonies from elders of the community, in the 1920s and 1930s, Jews did not suffer from overt antisemitism, although there was "classic antisemitism" related to the Catholic Church, which accused Jews of the death of Jesus. During World War II, Ireland refused to accept Jews trying to flee the Nazis, but in the early days of the state of Israel and until the Six-Day War, Ireland supported Israel relatively.

Later, Ireland's affection for the "underdog" gradually shifted to the Palestinians, while the Jewish community dwindled. In recent years, however, there has been a renewed flourishing of Jewish life in Ireland, thanks to the many Israelis who have come to the country as hi-tech workers. For many of them, this was the realization of a beautiful dream, but then October 7 came and shattered the dream in one fell swoop.

Slogans and Conspiracy Theories

Shirley (33, a fictional name), who lived in Ireland for several years, also experienced the extreme shift in attitude towards Israel from the Irish. "The claim is that it's not against Jews but against Zionism, but we see that it often stems from pure antisemitism," she says. "People here can't explain what a Zionist is, and when they speak, antisemitism comes out. They claim that we control the media and money and murder babies."

"There's a free newspaper here that's distributed on the train with significant circulation, and it stated that we control the media and banks and that we invented the LGBTQ movement. It's pure Nazi propaganda, just with 'Zionist' instead of 'Jew.' I reached out to women's organizations here to condemn the rapes Israeli women endured, and I got a response that it's 'Israeli propaganda' and that I need to check my sources."

"Friends of mine, or rather people I thought were friends, start reciting slogans and bizarre conspiracy theories about what happened on October 7. There's an organized BDS team here that goes around with 'genocide' stickers and sticks them on Israeli products and businesses. There was a Jewish couple who wanted to buy a dog, but the owners refused to sell to them once they realized they were Israelis. Someone booked a venue and catering, and only after all the details were finalized did the venue and catering realize she wanted to celebrate a bar mitzvah, and they immediately canceled the event and service for her with strange excuses."

"The pro-Palestinians also go to parks and streets with Israeli or Jewish connections, change their signs, and create a new Google profile for them to erase their Jewish connections and references. Many of us have changed our names on food delivery and Uber apps to avoid revealing that we're Israeli."

"Not long ago, I got into a taxi, and the driver asked me where I was from. I hesitated for a moment, and then he said he knew I was from Israel because only Israelis wait a second before answering where they're from. I decided not to give in. Since they said we need to be more careful, I've added a necklace that says 'alive' in Hebrew to my Star of David necklace."

One of the major breaking points for Shirley came after a pregnancy check-up, during which it was decided she needed to undergo an early delivery, and an urgent surgery was scheduled for her. "I was being treated by a lovely doctor, and at some point, a specialist came into the room," she recounts. "We discussed the surgery date, and I expressed concern to her that my mother, who lives in Israel, might not make it in time. At that moment, the specialist realized I was Israeli and started attacking me. She said to me, 'What you're doing to the Palestinians is terrible, it's a crime against humanity.' I froze for a moment, and she repeated it, aggressively. I asked her if this seemed like the right situation to say that, and she apologized. I asked her to leave the room and demanded that she not be part of the team treating me."

"I remained outwardly calm, but the second she left the room, I cried. The doctor came back, hugged me, and apologized on her behalf, but it really shook me. Slowly, we discovered that many Israelis choose not to undergo medical treatments in Ireland because you don't want to go through a sensitive situation like that when you don't know who's treating you."

According to Shirley, "It's a very deep-rooted problem that starts in the education system. There's hostility towards Israel and Zionism there," she says. "My son is in a sports club, and he started saying he hates being Israeli because they told him Israel is weak and evil. In Israel, we're busy protecting children and not talking to them about such things, and here suddenly the child is asking, 'What's genocide?' and 'What's this Zionist curse?' We realized there is a problem here, that it's becoming institutionalized."

Who killed Jesus?

Many schools in Ireland belong to the Catholic education system, and therefore many Jewish children attend a large secular school network called Educate Together. On October 7, parents approached the network's CEO and asked her to discuss the massacre that had occurred, but she rejected the request, claiming that the network did not wish to introduce politically charged discourse into the curriculum.

It quickly became clear that things only worked in one direction. "We discovered that the network's CEO attends pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and suddenly there was also an intensive campaign to introduce content related to 'Palestine' into this school network," says Shirley. "It became a trend. The Irish Second-Level Students' Union is calling for participation in demonstrations against Israel and donating items to Palestinians. Schools are planning votes on turning the school into an 'Apartheid-Free Zone.' There are schools across the country that have declared two weeks of 'Speaking about Palestine' with content that completely distorts reality."

"In the lower grades, it looks innocent: They show pictures of "Palestine" as a place of peace, and there are videos of homeless children, implying that the ones who made them that way are, of course, Israeli. In middle school and high school grades, it's already completely antisemitic. One of the Israeli children came home with a textbook distributed in schools throughout the country. The book opens with a depiction of Jesus, with a Jew in a prayer shawl standing next to the title 'Who Killed Jesus?'. It also has an entire chapter on jihad, explaining that it's not exactly terrorism but rather a 'Western misconception.'"

The lack of representation of Jews and Israelis in the Irish education system, as well as in other frameworks, including the political one, is very prominent these days. The case of Orli Degani – an Israeli who sought to be elected as a council member in her residential district in Dublin in the upcoming elections to be held next month – illustrates this well.

Degani, who was chosen to represent the Social Democrats party and holds liberal worldviews with a clear leftist political leaning, raised concerns within her party regarding its representatives' statements against Israel, which had been escalating, and the impact they had on the security of Israelis and Jews in the country. Shortly afterward, she was summoned for a clarification with the party's leadership, after which the party decided to remove her candidacy.

The story was quickly leaked to the media, as a step meant to attract voters to the party. "The Irish don't even know there's a Jewish community here because it hardly ever goes public," Degani explains. "This makes it easier for extremist elements to be more extreme because you can talk about Jews if they're not here. I came to my branch in the party and told them to take into account that when they speak against Israel, then Irish Israelis and residents fear for their security, their children, and their businesses, and mainly feel unwelcome in Ireland. They didn't like hearing that and decided to dismiss me because my statements were 'not in solidarity' with the rest of the party members."

"After it leaked to social media, I started receiving messages on Twitter claiming that I support genocide and that I employ 'Zionists' who support genocide, and it became very uncomfortable. I started getting calls from journalists saying that the party claims I'm against Palestinian flags, against ending the war, and even against returning the captives. They painted me in the ugliest colors, and I actually voted Meretz all my life, and even after October, I still support two states and peace."

However, not everyone came out against her: "I received many supportive messages with a lot of empathy after the dismissal. I think many people in Ireland see the extremism, and even if at heart they're more pro-Palestinian than pro-Israeli, they don't like the direction the extremism is dragging them."

"Because of the hostile atmosphere against us, people are afraid to express their opinion openly, or even to say that they're not anti-Jewish or antizionist, but in this election campaign, which includes going door-to-door, most of the people I met do support us. I even received calls from supporting members of parliament, and they only asked me not to say their names and not to tell people that they support someone from Israel."

Technological Incitement

The Israel Hayom editorial staff also received testimonies about a tense atmosphere in the offices of major global technology companies in Dublin. Israeli teams and individual employees at major companies – including TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and LinkedIn – are facing a difficult, sometimes even threatening, reality in the workplace, stemming from subtle and overt tensions between Israeli employees and employees from other countries.

A few months ago, the full names and work addresses of Israelis working at some of the technology companies began to be published. One of the published articles mentioned that some of the Israelis working at the tech giants had served as intelligence personnel in Israel's technological units, with an insinuation about their personal details.

This created fear and panic among Israelis, some of whom decided to stay at home for a certain period. "Some of the companies offered employees to stay home, but not because they understood the Israeli employees," says Shira (a fictional name), a headquarters employee at one of the tech companies in Ireland. "They also wanted to avoid trouble. That is, friction within the workplace."

According to her, some companies are trying to rein in employees who oppose Israel, but in certain places – especially at TikTok – there is significant hostility towards Israel. "Outside the TikTok offices, signs of the captives were hung, and allegedly, some of the company's employees tore them down," Shira testifies. "One employee complained about the matter, and nothing was done. The company also has pro-Palestinian employees who expressed opinions against Israel and in favor of BDS, and even support for terrorists at times, and nothing was done against them."

However, the opposition to Israel does not end with pro-Palestinian employees, many of whom are Arab and Muslim. "If I told you it was 1939 and not 2024, you'd be surprised," says Shira. "It is reflected in the way Jews are portrayed in the media, in textbooks, and by politicians. The calls for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Dublin, Dana Erlich, who has bravely fought to represent us, are also related to this."

"The general hostile atmosphere on the street towards anything Israeli seeps into our work, and it's difficult and dangerous," says Ronen (a fictional name), an employee at one of the tech giants who has lived in Ireland for the past eight years. "There is not a single tech giant that hasn't had demonstrations outside its office and actions taken against it."

"It's important to remember that the tech companies located here have significant economic importance and have a strategic influence on the whole world. If the people working at the headquarters of the world's major social networks live in a reality where boycotting Israel is the right thing to do, it will undoubtedly be reflected in their work as well, and that's how we lose the battle for public opinion."

"This only emphasizes why, as Israelis, we must stay here and fight as much as possible because if we're not here, this arena will be completely breached. Fortunately, there is an Israeli community here that is not afraid to fight and do everything possible to prevent us from being treated unfairly in this country."

Shlomit, a relatively new employee at one of the tech giants, reinforces Ronen's claims by describing how the policy teams at the tech giants – teams that determine what content is legitimate on social networks and what is not – shape public opinion in a way that serves the demonization of Israel worldwide.

"I heard a story about an employee at one of the companies who previously sat in an Egyptian prison due to his affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. He finished serving his sentence in the Egyptian prison and came to Dublin. Here, he's a hero because he was a political prisoner and he speaks harshly against Israel and Zionism. His father is one of the prominent imams in Ireland, who was designated by the US and Britain as an instigator."

"That same Egyptian employee, with his whole background, is now employed at TikTok, in the Trust and Safety department, with the ability to influence content. Indeed, on TikTok, we have seen that as the war progresses, more Israelis are being blocked or their content is removed, while more pro-Palestinian content is being approved. Even TikTok employees within the company, not necessarily senior ones, are taking advantage of the fact that they can influence content to promote their political agenda against Israel."

A Battle of Attrition

"We need to divide the reality we experienced in Ireland into before and after October 7," says Ben (44, a fictional name), who works at one of the tech giants and has lived in Ireland for 12 years with his Israeli wife and three children. "The Irish people are warm, charming, and kind-hearted. People smile at you on the street with a genuine smile for no reason. People here offer help and are polite, even naive. There was indeed support for Palestine even before, but it didn't feel exceptionally hostile. Starting from October 7, suddenly, the place turned from a paradise into a hostile place. The whole system supports Palestine, and Israel is depicted in the worst possible way."

Is it even possible to fight the phenomenon from within? Shai Doitsch, Head of Community Development at Israeli Community Europe (ICE), believes there is hardly any choice. "The Jewish community in Dublin is a small community, but with a history," he says. "The family of the late former President Chaim Herzog and the current President Isaac Herzog were among the leaders of the Dublin community, and alongside it hosts an Israeli community of about 2,000 people in the city."

"Now, take for example an antisemitic and anti-Israeli city like Barcelona, which has an established Israeli community connected to the Jewish community, working together with it to change the reality – and is succeeding. The community there managed to thwart an initiative for solidarity strikes with the Palestinians in the education system, prevent the takeover of businesses, and more."

"In contrast, the community in Dublin is fighting against the wave of antisemitism with the limited means at its disposal, without a community center, a driving force, and a unified voice. Therefore, these days, we at ICE are accompanying the community and working to recruit partners for the establishment of a center that will serve as a place where one can be a proud Israeli and Jew, while simultaneously allowing for real-time response and influence on local public opinion."

"As someone who researches and accompanies communities on the continent, I am convinced that part of the response is the presence of the Israeli community as a living, proud, strong, and active community. Precisely now. Precisely in Dublin."

The post Old antisemitism; new pro-Palestinian trends: Why being Jewish in Ireland has become dangerous appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

A senior New York Police Department official has formally confirmed that man reported to be a Lebanese Muslim masquerading as a Haredi Jewish man, who married a Jewish woman in a Haredi wedding ceremony in New York some two weeks ago, is in fact a Muslim from Lebanon.

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Speaking to The Yeshiva World website, NYPD Community Affairs Deputy Inspector Richie Taylor, an observant Jew, explained that the incident comprised "no credible threat to the Jewish community and there are no ties to this situation and terrorism."

Taylor's remarks sought to calm the community after rumors that the groom in question had ties to Hezbollah.

According to the original reports, the man – who called himself Eliyahu Haliwa, has admitted to both the NYPD and his wife that he is not Jewish. He says that he is not an anti-Semite and married a Jewish woman because he wanted to be Jewish. However, he had previous claimed that he worked for the National Security Agency and visited Israel, both of which are untrue.

Haliwa's story began some years ago, when he arrived at the University of Texas and tried to take part in the activity of Jewish groups on campus, including Chabad and Hillel. According to Lazarov, who manages the Chabad House at the university, Haliwa never studied in any Chabad-affiliated yeshiva and neither spoke nor read Hebrew.

After the start of the COVID pandemic, Haliwa met a girl from the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn via a dating site, where he presented himself as a religious Jew.

"When the relationship grew more serious, the girl reached out to me to check him out, and we – my wife and I, based on what we saw the few times he arrived for Shabbat dinner or to pray – that his lifestyle was not that of a religious Jew, to say the least," Lazarov said.

A few days ago, the man's new bride discovered – how remains unclear – that there were grounds to suspect that her husband wasn't Jewish at all, but rather a Shiite Muslim. According to various unconfirmed reports, the woman has sought shelter outside the couple's home.

Meanwhile, the local Jewish community continues to flagellate itself over the incident. After Rabbi Yosef Lazarov, who accompanied Haliwa to his chuppah, clarified that he had never looked into whether the groom was Jewish or not and said he was not involved in the engagement ceremony, Rabbi Ezra Zafrani, who prepared the couple's ketubah and sent his son, Rabbi David Zafrani, to conduct the engagement and marriage ceremonies, issued a public apology and accepted responsibility.

"I was completely misled by this man and others about his Judaism," Zafrani Sr. said in remarks published overnight on the site Haredim 10.

Zafrani admitted his mistake and said he had been wrong to allow the couple to marry without confirming the man's true identity ahead of time. "I'm amazed at myself for allowing this to happen, and I have no one else to blame. I have no words to describe the pain that this has caused our rabbis and our community. No apology can heal the wounds, but it must be made."

The rabbi has apologized to the bride's family and to the rabbis, and promised to be more careful in the future.

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The post 'Haredi' bridegroom in New York unmasked as Lebanese Muslim appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Hadid family are back at what they do best: inciting against Israel. Mohamed Hadid, the real estate developer and father of supermodels Gigi and Bella, shared a photograph on Instagram on Wednesday that showed a Palestinian woman allegedly being pulled away from her son's grave by Israeli police officers before the site was to be demolished to make way for a theme park.

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The photograph was a screenshot of a video originally posted on the Islamic Quotes and Muslim News Instagram page that showed a Palestinian mother crying over her son's grave seemingly being pulled away by someone who looks like a police officer.

The original post, which received over 145,000 likes, was captioned, "A Palestinian mother was forcibly removed from her son's grave because the Israeli oppressors want to build a theme park over the cemetery. They won't even allow the dead to rest." The video was most likely taken during construction works near a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem.

Hadid, who has 1.3 million Instagram followers, accused Israel of "not respecting the dead." His post garnered thousands of anti-Israel comments and more than 42,900 likes.

"They don't respect the living. How do you expect them to respect the dead?" one user wrote. Others described the event as "vile," sickening" and "an absolute disgrace." Another outraged user wrote, "Allah is watching and he will avenge every innocent Palestinian affected one day be sure of it."

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority denied the allegations and said it did not conduct construction work within the cemetery itself. It further stressed that Israel was not building a theme park, but a national park that would "benefit the entire public, especially residents of the area."

It said works were being conducted to clear the area and build a fence between the public space where the construction is conducted and the cemetery itself.

"The work is not carried out in the cemetery area," it said. "There are a number of illegal graves onsite, despite a ban imposed by the court. Nevertheless, the works do not damage the graves, not even the illegal ones, and they will not be damaged in the future either."

It concluded by saying that the court allowed the construction to proceed immediately and all appeals against it had been rejected.

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The post In Hadid family, anti-Israel apple doesn't fall far from tree appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.