Letters to the Editor: Justice and peace have never been more threatened
A To Distribution Reach Kareem Picture: Palestinian Hana/ap At Food Center In Gaza, Abdel Yesterday Girls Khan Struggle Younis,
Christmas should be a time for peace and celebration in the Holy Land and in the Middle East, for Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and for all those who believe in humanitarian principles and the proper rule of international laws.
This 2024 Christmas holiday season sees large areas of Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria in ruins with hundreds of thousands dead and injured. War crimes amounting to genocide have been committed with impunity by Israel, supported by the US and its allies.
International laws have been and are still being grossly violated. Large areas of the state of Syria are now occupied by Turkey, United States, Israel, and various rebel groups, including Kurdish forces and by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS — who are being described as liberators despite their previous close associations with al Qaeda and ISIS terrorists).
Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen, and their peoples have also been devastated by wars waged for resources, in breach of the UN charter. US-dominated Nato, that now includes 24 of the European Union’s 27 member states, should have been disbanded at the end of the Cold War, but is now arguably being misused as the equivalent of a global criminal gang enforcer.
All these wars are causing colossal damage to our global environment and increasing the risk of nuclear war. International peace and global justice were never more important, but sadly never more threatened than they are at Christmas 2024.
As someone who loves both the Arabic and Jewish cultures, I find the current conflict in the Middle East extremely painful to watch, listen to, or read about. I have travelled extensively in the Middle East over the years and have been fascinated by its various cultures and creeds, always approaching them with respect and an open mind.
As an Irishman deeply proud of Ireland and its culture, and as a lover of Israel, I find the current discourse between the two nations upsetting. It is, of course, worrying when politicians use inflammatory language because it heightens the risk of bringing out the ugly side of people’s nature.
Ireland’s greatest politician, Daniel O’Connell, was respected for reducing tensions between opposing sides. He was also able to rise above partisanship and respect other people’s cultures. For example, in 1846 he was instrumental in repealing the law “De Judaismo”, which sought to prescribe Jewish dress. Addressing the Jewish people, he said: “Ireland has claims on your ancient race. It is the only country that I know of unsullied by any one act of persecution of the Jews.”
During An Gorta Mór, many Jews donated generously towards famine relief. And in 1904, Michael Davitt of the Land League strongly condemned the Limerick Boycott because it discriminated against Jews.
How sad that the Israeli Embassy felt the need to close their Dublin office, due to perceived hatred by our establishment. That doesn’t sit well with our “land of a thousand welcomes” chant. It’s ironic as we approach Christmas (which created Christianity in Bethlehem, Israel) there should be this conflict between our two states. The night skies are being illuminated by a collection of bright stars presently, but it seems there will be plenty room at the inn this Christmas (at least in their Dublin office).
Is there any chance we might get “three wise men” (or women) into our newly elected government to sort out our own appalling difficulties before we go poking our ‘neutral-noses’ into situations far away from our shores?
There is a disastrous housing situation with sky-high rents; the huge shortage of qualified nursing personnel; the shortage of teachers; not to mention the Children’s Hospital saga.
On a lighter note, may I wish all the contributors to your letters page a happy and peaceful Christmas, especially those with a funny bone. Your witty pieces are badly needed right now.
Jess Casey’s article — ‘School to review ethos over ‘required’ ceremonies’ (Irish Examiner, December 17) — highlighting how students in a Church of Ireland primary school “are required to participate in all subject areas and attend all school religious ceremonies” is the most recent example of how Irish primary schools are denying children’s constitutional rights.
For over a decade, the Department of Education and successive education ministers have ignored warnings from NGOs and the UN that emotional harm is being done to minority/non-faith children on a daily basis in our schools. This is characterised by shame, ostracisation, and indoctrination.
For example, in 2016, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child stressed the need for “accessible options for children to opt out of religious classes and access appropriate alternatives to such classes, in accordance with the needs of children of minority faith or non-faith backgrounds”.
However, like her predecessors, outgoing Education Minister Norma Foley has failed to grasp this nettle, and instead has limited her involvement in the ‘religion question’ to the quagmire of school ownership — an entirely separate issue.
Successive calls from the UN have made it clear that it is incumbent on the government to issue guidelines to all publicly-funded schools that would ensure that religious rights are guaranteed.
The persistence of stories such as this one illustrates the unwillingness of the State to ensure that our schools operate in a rights-compliant manner. This position cannot last for long.
If you are on the receiving end of prejudice of any kind, the chances are you would know it and feel it, and those dishing out the prejudice would be fully aware of the effect it has on the victim.
At the recent presentation of the credentials of the ambassador of Palestine at Áras an Uachtaráin, many accepted norms of international diplomacy were violated. According to international law, to be a state there is a criteria to be met: A settled population, a defined territory, government, and the ability to enter into relations with other states. At the Áras, President Higgins accepted the credentials of the Ambassador of the State of Palestine, a state without defined and internationally recognised borders. At the UN, Ireland, alongside 146 other countries, recognised the State of Palestine without any defined borders. This flies in the face of the UN’s own charter.
There is no legitimate Palestinian government, so they have no ability to have relationships with other countries, yet Ireland recognised Palestine as a state and not as an inspiration to statehood.
To most Palestinians, their defined borders are from the river to the sea. They don’t accept the Green Line, the armistice lines of the 1949 agreement. And if Ireland and other countries recognise the Palestinians’ definition as the legitimate defined borders of Palestine, as all Arab states do, then they accept that Israel has no right to exist. In this context, you can see why Israel and Jews around the world feel aggrieved and prejudiced against, and why they have criticised the Irish Government and a good enough reason to close their Dublin embassy.
No one in their right mind wants this senseless slaughter and the madness in the world to continue, but to take sides only inflames the situation, and Ireland’s decision has only flung fuel into the neverending flames of hatred, bigotry, ignorance, and intolerance.
The deep trauma of vicious evil, the nervous hope for the future, and the sheer joy of a momentous event have engulfed us from Syria for the past fortnight. The depravity of Saydnaya Prison was laid bare in prisoners’ testimonies and in graphic video clips and photographs — fruits of indispensable journalism.
Less than five miles east of Bashar al-Assad’s human slaughterhouse, in the town of Saydnaya (Saidnaya) itself, stands one of the world’s most ancient holy sites, the Holy Patriarchal Convent of Our Lady of Saidnaya of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. It is believed that the convent was built in AD547 by the Byzantine emperor Justinian The First, who, according to legend, on encountering a vision of the Virgin Mary, was ordered by her to build a convent on the high rock upon which she was standing.
More affirmation, I believe, that we humans need both a hellish evil and a heavenly fantasy running in parallel to fuel our very existence.
Having worked under the United Nations flag in that part of the world, I have lost faith in there ever being any better version of ourselves.
A lot of ditches and hedgerows are being pulled down, and many birds are losing their nesting spots and berries to feed on.
In the near future, thousands of homes need to be built, which will do more harm as more food and nesting places will be removed and not replaced.
It’s looking sad for the population of wild birds; the Government and planners should make sure that fewer walls are built and more hedges of all kinds are grown to save our beautiful wild birds.