It was just a little over a year ago that my wife and I arrived in Ireland to visit our son’s family. He and his wife were there for a few years to work in Dublin’s hi-tech industry. The date was May 28, 2024, the day that Ireland recognized the State of Palestine.
When we watched the news that evening, and in the following days, we repeatedly heard anti-Israel stories, often based on remarks made by Israel’s extremist government ministers. At the same time, other reports were taken from Hamas sources – many of them false.
After four visits to Ireland in the last four years, including two since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacres in Israel, we have never experienced any antisemitic remarks or actions directed toward us. I wear a kippah when commuting on public transportation, visiting popular tourist sites, drinking in pubs, shopping in stores, etc. I also don’t keep a low profile while traveling, as sometimes advised by our government. Instead, we proudly tell anyone who asks that we are visiting from Israel.
We did not hear any negative comments about my headgear or that we are Israelis. In fact, surprisingly, we have received only positive remarks. It began with our first taxi driver, who shared that his father told him that it’s only the Jews living in Israel who would protect the Christian religious sites in the Holy Land.
Did anything bad happen when we drank with intoxicated Irishmen in at least half a dozen pubs? In one, our new friend, Shamus, told us, “Make sure that you visit the Irish Jewish Museum, to learn about the positive contribution the Jews have made to this country.”
As a professional accordionist, I wear a kippa with a keyboard design. This has led to numerous conversations with the local musicians who perform in the pubs. As we were leaving our last pub, my wife overheard one young woman say to another, “Isn’t that the cutest yarmulke you ever saw?” My wife turned back and replied with a smile, “Isn’t it?”
JOKING ASIDE, one cannot forget that the Irish government is one of the most anti-Israel institutions in the Western world. Their president, Michael Higgins, just a few months ago, inappropriately used his speech at the Holocaust memorial ceremony in Dublin to lambast Israel for its war in Gaza. A short time later, while in Rome for the installation of Pope Leo XIV, Higgins spoke about the absence of the “war criminal” Benjamin Netanyahu.
So far, there have been only two small physical altercations between pro-Gazans and Jews. There have been no attacks on Jewish institutions, such as the synagogue or the Jewish day school. This also includes the Israel Embassy in Dublin, the site of numerous pro-Hamas demonstrations since October 7. Israel closed down its embassy there at the end of 2024.
I’ve had several conversations with Rabbi Zalman Lent, the Chabad emissary in Ireland for more than two decades, and with Rabbi Yoni Wieder, Ireland’s new chief rabbi. Both said that despite the political position of the Irish government, the Irish anti-Israel position is unique because until now it hasn’t morphed into antisemitism.
However, these regular verbal and diplomatic attacks by the Republic of Ireland on the State of Israel provide fertile ground for what could eventually become anti-Jewish feelings. Just because there might not be an actual physical threat to Ireland’s small Jewish community of 2,500, that doesn’t mean that Irish Jewry doesn’t, understandably, feel threatened.
Even so, we need to be careful to distinguish between what’s actually happening and what we fear could happen in Ireland.
Visiting Ireland
When we arrived at Dublin Airport in March, we took a taxi to our hotel. Upon hearing that we were from Israel, the driver told us that Hamas deserved everything that they got after what happened on October 7.
At the end of our stay in Ireland, on the way to the airport, another driver inquired where we were going. When we said “Israel,” and he saw my kippah, he asked if anyone had hassled us. My wife answered “No” but then added, “unless you intend to do so.” He laughed and said that he doesn’t like to discuss religion or politics.
We then told him that Israelis are nervous about coming to Ireland because of the government’s anti-Israel positions. He was saddened to hear this. As we said goodbye to him at the airport, he shook my hand and gave me this message to relay: “When you get back to Israel, tell them that the Irish people like the Jews.”
The writer is a musician who lives in Jerusalem with his wife, children, and grandchildren.