History and Civilization
Impressed by the Irish nation and their struggle throughout history, I went to read about them and was surprised to discover that they have some Arab roots. Scientific studies proved that Irish DNA originated in the Arab region and Eastern Europe Genetic researchers find evidence of mass migration to Ireland thousands of years ago from the south Mediterranean Arab countries
While the brothers and the whole world stand silent on the genocide, war crimes, atrocities, slaughtering of babies, beheading and burning of children in Gaza and Lebanon, we find some countries evolved as a strong voice of solidarity for the Palestinian people like Ireland, Spain, Norway, South Africa, Slovenia, Nicaragua, Venezuela Colombia, and others. In 1980, Ireland made history by becoming the first EU member to call for the establishment of a Palestinian state officially. The Irish people, government and politicians stand firmly against the Israeli aggressions, war crimes, and their voices are loudly heard.
Recently, and in defiance of growing regional tension, Ireland, alongside the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), has rejected a request by the Israeli army to remove Irish peacekeepers stationed near the Lebanese border. As the criminal Israeli military operations escalate against civilians in Lebanon, with its forces advancing into southern Lebanon, the demand for the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces, including Ireland’s contingent, has been met with firm resistance.
The Irish nation understands well the meaning of oppression and freedom
The Irish nation understands well the meaning of oppression and freedom, knows exactly what the fight for freedom is. Ireland was the oldest British colony and is considered a model for Palestine. This has undoubtedly shaped how Irish people deal with post-colonial conflicts.
So the Irish and the Palestinians are connected through a shared experience of occupation, oppression and fight for freedom.
Contrary to the prevailing trends in European countries at the political level, politicians and people in Ireland chose to support the Palestinian cause, and Ireland was the first EU country to declare that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories amount to de facto annexation. In May 2021 the Irish Parliament (Dail) voted unanimously to condemn the building of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, calling it a “de facto annexation.
Unlike most European positions that are clearly biased towards the Israeli side, Ireland condemned Israeli massacres and violence against civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. The Irish politicians are brave enough to show their support for the Palestinian resistance, to the extent that some pray and ask God that Netanyahu burns in Hell, they send clear messages; and don’t hold the stick in the middle. Even Opposition politicians went much further in describing what happening in Gaza as mass murder, and some wore the Palestinian keffiyeh in parliament.
"I hope that Benjamin Netanyahu burns in hell"
On the day of recognition of Palestine on May 28, 2024, Thomas Gould the member of the Irish parliament, for Cork North-Central, gave a powerful emotional speech that has touched the hearts, a speech viewed by millions of people all over the world. Gould said while his tears running down his face: "It's unbelievable, the genocide that is happening. A child with no head, a child with no head! And the Israeli government says it's a mistake, a mistake? "I hope that Benjamin Netanyahu burns in hell the same way those children and their families burned."
The video has spread worldwide on social media eliciting applause, anger and raised a puzzled question: why are Irish politicians so outspoken about Israeli crimes in Gaza?
According to the Guardian, on one hand, pro-Palestinian commentators have hailed the Irish official statements, saying they should be a model for the rest of Europe on how to condemn and denounce the brutal Israeli war crimes in Gaza that killed up till now almost 42000 innocent civilians. On the other hand supporters of the Zionist occupation entity attacked Ireland’s stance, describing it as narrow-minded and a denial of Israel’s right to defend itself.
Niall Holohan, a retired diplomat who was based in Ramallah from 2002 until 2006 as the Irish government’s representative to the Palestinian Authority, indicated that sympathy for the Palestinians was rooted in Ireland’s history. “We feel that we have been victimized for centuries. It’s part of our psyche, and it stresses that we should stand with the underdog,” he said.
The low numbers of Jews in Ireland played a key role in its honorable stance toward Palestine
A factor influencing Ireland’s honorable stance toward the Palestinian issue, was the few number of its Jewish community of around 2,500, barely 0.05 per cent of the whole population, and therefore they are less influential than the big number of Jewish communities in other European countries. “It has given us a freer hand to take what we consider to be a more principled position,” he said.
Angered by the unforgettable humane stance of the Irish people, Israel’s heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, asked Palestinians to “go to Ireland or the desert”.
Undoubtedly, Ireland is pushing the EU towards a "fairer" position, but shall they in Europe listen to the Irish wisdom?
The Catholic Church Played a key role in Ireland's honorable Attitude
In the 1930s, there was a certain amount of sympathy in Ireland for the Zionist movement, aimed at the establishment of a Jewish state.
Rory Miller, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar said Irish support for the Zionist cause was “primarily and overwhelmingly because it was seen as a similar battle to remove British colonialism as was going on in Ireland.”
But the Catholic Church played a part, too. Miller said the church did not accept Israel’s control over Jerusalem once it was declared an independent state in 1948, and the Irish government fell in line with that perspective.
But it was after the 1967 war when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza that Irish support for Palestinians really intensified. From the late 1970s, Irish troops were deployed in the region as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force.
Impressed by the Irish and their struggle throughout history, I went to read about them and was surprised to discover that they had some Arab roots. Scientific studies proved that Irish DNA originated in the Arab region and Eastern Europe. Genetic researchers find evidence of mass migration to Ireland thousands of years ago from the south Mediterranean Arab countries. Scientists from Dublin and Belfast have looked deep into Ireland’s early history to discover a still-familiar pattern of migration: of Stone Age settlers with origins in the Fertile Crescent, and Bronze Age economic migrants who began a journey somewhere in Eastern Europe.
Ancestors of stone-age Irish farmers originated from the 'Fertile Crescent' agricultural region of the Middle East (which includes modern-day northern Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan) bringing with them cattle, cereals, ceramics, and genetic predisposition towards black hair and brown eyes, the Guardian reports.
Evidence of massive migration to Ireland thousands of years ago has emerged from the sequencing of the first genomes from ancient Irish humans, carried out by geneticists from Trinity College Dublin and archaeologists from Queen's University Belfast.
Sequencing the genome of an early female farmer, who lived near Belfast 5,200 years ago, showed her majority ancestry originated in the Arab region, where agriculture was invented. The ancestors of the Stone Age farmers began their journey in the Bible lands (Arab Lands), where agriculture first began, and arrived in Ireland perhaps via the southern Mediterranean. They brought with them cattle, cereals, ceramics and a tendency to black hair and brown eyes.
Moreover, although Irish, Celtic languages and Semitic languages belong to separate language families, there are surprising similarities between Celtic languages (like Irish and Welsh) and Semitic languages (like Arabic and Hebrew), they share numerous typological similarities that are common to Semitic languages but not shared by Standard Indo-European languages. Irish language shares many grammatical and syntax features with Arabic. For instance the Arabic word for knife is sikeen and the Irish is scian 'shkeen'.
Actually, the Irish nation continues to impress us every day, and I should say that every Irish must be proud.
Similarly, The Spanish have an honorable stance toward Palestine; and this makes us wonder if the Arab roots they have play a factor in their sympathy and good feelings towards the Palestinians while the near brothers don’t show such sympathy. Did they lose their brotherhood, their blood or their religious ties? I wonder.
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/97291-151229-ancient-dna-shows-early-irish-originated-from-middle-east-and-eastern-europe#:~:text=Ancestors%20of%20stone%2Dage%20Irish,and%20brown%20eyes%2C%20the%20Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/28/origins-of-the-irish-down-to-mass-migration-ancient-dna-confirms
https://www.irishtimes.com/news /health/ancient-irish-had-middle-eastern-ancestry-study-reveals-1.2478780
https://theworld.org/stories/2021/06/29/story-behind-ireland-s-enduring-support-palestinians
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAAmwtdP1bE
https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/78204
