On Wednesday, Taoiseach Simon Harris declared Ireland’s formal acknowledgment of Palestine as a sovereign state. This announcement harked back to the Message to the Free Nations of the World, which was disclosed during the inaugural Dáil meeting in January 1919. In this message, all liberated countries were urged to support the Irish state by recognising its national status and the necessity of its emancipation at the Peace Congress.
This congress was convened in Paris to deliberate on the global situation postwar. To this congress, Sinn Féin TD Seán T Ó Ceallaigh journeyed as a “representative of the Irish Republic’s interim government.” Albeit representing an internationally unrecognised government, his travel ID application listed his nationality as “British.” His bid for a conference hearing was unsuccessful, forcing Irish republicans to expand their scope by magnifying the War of Independence internationally, embarrassing London, targeting a wider diaspora, and launching a pervasive propaganda war. Some nationals from that time, fighting British occupation in the 1930s Palestine, conducted similar tactics and saw themselves and the Irish as spirits kin.
The 1919 mission of Ireland was only partially achieved; the republic was deferred in the short term and resolution of the Irish question required partition – a lingering sore. At the League of Nations in 1937, Eamon de Valera asserted that the question of Palestine can’t be resolved by partition, describing it as “the most savage injustice that could be inflicted upon any people.” This became a reality when Israel was established as a state in 1948. Following the creation of Israel, the Irish government held back on granting Israel “de facto” recognition until February 1949 when the cabinet opted to award this minimum level of recognition.
In the 2005 book “Ireland and the Palestine Question 1948-2004,” author Rory Miller reveals how Ireland cautiously approached their relations with Israel and Palestinians. Miller notes a situation in 1952, where Ó Ceallaigh, the president of Ireland, was advised against conveying condolences to Israel on the death of their president, Chaim Weizmann. Nonetheless, de Valera, the then Taoiseach and close associate of Rabbi Isaac Herzog from his tenure as chief rabbi in Dublin between 1925 to 1936, sent a private message praising Weizmann’s leadership. That same year, Herzog hailed de Valera as a genuine ally of Israel. However, full diplomatic recognition of Israel was withheld by Ireland until 1963. Miller hypothesises that the factor delaying the process was the dispute over the status of the Holy Lands, not partition.
Through its recognition of the State of Palestine, Ireland demonstrates a more self-reliant stance in forming foreign policy. Ireland’s narrative about the Israel/Palestine issue underwent a transformation as the country amplified its international presence and affiliations with the UN. An active advocate for Palestinian refugees, Frank Aiken utilised his role as minister for external affairs to demand Israeli forces’ retreat to their pre-1967 war borders, asserting that Israel had no justifiable claim to its neighbours’ territories.
In 1980, minister for foreign affairs, Brian Lenihan, toured Bahrain and issued a communique affirming the right of Palestinians to have their sovereign state as part of a negotiated peace settlement. The communique contended that all concerned parties, including the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), should be integral to these discussions. His stance rankled Israel yet was viewed favourably by the Arab world, interpreting it as Ireland’s robust commitment to an autonomous Palestine.
Later that year, the stance foretold the Venice Declaration by the European Economic Community (EEC) which recognised Israel’s existence but reprimanded its occupying territories since 1967. The declaration also advocated for Palestinians to exercise self-determination and for the PLO to be actively involved in dialogues, albeit adopting a somewhat unclear stance due to internal dissensions within the EEC.
In 2016, the Irish Programme for Government made an assurance to acknowledge the state of Palestine as a permanent solution to the ongoing dispute. Later, in 2019, the Dáil endorsed the Occupied Territories Bill, which aimed to forbid the procurement and sale of products from unlawful settlements, a move that garnered heavy criticism from Israel. However, Ronit Lentin, head of Academics for Palestine, noted that Ireland’s administrations appeared unwilling to cease high-level economic and R&D cooperation with Israel, especially in the field of armaments trading.
Recent events reflect an attempt to unravel the legacy of uncertainty, acknowledging the persistent involvement of advocacy and solidarity sectors, reaffirming faith in self-governance rights, expressing revulsion at Israel’s brutal Gaza war, and an Irish administration and new Taoiseach aiming to position themselves as global moral judges. These factors have jointly resulted in an endeavour indicating autonomy in shaping foreign policy. Deleting the clause “part of a lasting settlement” signifies a crucial moment, similar to the one in 1980 – although the same intricacies regarding EU consensus, terrorism, the representative voices of Palestinians and Israel’s indignation still remain. The new test is demonstrating that this week’s action constitutes a “conclusive commitment”.