Ireland’s anger over Gaza casts shadow over White House St. Patrick’s celebrations

US President Joe Biden is Hosting Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar The annual St. Patrick’s Day reception was held at the White House on Friday, with many Irish calling for a boycott of the event, angered by America’s staunch support for Israel’s war against Hamas.

Speaking in Boston earlier this week, where nearly a quarter of the city’s population claims to be of Irish descent, Varadkar invoked Ireland’s “own painful history” and reiterated his call for more freedom in Gaza. “immediate ceasefire,” a step beyond the six ceasefires. A one-week pause in the fight Biden is pushing for.

Ireland’s prime minister said he intended to warn Biden and congressional leaders that if the West does not “see and respect the equal value of Israeli children and Palestinian children,” the rest of the world, especially those in the Global South, will ignore safeguarding “the bedrock of the civilized world.” rules and systems”.

Opinion polls show Ireland, a majority-Catholic European country, is one of the most pro-Palestinian countries in the world. Many Irish cited their own resistance to British rule as a reason to support the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation.

Varadkar’s visit comes amid a shift in public sentiment toward the war in Gaza under Biden’s Democratic Party. On Thursday, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the nation’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official and an ardent supporter of Israel, denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as ” Obstacles to Peace” and shocked Israelis by calling for new elections. .

Biden and Varadkar will also discuss support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression as the U.S. Congress is deadlocked over funding for Kyiv. The Irish leader is expected to join European leaders in urging House Republicans to pass the aid package.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill, and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengery were also in Washington for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

The pair aim to send a message that the Northern Ireland Assembly has recently reinstated a power-sharing deal at Stormont after two years of political infighting between the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, who support continued governance with London. Northern Ireland will be open for business. There is widespread support for unity with Ireland.

Biden, who often refers to his Irish roots, has long advocated the Good Friday Agreement, the 1998 peace deal that helped end three decades of bloody fighting over whether Northern Ireland should unite with Ireland or remain in the United Kingdom. conflict.
During his visit to Northern Ireland last year, the president pledged that American businesses would be ready to invest once power-sharing and stability were restored.