OJ Simpson's defence lawyer has labelled Ireland “the most anti-semitic country in all of Europe”.
Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Professor and author of The Case for Israel, appeared on Newstalk Breakfast to talk about the Sean 'Diddy' Combs case.
However, after giving his thoughts on what sentence Combs is likely to receive, Professor Dershowitz had a few questions of his own.
“Why is it that Ireland itself as a country has become the most anti-Zionist, the most anti-Israel, the most anti-semitic country in all of Europe?” he asked.
“What is it about Ireland that makes it different to every other country in Europe in terms of the rampant anti-semitism?”
When it was put to him that Irish people are horrified by footage of dead and injured children, as well as starving civilians, Professor Dershowitz replied that Ireland’s views on Israel were in place “well before October 7th”.
A Palestinian man inspects his destroyed factory. Picture by: Ahmed Zakot / SOPA Images/Sipa USA.“After October 7th, there was a tremendous lack of sympathy about the 1,200 innocent people - including children and babies - who were killed and beheaded,” he claimed.
“I don’t think anyone can doubt the disproportionate hatred of Israel and disproportionate support for the Palestinian people.”
Professor Dershowitz continued that this perceived attitude "disturbs so many Americans”.
Israelis watch a live feed of a funeral for former hostages Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, whose bodies were returned to Israel from Gaza. Picture by: Alamy.com.“Remember too, Ireland is the only country in Europe, western country, that did not support the British and American war against Nazism,” he claimed incorrectly.
“There’s always been a history of antisemitism; being neutral for Hitler was outrageous.
“It wasn’t like Switzerland which had no choice because it was surrounded; this was a question of choice.
“Ireland made a horrible, bigoted, anti-semitic choice in the Second World War that continued from 1939 until the day before Gaza.
“Before a single soldier entered Gaza, Ireland was the most anti-semitic, anti-Israel, anti-Zionist country in all of Europe.”
In fact, Ireland was one of a number of neutral European countries during the Second World War, declining to pick a side alongside Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain.
A contested history
Reflecting on Ireland’s war record in the recent Newstalk documentary In the Swastika’s Shadow: Ireland and the Holocaust, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there were worse places to be Jewish in Europe during the Second World War.
However, he did condemn Éamon de Valera’s decision to offer his condolences after the death of Hitler in 1945.
“It certainly wasn’t necessary,” he said.
“Ireland was a neutral country but other neutral countries didn’t do so.
“And I think in fairness to him, he probably regretted it and didn’t get a lot of support for doing it, for obvious reasons.
“But I don’t think it represented any level of pro-Nazi feeling or antisemitism on his part.
“It’s worth noting that the 1937 Constitution, which was very much his Constitution, recognised the special place of the Jewish congregations in Irish life - something which was very much not on trend in Europe at the time.”
According to the 2016 census, there were 2,557 Jews in Ireland.
Main image: Alan Dershowitz. Picture by: Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News.
