Israel/Palestine Thread

Ozymandius2011 · 01-06-2026 11:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517327#Comment_124517327

Imagine if we were told we had to leave Ireland to allow someone else build a state here. Thats what the Palestinians experienced in 1947.

dmcdona · 01-06-2026 11:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517255#Comment_124517255

Sorry that happened to your daughter.

Not a dig, just a comment. There are ultra Orthodox Jews in the IDF who refuse to serve with women to the extent that all units in the locale cannot be protected by a technical unit which is predominantly operated by women.

Those soldiers are not just blanking those women - they are putting other soldiers at risk.

And just on the dog walking anecdote - are you saying these people only said that because they were "islamic"? Did you think they may just be afraid of dogs?

dmcdona · 01-06-2026 11:13PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517270#Comment_124517270

Not sure what you're doing in a thread about Palestine and Israel if you simply do not care about either of them.

More bizarre that you get so enraged about protesters calling out Israel and supporting the Palestinians when you in fact simply do not care about Israel.

Something isn't adding up here. I'm half expecting Jeremy Beadle to appear.

Gerry T · 02-06-2026 12:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517357#Comment_124517357

me thinks he doth protest too much

Paddy_Mag · 02-06-2026 05:50AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517343#Comment_124517343

Nope. Several neighbours also had the same experience and it was very much because they fear dogs in general, as opposed to being afraid of dogs.

Paddy_Mag · 02-06-2026 05:52AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517357#Comment_124517357

What? Am I not allowed post on the subject?

Lawlesz · 02-06-2026 06:51AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517588#Comment_124517588

Nobody is saying you're not allowed post in the thread. The question is why you spend dozens and dozens of posts arguing the same side of every facet of this issue across multiple threads while simultaneously claiming you don't care about either side.

Every time someone points out a contradiction (some would say hypocrisy), out comes the same get-out-of-jail card: "I don't care one way or the other", "that's off topic", "my opinion is irrelevant", "think of the FAI jobs", or some other deflection. Then five minutes later you're back posting another dozen comments making the exact same arguments.

Not to mention your ludicrous pronouncements on those people protesting against a live streamed genoicde taking place on our screens every day. If people protest, they're virtue signalling. If they take personal action, it isn't enough. If they boycott one thing, they haven't boycotted everything. Every example is dismissed because it falls short of some impossible threshold you seem to have set. Yet when people asked whether the same standard would apply to causes you've supported yourself, or protests you've taken part in, suddenly that was deemed "off topic".

We all see the pattern, and at this point I really dont see the value in people trying to reason with you.

dmcdona · 02-06-2026 07:22AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517587#Comment_124517587

eh? That makes zero sense.

Miniegg · 02-06-2026 08:09AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517588#Comment_124517588

You are of course Paddy.

But the site is choc full of threads you don't care about - why are the ones you don't care about involving Israel the ones you post in over and over, whilst only attacking the people opposed to what almost all the independent experts tell us is an actual genocide?

It's like you are trying to pretend you are a virtue signaller whilst pretending everyone else is, the nonsense and irony of it 🤣

StarryPlough01 · 02-06-2026 08:10AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124516529#Comment_124516529

You mention the direct link to Chairman of Zara Israeli franchise who, a year prior, hosted a political gathering at his home for Ben-Gvir, This happened in October 2022 - a week before 1 November general election, He was helping Netanyahu form his extremist far right coalition, which would secure Ben-Gvir a senior minsterial role. It was a transactional deal with the devil.

In December 2023, Zara insensitively ran a global advertising campaign (“The Jacket”), in particular, where US model Kristen McMenamy is carrying a mannequin wrapped in white plastic resembling the white burial shroud traditionally used to swaddle Gaza’s dead. Zara EVENTUALLY pulled the ad images after a massive public outcry across social media. By October, let alone December 2023, Zara should have known 6,000 Gazan children had been slaughtered (Unicef quoted stats on 02.12.2023). Nobody bought Zara’s damage control excuses (Newsweek).

CNN published two of Zara's theatre images here - I can see that one photo is of a Zara display window in Barcelona, Spain. The other is of the above mentioned model Kristen McMenamy (it does mock Gaza's dead)~~~
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/12/business/zara-ad-gaza-controversy

Separately, Zara’s hired security allegedly watched this mother's young daughter gettin her head stomped on by a group of young thugs. Her daughter had gone into the store on her own to get help after a group of teens started to bully her. Security threw the young girl out of the store, along with the bullying teenagers, and stood idly by as they watched the young thugs kicking her. Zara security didn’t even phone the police or contact the Cabot Circus security.

“Zara protest 14,3,26, Mum of teenager that got attacked outside Zara shop.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZxwbmpAJps

StarryPlough01 · 02-06-2026 08:37AM

On 11/01/2024, at ICJ, Blinne Ní Ghralaigh stated:"Some might say that the very reputation of international law, its ability and willingness to bind and to protect all people equally hangs in the balance ....”. And

“Each day, over ten Palestinian children will have one or both legs amputated, many without anaesthetic." (RTE)

Mahmoud Bassam captured below image on 26 October 2023, and put it up on instagram. mahmoudbassam8 wrote:
"Who would have thought that the moaning of my broken heart would be the last lullaby for your eternal sleep?"

“A woman embraces the body of her sister in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.”
ABED RAHIM KHATIB (DPA/EUROPA PRESS)

A mother, sister's grief… it's deeply moving… saying goodbye…

Rocket_GD · 02-06-2026 12:24PM

I don’t care about the motor forum so I never post there.

Odd what people who “don’t care” do whenever Israel/IDF are criticised or people condemn the slaughter of Muslims.

Ozymandius2011 · 02-06-2026 06:33PM

Reports of a big row between Trump and Netanyahu on the phone, where he called Netanyahu "crazy" and said he had kept him out of prison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFfGgZ1my1s

Cluedo Monopoly · 02-06-2026 07:26PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124519417#Comment_124519417

Too late. There is blood all over Trump's hands now too.

Tacitus Kilgore DCLXVI · 02-06-2026 07:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124519547#Comment_124519547

The cultists won't care and/or remember, and I assume that's who this is aimed at rather than him actually developing a moral compass all of a sudden.

Odhinn · 02-06-2026 09:43PM

The "ceasefire" continues -

"Even Eid al-Adha — one of the two major holidays of Islam, which took
place last week — has not been able to stem a relentless tide of
Israeli attacks, demolitions and incursions across occupied Palestine.

At least 33 Palestinians were killed and more than 130 wounded over the
four days of Eid, from May 27 to May 30, according to the Gaza Ministry
of Health, despite a ceasefire covering the enclave."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/2/palestine-weekly-wrap-no-respite-for-eid-as-israel-kills-dozens-in-gaza

dmcdona · 02-06-2026 10:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124519547#Comment_124519547

The times we live in - a convicted sex offender discussing the middle east with an alleged war criminal also currently on trial for corruption and bribery.

If you had told people that five years ago, you still be incarcerated in a mental hospital.

pjohnson · 03-06-2026 05:54AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124519547#Comment_124519547

But Trump was to save Gaza from genocide Joe.

Paddy_Mag · 03-06-2026 06:14AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517304#Comment_124517304

SO the profit on purchases from Zara Belfast goes to a company in Spain and doesn't have anything to do with "Funding Genocide"

So you support a boycott of Zara Belfast on that basis but you will use services and have previously bought goods (which we all have, and continue to do i might add) which actually sees money filter back into Israeli state coffers

Paddy_Mag · 03-06-2026 06:58AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124517601#Comment_124517601

If you want to talk about contradictions and hypocrisy lets look at some of the people with media platforms on this country.

1. Dublin footballers. Made noises about not giving interviews in front of a media board with Allianz on it a while back supporting the protest to remove Allianz as a GAA sponsor. The same team that ran out onto football pitches all over the country for a number of years with AIG, the same team that took part in adverts for AIG.

The dublin footballers, if they got an injury would happily avail of the insurance protection provided by Allianz to the GAA though. Its not much of a protest really.

2. Richie Sadlier. Spoke very well to be fair to him last Thursday night, brought "humanity" into his speech. However he took a pay cheque to work on a game between Ireland and Qatar.

3. Seamus coleman also made some statement last week about "knowing the difference between right and wrong" but he too took a pay cheque last Thursday night for playing in a match v Qatar.

It seems to me that a lot of this stuff is performing for the cameras. Do as i say and not as I do type of stuff. Its very selective as to the difference between "right and wrong".

4. We have the protest outside Zara Belfast at the weekend "every purchase funds genocide" stated the protestors despite their being nothing to back that up. No sign of the same protestors showing up at Insurance companies, Big Pharma, Intel, Tech stores etc who facilitate Ireland and the UK actually doing direct trade with Israel worth around €7-8bn annually.

So who is actually "funding genocide" really? The answer is me, you, everyone on this thread and every single person who stood outside Zara harassing their staff and wasted police time who has bought a product or availed of a service where money actually made its way into the Israeli state coffers . The Zara protest was All for what? Some social media likes and something to boast about in work the next day.

5. Then we get called to support an FAI boycott of two games with Israel. No mention of the Qatar game by these same people oddly enough. A boycott which will have no material impact on Israel financially as their home game will be in Hungary most likely.

No other FA in Europe has refused to play them in the last 32 months despite israel played 21 matches in that time, Ireland will have 23 by the end of this week, but somehow the FAI boycotting the two games, putting themselves into a massive problem financially just when they were starting to get back towards stability will teach Israel a lesson while everyone else carries on as normal. I think the weight a boycott of two games is grossly over exaggerated especially as it enhances Israels chances of Euro 2028 qualification

6. Mary Manning and Dunnes. This gets thrown into the mix as an example of what will happen if the FAI boycott israel fixtures. It seems to me that people cannot understand what a boycott actually is and entails. South Africa were starved economically in the 80s by the majority of the rest of the planet. Boycotting two football fixtures and a few people not buying clothes in a shop in Belfast whose profits go to the parent company in Spain is not going to harm Israel one bit.

If the rest of the world could boycott South Africa then, why is that same level of boycott against Israel not viable now? Like you state i am talking about impossible thresholds yet one such example which gets thrown about actually met that criteria, a boycott being an actual boycott of South African goods and services in the 80s starving them economically. It was the same sort of economic links back then too, universities, pension funds, investments, food and other goods etc.

So i stand by my comment. A lot of the "protesting" is people virtue signalling from their ivory towers. They want others to do the boycotting bit and take the consequences of that, they dont want to surrender the luxury items in life which is what an actual boycott involves.

Lawlesz · 03-06-2026 07:25AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124520229#Comment_124520229

So all you've got is more of the same.

I didn't claim every protester, public figure or boycott campaign was perfectly consistent. I pointed out that your response to virtually every act of protest is to find a reason why it doesn't count, isn't pure enough, or is just virtue signalling.

And you've responded with six more examples of why virtually every protest of Israel doesn't count, isn't pure enough, or is just virtue signalling. Bonus points for squeezing in "virtue signalling from ivory towers" too. For a moment I thought you were going to make it through a post without mentioning it.

For what it's worth, the boycott of apartheid South Africa didn't spring into existence overnight as a complete global movement. It gathered momentum over years through countless smaller protests, boycotts and acts of solidarity that people like you would have dismissed as ineffective or virtue signalling at the time.

Your standard appears to be that a boycott only becomes worthwhile once it has achieved the scale and success of the South African boycott. By that logic, the South African boycott itself would never have got off the ground.

You also failed to address the point raised by @Miniegg in post 59763 . When asked whether the same standards would apply to causes you've supported or protests you've taken part in, the question was quietly sidestepped.

Let me guess; 1. its either off topic and you cant answer it. 2. your opinion doesnt matter. 3. you dont care one way or another.

What I find most puzzling is that you seem far more animated by the perceived imperfections of those protesting than by the genoicidal humanitarian catastrophe that prompted the protests in the first place. Every discussion comes back to whether the protesters are pure enough, consistent enough, or virtuous enough, while the thing they're actually protesting against fades into the background.

Which brings us back to the original question. If you care so little either way, why do you spend so much time arguing against virtually every form of protest, boycott or act of solidarity connected to the issue?

Cluedo Monopoly · 03-06-2026 07:53AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124520202#Comment_124520202

Do you ever manage more than a single sentence? Yes, they are both complicit. The arms industry lobby is hugely powerful. So is AIPAC. Your point? At least you acknowledge there is a genocide. And run away....

Paddy_Mag · 03-06-2026 09:25AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124520242#Comment_124520242

mentioning it.
For what it's worth, the boycott of apartheid South Africa didn't spring into existence overnight as a complete global movement. It gathered momentum over years through countless smaller protests, boycotts and acts of solidarity that people like you would have dismissed as ineffective or virtue signalling at the time.
Your standard appears to be that a boycott only becomes worthwhile once it has achieved the scale and success of the South African boycott. By that logic, the South African boycott itself would never have got off the ground.

Ive literally stated what a boycott of israel should entail, but when I suggested that people buying goods (phones, laptops, tablets, pharma etc) which have real and actual economic benefits to Israel need to make that sacrifice I've been told that isn't possible or realistic.

That level of boycott Is not going to happen. When it all comes down to it, people all over the world will continue to buy goods and services which benefit israel financially.

If as the Zara protestors said, "every purchase funds genocide" then stop buying actual goods and services which benefit Israel instead of the performative nonsense. Will that happen though? No it wont.

When I backed the FAI decision to fulfil their fixtures, I was told I am pro Israel. So is every person who avails of goods or services which generates vests sums of money for the Israeli state pro Israel too? Or is it a bit like Richie and Seamus, a very selective thing?

Why Zara at the weekend? Well thats because it is a high street store in a city centre and not an empty road outside a massive factory in an industrial estate on the outskirts of town with no audience, and it gets filmed on a device which most likely has parts manufactured in Israel.

So who is actually "funding genocide" ?

Because its not Zara in Belfast or any of the people who shop there. But i guess it's OK to harass workers in their place of work just because? Or waste police time in the process? The same protestors even accused the police of "supporting the right to shop instead of upholding international law" like zara Belfast have commited a crime. Its virtue signalling by idiots with too much time on their hands and total hypocrisy. The same people will happily walk into a curry's or Harvey Norman and buy a laptop or tablet etc and contribute to the Israeli economy.

StarryPlough01 · 03-06-2026 03:24PM

@Paddy_Mag, Ireland, like many other Western democracies, lawfully abide by ICCPR, IHRL … and allow peaceful protests on political communication (implied) outside global corporate buildings… wherever they are located.

BDS is legal in Ireland, therefore anyone can advocate to boycott a parent company… The protesters in Belfast, NI, were on public land, and people there have a fundamental right to peaceful assembly. They can stand there, hold up their signage and chant: “Zara supports the racist Ben-Gvir.” I might add, other countries have advocated to boycott Zara. People can protest state policies and actions outside Leinster House.

Have you perused: “Law for Prevention of Damage to State of Israel through Boycott” [commonly known as the Anti Boycott Law] ?? ⬅️

And, have you read the ICJ Advisory Opinion of 30 July 2024 ??: ⬇️

“Experts hail ICJ declaration on illegality of Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as “historic” for Palestinians and international law”
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/experts-hail-icj-declaration-illegality-israels-presence-occupied

“The landmark ruling of 19 July 2024 declared that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful, along with the associated settlement regime, annexation and use of natural resources. The Court added that Israel's legislation and measures violate the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. The ICJ mandated Israel to end its occupation, dismantle its settlements, provide full reparations to Palestinian victims and facilitate the return of displaced people.
“The advisory opinion reaffirms peremptory norms prohibiting annexation, settlements, racial segregation and apartheid, and should be seen as declaratory in nature and binding on Israel and all States supporting the occupation,” the experts said.
“The Court has finally reaffirmed a principle that seemed unclear, even to the United Nations: Freedom from foreign military occupation, racial segregation and apartheid is absolutely non-negotiable,” the experts said.

DAMN RIGHT, I PROTEST. 🇯🇴

Ozymandius2011 · 03-06-2026 04:11PM

Growing emigration from Israel, especially the young and education. Erosion of democracy seen as a factor.

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkdmfjtlme

Paddy_Mag · 03-06-2026 04:55PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124521409#Comment_124521409

They were not outside zara. They were on the store premises. They were harassing staff and shoppers. Thats not a protest.

And again. Whats the difference between shopping in Zara and shopping in tech shop for a phone. Laptop, tablet? If "every purchase supports genocide" then why is the protest so selective about the boycott?

Its hypocrisy of the highest order.

dmcdona · 03-06-2026 05:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124521651#Comment_124521651

Hypocrisy of the highest order to me would be those having a moan about protesters, where they, what they're saying and the flags they're waving whilst utterly ignoring or hand-waving away an ongoing genocide.

It reminds me of material I've read about local civilians living adjacent to concentration/death camps doing absolutely nothing whilst being fully aware of what was going on inside those abhorrent facilities. They were excoriated afterwards for finger nothing. Made parade this hell holes and see what they had allowed happen.

I support the protesters because they keep the current genocide in the news. They shine a light on man's inhumanity to man.

This thread is also shining a light on it too. Anyone questioning their affinity to these protesters just has to read the mealy-mouthed excuses like "why aren't they protesting this or that or the other company" and realise that yes, siding with the protesters is being on the right side of history.

Miniegg · 03-06-2026 05:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124521651#Comment_124521651

If "every purchase supports genocide" then why is the protest so selective about the boycott?

As I said before in a post you told me you read but didn't:

A focused campaign against a few visible targets is more effective than a weak campaign against everything

Protesters have limited resources, so are focusing on specific companies that they think are important or vulnerable to pressure.

If your questions are genuine (which they aren't), this is the answer above.

Its simple. This is how all protests work. Including ones you have been involved in.

The only difference is here, is you agree with the thing they are protesting against, and want them to shut up.

Nothing else makes sense, because you aren't making any.

And as a matter of interest, you say you don't support Israels campaign.

What, specifically, about their campaign do you not support and why?

Paddy_Mag · 03-06-2026 06:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124521800#Comment_124521800

A focused campaign against a few visible targets is more effective than a weak campaign against everything
Protesters have limited resources, so are focusing on specific companies that they think are important or vulnerable to pressure.

So a campaign against a store in Belfast which does not trade with Israel is a legitimate target? Thats nonsense.

Enduro · 03-06-2026 06:37PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124521800#Comment_124521800

Surely then, if they have limited resources (which they do, of course) they should be targeting those resources much more effectively. It's clear from this thread that their choice of target is relatively poor and likely to be entirely ineffective in any meaningful way. (If they managed to convince enough people not to shop in Zara in Belfast so that it closed down, what meaningful benefit would Palestinians derive from that?)

Israel/Palestine Thread

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