Politics

No prospect of Israeli ambassador returning to Ireland unless relations improve, says embassy

Ambassador Dana Erlich has remained in Israel since May when she was recalled in protest over Ireland’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine

Israeli ambassador Dana Erlich speaking at the country's embassy in Dublin late last year. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
Israeli ambassador Dana Erlich speaking at the country's embassy in Dublin late last year. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
Conor Gallagher Crime and Security Correspondent
Sat Sept 07 2024 - 06:00

Israel’s ambassador to Ireland will not return until relations between the two states improve substantially, the country’s embassy in Dublin has said.

Dana Erlich was recalled by her government “for consultations” on May 22nd, immediately after the Irish Government announced its decision to recognise the state of Palestine.

The ambassador was recalled as part of a diplomatic protest against Ireland’s decision, which Israel’s foreign affairs minister Israel Katz called a reward for terrorism and “an injustice” to the memory of the victims of the October 7th terrorist attacks by Hamas. More than 1,100 Israelis, most of whom were civilians, were killed in the attacks.

A spokesman for Israel’s embassy in Dublin on Friday signalled there were no plans for Ms Erlich’s return unless Ireland changed its approach towards Israel and Palestine. He said since Ms Erlich was recalled, “we have witnessed Irish Government positions and statements which we find to be unfriendly and not in the spirit of bilateral co-operation”.

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“We do hope that under different, more friendly conditions, ambassador Erlich will resume her duties in Dublin and continue the important work ahead of her,” he added.

The embassy said consultations with Ms Erlich were continuing. She remains Israel’s ambassador to Ireland and has continued to criticise the Irish position from Jerusalem.

Israel recalled the country’s ambassador from Norway and threatened to recall its ambassador from Spain after both countries announced recognition of Palestine. The ambassador to Norway has not yet returned to their post.

Ms Erlich’s continued absence is seen by Irish officials as a way of continuing a diplomatic protest against Ireland’s position while stopping short of suspending diplomatic relations entirely.

Relations between Ireland and Israel have been strained since shortly after the start of the war in Gaza, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives, the majority of them civilian, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Ireland has been stronger than most EU countries in its condemnation of civilian deaths and in February demanded a review of the EU’s trade deal with Israel, which is conditional on respect for human rights. In March Ireland decided to join a case taken by South Africa in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) asking if Israel’s actions constitute genocide.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin last month said Ireland would no longer award contracts for military goods to Israeli arms companies. Taoiseach Simon Harris has also requested fresh legal advice from the Attorney General on the validity of the EU trade deal in light of a ruling from the ICJ declaring Israel’s presence in Palestinian territories to be illegal.

However, the Government has repeatedly rejected calls to expel Israel’s ambassador, citing the need to keep diplomatic relations open.

In response to Ireland’s position, Israel has taken several retaliatory diplomatic measures, including formally reprimanding Irish Ambassador Sonya McGuinness in May. Ms McGuinness was summoned to the Israeli foreign ministry and shown video of the October 7th atrocities as part of what the country’s government called a “severe démarche”, a type of formal diplomatic reprimand. The Tánaiste called the move “totally unacceptable and no way to treat diplomats”.

Israel had also ceased facilitating visits by Irish and Norwegian diplomats to the West Bank and Gaza and had informally been less co-operative with Irish officials there, sources said.

In response to queries on Friday, Israel’s embassy in Dublin said the decision to recall Ms Erlich was not taken lightly “and follows the troubling rise in anti-Israel discourse in Ireland, which has often mutated into anti-Semitism and the delegitimisation of Israel”.

Many accusations against Israel “have crossed the line into vilification, incitement and libels”, it said.

“There are even arguments against Israel’s right of self-defence. These accusations have promoted an inhospitable environment for the Jewish and Israeli communities in Ireland, causing many among them to express significant concerns.”

* This article was amended on Saturday September 7th to include an attribution on the number of people killed in Gaza

Conor Gallagher

Conor Gallagher

Conor Gallagher is Crime and Security Correspondent of The Irish Times