Ireland’s deputy PM hears personal accounts of antisemitism from Irish Jews and voices ‘deep concern’

“I want to be clear there can be no room for antisemitism in Irish society,” the statement read.

“The government is committed to upholding the rights, dignity and security of all in our Republic. I condemn antisemitism wherever it occurs, online and in the real world. We must do more to counter this scourge.”

He said the meeting was “an important step” in listening to the community’s concerns and “moving forward with implementation of the commitments relating to countering antisemitism in the Programme for Government.”

Harris was appointed Tánaiste in January this year, becoming the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland.

Speaking to the JC following the meeting, Ireland’s Chief Rabbi Wieder said the country’s small Jewish community had felt “let down” by the inaction of Irish political leaders following October 7 and the impact it had on Jews in Ireland, and that one meeting with Harris “cannot erase that disappointment”.

He said that during the meeting, members of the Jewish delegation shared their personal experiences of antisemitism in Ireland in recent months, testimonies which were “worrying and deeply upsetting – though sadly, no longer surprising to us – and it was important that the Tánaiste heard them directly.”

He said the Tánaiste “publicly acknowledged and condemned” the existence of antisemitism in Ireland and stated that more must be done to combat it.

“There has been a noticeable rise in incidents of hatred towards Jews in Ireland since October 7,” Chief Rabbi Wieder said.

“This does not mean that antisemitism has become a day-to-day reality for all Jews in Ireland – it hasn’t. But it does mean that a growing number of Jewish people now feel less comfortable, less heard, and more anxious about their place in Irish society.

“For a long time after October 7, political leaders showed little or no interest in the impact of the situation on Jews in Ireland. Many within the community felt very let down by this apparent indifference. One meeting cannot erase that disappointment, so we hope that it will be followed by concrete action.”

The statement from Harris, posted to X, was met with a deluge of online Jew hatred. One commenter wrote: “jews here jews there bla bla, there is a fcking gen*cide going on??”

Another wrote, “If they have problems with feeling hated they should stop being Zionists and supporting Israel. I’m sure that anti-Zionist Jews are loved and estimated (sic) by everyone.”

“Why don’t they call out Israel for committing genocide in the name of Jews?” wrote one person, while another said, “how are Jews integral to Irish society?”

“I’m really hoping the Jewish community you spoke to are part of the worldwide anti-Zionist Jewish network. Also it’s as important to call out Islamophobia,” said one.

Ireland’s small Jewish community numbers at around 2,700 people, out of a total population of more than five million.

A study from December 2024 found that out of 1,014 Christian adults in Ireland, a third believe that Jewish people “talk too much” about the Holocaust, more than a third said Jews have “too much power in the business world”, and 31 per cent agreed with the statement that Jews “don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind.”