Kairos Ireland Newsletter – May 2025

Ongoing Nakba

The 15th of May marked the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, when Zionist forces ethnically cleansed Palestinians from over 500 Palestinian villages in 1948. Nakba continues today with the genocide in Gaza. Under the leadership of the suspected war criminal, Netanyahu, Israel has become a pariah state. It continues to bomb schools and hospitals, killing and maiming children, women and men. It continues a policy of starvation to drive Palestinians away and put political pressure on Hanas. For over two months all aid supplied to Gaza has been blocked by Israel. The weakest members of the community are dying of starvation and medical neglect. The barbaric violence of the IDF has been intensified and the extreme right-wing Israeli cabinet is promising to totally ‘conquer’ Gaza and renew its attack with ‘full force’. Clearly, they want to expel the Gazans and colonise the land.

Tom Fletcher, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator made a powerful appeal to the UN security council that UN agencies should be allowed to do their work. To the global community he said, stop arming Israel and insist on accountability. To Israel he said, stop the killing, lift the brutal blockade and let humanitarians save lives. To militant Palestinian groups he said, release all hostages unconditionally.

The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, has rightly called out the starvation of Gaza a war crime, but some governments, such as that of the UK have been almost entirely silent on this issue. The United Kingdom carries a heavy historic responsibility as the former imperial power. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 promised to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine but essentially ignored the rights of the indigenous Palestinian population. This has been described as one of the greatest blunders of late British imperial history. The consequences of that blunder lie behind the continuing tragedy of Palestine/Israel. The Quakers ask the British Government, What more evidence do you need now?

World Council of Churches Campaign – “Stop annexation, End the occupation” campaign

The World Council of Churches is mounting a campaign from 21st May to 11th June to highlight the impact of occupation on the daily lives of Palestinians and calling for the implementation of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the illegality of the Occupation. This calls on third party states to avoid any action that facilitates the continuing occupation. Supplying arms and trading with Israel and the illegal settlements come under this category. There will be two webinars on the 21st May and the 5th June.

Occupied Territories Bill

The government has promised to implement the Occupied Territories Bill to ban trade between Ireland and the illegal settlement on stolen Palestinian Land. We need a strong bill, such as the one already sponsored by Senator Frances Black. There should be a ban on trade in goods and services. There is a danger that the bill will be watered down to exclude services such as IT, consultancy and Airbnb. Write to the minister for trade, Simon Harris to express your support for the bill.

Twisted Theology – IDF propaganda leaflet

Recently the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) dropped leaflets over central Gaza. The original is written in Arabic. An English translation has been provided. The leaflet has an image of the parted sea from Exodus. The message implies that Israel has divine sanction for its genocidal campaign in Gaza. There is a threat to the people of Gaza that the Israeli army is coming. This is a twisted reading of the Hebrew scriptures. The Hebrew prophets called for Justice, Mercy and Humility (Micah 6:8). The IDF behaves with injustice, without mercy and with arrogance.

Kairos Palestine Petition

Finally, I draw attention to a petition by the Palestinian Christian organisation, Kairos Palestine, to draw attention to a global call to affirm and uphold Palestinian Rights and the rule of international law.