The Daily Star Ireland
President Michael D. Higgins again denounced antisemitism and refused to pull out of being the keynote speaker for next week’s National Holocaust Memorial Day. In a statement given to RTÉ News, President Higgins outlined his lifelong opposition to every form of racism.
It came in response to allegations by the outgoing Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, who attacked the President for allegedly creating a potentially anti-Israeli atmosphere. In an interview with the *Sunday Independent*, Erlich called on President Higgins to reconsider his participation, stating that Holocaust Memorial Day should be a day of remembrance, education, and fighting antisemitism, and nothing else.
Áras an Uachtaráin replied in a statement referring to President Higgins’s record of condemnation of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism. The statement said that he has also repeatedly condemned attacks on Jewish or Israeli citizens here as utterly reprehensible, and called for urgent action against such behavior from state and non-state actors.
The event, on January 26, is organised by Holocaust Education Ireland, and it commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the memory of those who died in the Holocaust. It will be the seventh time that President Higgins has spoken at the ceremony.
The Irish-Jewish community has said it will attend the event amid criticism at the invitation to the President as a keynote speaker. Across political divides, politicians have thrown their weight behind the President, Higgins, to attend and address the event.
Independent TD Marian Harkin and Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane said it would be very important for him to deliver such a strong message. Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond said that as head of state, President Higgins should speak at the memorial so that the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten, and a recommitment is made that Ireland will always be a safe home for its Jewish community.
Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne praised the President for his call for peace in Gaza, claiming that criticism of antisemitism in Ireland by the outgoing Israeli ambassador was a distraction from what is being carried out by Israel in the region of Gaza.
The event is to solemnly remember the victims of the Holocaust, promote education, and stand against all forms of discrimination.
