The state of Israel was in “constant contact” with a Fine Gael councillor to help him defeat a county council motion calling for an Irish government boycott of Israeli military equipment.
The Israeli ambassador directed “concentrated and intensive activity” on Irish social media before the Kildare County Council vote – in which current TDs Joe Neville and James Lawless voted against the proposed boycott.
According to a leaked email from a senior Israeli official at the state’s foreign affairs ministry the ambassador even helped a Fine Gael representative draft a counter resolution. This resolution wasn’t however heard at the 2015 meeting.
The revelation comes after a Dublin City Council proposal to rename Herzog Park was dropped after Irish government politicians came under sustained international pressure.
Facebook soldiers operated by the embassy
Two independent councillors supported by Sinn Féin on 27 July, 2015 brought a motion before Kildare County Council’s monthly meeting.
It called doe the “department of defence to stop buying military equipment from Israeli military companies that profit from the continued blockade of Gaza”.
The motion was defeated by 21 votes to 7. Councillors against the motion included Fine Gael’s Joe Neville and Fianna Fáil’s James Lawless, both now TDs. Fianna Fáil TD Naoise Ó Cearúil was the only councillor to abstain from the vote.
A recent leak of Israeli government emails seen by The Ditch reveals the Israel’s Dublin embassy colluded with an unidentified Fine Gael councillor to help ensure the motion was defeated.
Director of civil society activities at the Israeli foreign affairs ministry Amir Ofek emailed several Israeli officials just days after the Kildare County Council vote to tell them about the Dublin embassy’s efforts to block the motion.
“The proposal by the Sinn Féin party in the Kildare City Council to adopt BDS and call on the Irish government to stop purchasing Israeli military equipment due to Israel's ‘war crimes’ in Gaza was rejected by a large majority of 21 to 7,” said Ofek in his Hebrew-language email dated 29 July, 2015.
“The vote was preceded by concentrated and intensive activity by ‘Facebook soldiers’ (operated by the embassy) led by B. Williams in cooperation with the ambassador, who was in constant contact with the council representative from the ruling FG party and assisted him in drafting a different resolution, contradicting that of Sinn Féin,” he added.
This isn’t the first time that Fine Gael has worked with Israel to defeat BDS initiatives.
The Ditch reported last year that Paschal Donohoe assured his Israeli counterpart that the Irish government would block the Occupied Territories bill.
Fine Gael has been contacted for comment.
