Catherine Connolly was elected President of Ireland in a
landslide last October and took office in November 2025. As a long-time
independent lawmaker, she has repeatedly described Israel as a “terrorist
state” and “rogue state,” accused it of committing genocide in Gaza, and stated
that Hamas forms “part of the fabric of the Palestinian people.”
She has condemned the October 7 attacks as wrong while
insisting the conflict’s history did not begin that day, and has called for
both sides to disarm and be held accountable for war crimes. These views,
expressed before and during her campaign, drew sharp criticism from some Irish
leaders and Jewish community voices, yet aligned with significant public
sentiment in Ireland. In her ceremonial role she continues to speak against the
“normalisation of war and genocide.”
NAZA, the documentary by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, has
set Israel ablaze — not with remorse, but with rage. Rather than confront what
the film documents, most Israelis condemned it. The government branded the two
filmmakers traitors, ministers demanded their citizenship be revoked, and they
now live under death threats.
That is disgraceful. But the greater tragedy is Israel's
refusal to look in the mirror and admit that crimes against humanity — genocide
— were committed in Gaza. Denial is not a shield; it is moral collapse. A
nation that cannot face what it has inflicted on the Palestinians will carry
that stigma for generations. When will Israelis wake up? Until they do, the
truth will wait — and the price will go much higher.
Far-right Israeli activists have gathered outside the home
of Rachel Szor's parents in the town of Savyon, demanding that the family be
expelled from the country and their homes sealed.
Protesters have chanted slogans such as "death penalty
for traitors" and demanded that the filmmakers be tried and executed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced the film as anti-Semitic
incitement. Following this, Culture Minister Miki Zohar accused the directors
of "treason" and began taking immediate steps to investigate revoking
Abraham and Szor's Israeli citizenship.
More than 700 Israeli filmmakers and international figures
have signed a petition standing in solidarity with the directors, warning that
the state-led campaign is moving dangerously close to "effectively
sanctioning violence" against them.
The International Federation of Journalists report that at past 267 journalists
and media workers have been killed since October 7 2023. (An estimated 67-69
journalists were killed during World War Two)
The Ed Sheeran Loop Tour will reportedly continue. The
lights will come on. The merchandise tables will open. Thousands of people will
sing along, and the enormous machine will keep moving because enormous machines
are built to survive the removal of anyone with a conscience.
But the absence will be louder than the music.
Macklemore will not be there.
Finneas will not be there.
Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe, and Beoga will not be there.
The tour may still have its headliner, but the people
willing to risk something have left the building.
Ed Sheeran wanted his stage to remain neutral.
Now it is simply empty.
Point the finger at the Billionaires deciding who gets on stage,
not the artist they turned into the story so you'd stop looking at them.
Channel that venom at the powers that be. Write to your MP. Post about what's
happening in Gaza. Refuse to attend shows in venues that censor what's said on
their stages. Refuse to buy the brands funding genocide. And if you don't like
Ed, his music or his politics, don't go to the show. But don't let this story
be hijacked the way it has been to demonise someone we all know has done more
for more causes over the last twenty years than just about anyone else in this
game.
Here is a full transcript of what Macklemore said that had
him removed from a tour, and kicked out of stadiums. Please tell me where he's
wrong.
“I've been trying to figure out a way to say this all day.
One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to
stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are
very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine.
"I said, Free Palestine.
“I want those words to be loud and clear, so the people from
Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank, know that we have not forgotten
them.
“To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of
Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism
of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with
dignity, respect, and equality.
“So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free
Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in
fear of this terrorist organization, ICE. None of us will be free until we are
all free."
