Anti-Israel Bill in Ireland Close to Becoming Law

An anti-Israel bill in Ireland's parliament took another step Thursday to becoming law. If enacted, the bill would prohibit companies with business in Ireland from doing business in parts of Israel.

On Thursday, the Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament, approved the measure by a 78-45 vote.

The Irish Times described the law as "ban[ning] the sale of imported Israeli goods from the occupied territories in Palestine." Ireland's upper house, the Seanad Éireann, passed the law in May 2018.

The bill raises a number of issues for the Irish government.

First, the Israeli government has reacted with outrage. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the bill was "indicative of hypocrisy and anti-Semitism." Rather than attending to the "slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians" in Syria, the "occupation of northern Cyprus" by Turkey, and "the terrorist organizations" attacking Israel, the bill targets Israel, "the only democracy in the Middle East. What a disgrace." Netanyahu delivered an "angry rebuke" to the Irish ambassador Friday. Former Defense Minister and political leader Avigdor Lieberman called on Israel to shutter its Dublin embassy in response to the law.

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