George Lawlor: Accuses Israel of 'Ethnic Cleansing' in Gaza
George Lawlor addressed the minister about events in Gaza, accusing the government of Israel of ethnically cleansing the Gaza Strip and calling for Ireland to take action. He urged a symbolic state response, arguing that waiting for others is morally unacceptable and that Ireland has a duty to stand in solidarity with Palestine.
The speaker said the current government of Israel is carrying out a systematic campaign in Gaza - accusing it of bombardment, terror and famine aimed at removing the Palestinian people from their historic homeland. He referenced the government of Benjamin Netanyahu by name and described the scale of suffering as comparable to nothing in recent world history.
Lawlor said Ireland's history of oppression and famine gives the Irish people an obligation to act in solidarity with the suffering people of Palestine. He noted that ordinary people in Wexford Town had stood together to bear witness and that the public demands real action from the state.
He argued that economic pressure can influence political outcomes, citing Ireland's exclusion from bond markets after the financial crash, the market reaction that helped topple the British prime minister Liz Truss's budget proposals, and market effects on Donald Trump. He also invoked the example of Dunstor's workers refusing to handle South African fruit in July 1984 and the subsequent Irish ban on South African goods in 1987 as a model of solidarity leading to government action.
Lawlor said any action by the state may be small or symbolic but would signal that Ireland will not stand idly by in the face of what he called genocide. He acknowledged such stands can come at a cost but rejected waiting for others to lead before taking action.
The speech closed with an extended repetitive chant of "Goedemile Magoghaf," repeated many times as a concluding refrain.
Main allegations
The speaker said the current government of Israel is carrying out a systematic campaign in Gaza - accusing it of bombardment, terror and famine aimed at removing the Palestinian people from their historic homeland. He referenced the government of Benjamin Netanyahu by name and described the scale of suffering as comparable to nothing in recent world history.
Moral obligation and public solidarity
Lawlor said Ireland's history of oppression and famine gives the Irish people an obligation to act in solidarity with the suffering people of Palestine. He noted that ordinary people in Wexford Town had stood together to bear witness and that the public demands real action from the state.
Economic leverage and historical precedents
He argued that economic pressure can influence political outcomes, citing Ireland's exclusion from bond markets after the financial crash, the market reaction that helped topple the British prime minister Liz Truss's budget proposals, and market effects on Donald Trump. He also invoked the example of Dunstor's workers refusing to handle South African fruit in July 1984 and the subsequent Irish ban on South African goods in 1987 as a model of solidarity leading to government action.
Call for symbolic action and acknowledgement of cost
Lawlor said any action by the state may be small or symbolic but would signal that Ireland will not stand idly by in the face of what he called genocide. He acknowledged such stands can come at a cost but rejected waiting for others to lead before taking action.
Closing chant
The speech closed with an extended repetitive chant of "Goedemile Magoghaf," repeated many times as a concluding refrain.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Danny Healy-Rae
Danny Healy-Rae Defends Local Vet Service Amid SI Concerns
Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy: Urges halt to Central Bank sale of Israeli bonds
Gerard P. Craughwell
Gerard P. Craughwell Condemns Magdalene Laundries, Calls for Seizure
Sharon Keogan
Sharon Keogan cites report: a child disappears every two minutes
Sharon Keogan
Sharon Keogan urges end to prohibition on gender debate
Joe O'Reilly
Joe O'Reilly Urges Government Action to Save Wellman Jobs
Transcript
Minister, we can all recite the litany of the dead. We watch nightly the systematic destruction of an entire people. By design, the current government of Israel are ethnically cleansing the Gaza Strip, making life impossible to endure there. There can be no doubt that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu are well advanced in implementing a plan to remove the Palestinian people from their historic homeland through bombardment, terror and famine, and ultimately replace them with Israeli settlers. We have witnessed nothing like this in recent world history. A member of the United Nations in defiance of the basic principles of the UN Charter, which recognises the principle of self-determination of peoples, a core concept in international law, as an obligation on member states. But Israel acts with impunity. It is deaf to any voice of humanity, urging it to halt its unconscionable assault on the innocent. Many millions of people around the world look on in horror. I have stood in Wexford Town with ordinary people of every political persuasion, simply to bear witness, to stand in solidarity with the suffering people of Palestine. But we stand with a sense of importance. The discussion is that there must be more we can do. We, the Irish people, who have known oppression, who have endured famine, and know well the abuse of power by the dominant over the weak, history places on us an obligation to do all that we can. As you well know, Minister, our recent economic history has also educated our people in the power of the bond market. When Ireland was shut out of the international bond markets after the financial crash, we saw the catastrophic impact on our country. More recently, we witnessed the power of the bond markets to impact the most powerful of political actors. When the markets rejected the budget proposals of British Prime Minister Liz Truss, her government fell. Even Donald Trump was required to change course when the cost of U.S. borrowing shot up after his Liberation Day declarations. I have no illusions that any action by this state will have such dramatic impact. But we must do all that we can. Standing against barbarism in this case will come at a cost, no doubt. Waiting for others to give leadership so that we can more safely follow is morally unacceptable. When the Dunstor's workers refused to handle fruit from apartheid South Africa in July 1984, they knew that their actions wouldn't by themselves bring down apartheid. But their actions did bring about the banning of all South African goods by the Irish government in 1987. The first Western government to do so. We need to show the same courage and solidarity with the desperate people of Palestine today. Minister, the people of Ireland demand that we take real action. The people of Ireland demand that we do all in our power. This may be a small, a symbolic signal, but it's a symbolic signal to the world that Ireland will not stand idly by in the face of genocide. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf. Goedemile Magoghaf.