#ireland

psychmesu@diaspora.glasswings.com
faab64@diasp.org

#Israel to close its embassy in #Dublin due to ‘extreme anti-Israel policy of Irish Government’; Taoiseach expresses ‘deep disappointment’

Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin confirmed today there are "no plans" to close Ireland's embassy in Israel.

" #Ireland and Israel will continue to maintain diplomatic relations. Inherent in that is the right to agree and disagree on fundamental points," he said.

"There are no plans to close Ireland’s embassy in Israel, which is carrying out important work."

Both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste released statements shortly after the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar told Israeli media they were closing the embassy in Dublin.

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/israel-to-close-its-embassy-in-dublin-due-to-extreme-anti-israel-policy-of-irish-government-taoiseach-expresses-deep-disappointment/a753981536.html

#politics #icc #Gaza #Genocide #WarCrime

faab64@diasp.org

#Ireland to join #ICJ lawsuit against #Israel in December, Foreign Ministry says

"Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin today secured government approval for Ireland to intervene in #SouthAfrica's International Court of Justice case against Israel under the #Genocide Convention. Filing of the intervention will take place at the Court in The Hague later this month," the Irish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Ireland will ask the court to broaden "its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state," Martin was quoted as saying in a statement.

"We are concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized," he added.

🇿🇦 In December 2023, South Africa filed an application with the ICJ, asking the World Court to issue interim measures against Israel for its war on Gaza. South Africa said that Israel's actions against Palestinians in the enclave were in "violation of obligations under the Genocide Convention".

In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza, punish incitement to genocide against Palestinians and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid. It stopped short of ordering Israel to halt the offensive, as South Africa had sought in the case.

#gaza #politics

ramnath@nerdpol.ch

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#Bonfires are a Samhain tradition that are still part of celebrations on Halloween here in #Ireland to this day.
These bonfires and new #fires were lit for #protection - scaring off the spirits that resided in darkness. They also might have provided some reassurance in a time before electricity, symbolising the light and warmth of the sun that would return after winter.

Feasting
The fruits of the harvest were enjoyed at feasts around these fires, too. Livestock specially selected for the event were roasted, with some burnt on the #fire as offerings to the spirits. And unlike the one-night-only event of Halloween today, Samhain of long ago would have gone on for days and, according to some sources, up to a week! Quite the party!
#Samhain and the start of the #Celtic #New #Year

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Samhain - The turning of the year
For our #ancestors, the new day began at #sundown. So Samhain began at twilight, Oíche Shamhna, on October 31st. With the sun's setting, the old year was seen to die, and the long dark of winter that started the new year was heralded in.

Livestock were brought down to winter grazing to keep them safe in the cold months. People retreated indoors, too, believing that the boundary between our world and the Otherworld, the world of the spirits, was at its thinnest point of the year. The dead were believed to cross into the world of the living, and spirits like the #banshee, #púca, and the Aes #Sídh roamed the land at this liminal time.

https://www.myirishjeweler.com/eu/blog/samhain-and-celtic-new-year/