US threat to Leo over Israeli trade boycott
Congressmens’ letter over ban Bill branded a ‘disgrace’ by Fianna Fáil TD
US CONGRESSMEN have written to the Taoiseach urging him to stop an Israeli boycott, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The letter, dated January 30, 2019, was signed by 10 congressman asking Leo Varadkar and Irish parliamentarians to drop legislation that imposes a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.
The group, including prominent Irish-American peace campaigner Peter King, told Mr Varadkar that the move would damage Ireland’s economic relationship with the United States.
The Seanad last December initiated and passed a law, the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, that would ban all trade between Ireland and the Israeli-occupied territories in the Palestinian State. The UN has deemed the occupation illegal.
Senator Frances Fitzgerald initiated the bill in the Seanad. Though the Government is not supporting it, crucially, Fianna Fáil is. The bill could be passed by the Dáil.
Fianna Fáil’s Foreign Affairs spokesman, Niall Collins, said that he was convinced to back the legislation after a trip to the occupied territories where he witnessed the suffering of Palestinians. In their letter last month, the congressmen wrote: ‘We urge you, in your positions of leadership, to do everything in your power to ensure that this bill does not become law.’
But Mr Collins branded the letter a ‘disgrace’ last night. ‘It is a heavy handed and totally inappropriate attempt to interfere in the Irish democratic process,’ he said, ‘and on top of that it is a disgrace that they cite the US multinationals here and our business with them. It’s implying that the US will punish us economically. These settlements have been condemned as illegal by the UN and the EU.’
The letter, on notepaper headed ‘Congress of the United States’, says that the law will, in fact, have a ‘disproportionate and negative impact on Palestinian livelihoods and Israelis living within the green line’. The ‘green line’ is the old border of Israel that existed before the Israelis seized territories in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
The letter continues: ‘We understand that in recent weeks the Seanad has passed the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 and that it is currently being considered by the Dáil. As friends of both Ireland and Israel, we write to express our deep concern with respect to this bill, and to alert you to the potentially severe implications were this bill to become law.’
The letter, addressed ‘Dear Taoiseach’, adds that the congressmen share Ireland’s goal of a peaceful end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ‘However, this bill undermines the prospects for a sustainable two-state solution because it discourages negotiations between the two parties by signalling to Palestinians that they can pursue a unilateral strategy.’
The letter also raises the matter of Irish economic welfare.
‘We must also note that passage of this law could have broader consequences, such as making American companies choose between violating Irish law or US Export Administration Regulations,’ it says.
‘We do not want to see the strong economic links between our two countries weakened due to ill-considered legislation.’
Essentially, the letter is saying that US multinationals would have to consider their presence here, as they export to the occupied territories, and all trade with the West Bank and Gaza would be banned.
Mr Collins added that Mr Varadkar must ‘forcibly’ reject the letter and raise it with the congressmen when he sees them in Washington DC next month.
Mr King is expected to attend the Capitol Hill lunch with the Taoiseach and US President Donald Trump.