Statement regarding comments made by Canon Oxley on Remembrance Sunday comparing Israel's actions to those of a "Master Race"
The comments by Canon Oxley are outrageous and dangerous. They amount to a libel against the State of Israel which for over a year has been defending itself against unprovoked aggression by Hamas and Hezbollah, two Jihadist terrorist organisations which are dedicated to the goal of destroying Israel. They are both backed, armed and financed by Iran which also calls for the annihilation of Israel.
Canon Oxley’s diatribe is divorced from reality and willfully choses to ignore, not only the complexities of the Middle East conflict, but also the rejection by some actors in the region of the existence of a Jewish state. The only Jewish state on the planet.
Cynically, Canon Oxley appears to have hijacked the Remembrance Sunday, event, which is intended to remember the sacrifices of men and women in both world wars who fought against aggression and genocide. Instead, he availed of his platform to vilify and demonise the State of Israel and also ignore the many other conflicts around the world. It appears also that he chose to completely ignore the horrific attacks against Israeli communities and the plight of the hostages held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza for more than 400 days.
Regrettably, his comments are not occurring in isolation. In the past year we have seen a troubling rise in anti-Israel discourse in Ireland, which has often mutated into antisemitism and the delegitimisation of Israel. Coupled with this, we have witnessed the promotion of certain initiatives which, far from helping the Palestinians, only manifest as punitive actions against Israel.
We are seeing this in school textbooks which demonise Israel and the Jewish religion, and in a plethora of political initiatives across Ireland which aim to single out Israel for political condemnation and economic boycotts
Antisemitism is being permitted to manifest openly now, largely in part due vitriolic rhetoric against Israel, which is, to an astonishing degree, based on disinformation, misinformation and deliberate distortion of facts and truth.
Just last week we saw a pogrom against Jews and Israeli sports fans in Amsterdam, after which the Israeli government felt obliged to encourage Israeli citizens to avoid international sports and cultural fixtures for the foreseeable future for their own safety. People should remember that words have consequences and sometimes those consequences can be violent.