Israeli Ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich has claimed President Michael D Higgins "politicised" yesterday's Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration in Dublin.
In a statement on social media, Ms Erlich said comments made by President Higgins had "predictably" admonished the state of Israel.
The event was held to mark 80 years since the end of World War II and to remember victims of the Holocaust. There was controversy in the run-up to the event with some in the Jewish community objecting to the invite offered to President Higgins.
Ms Erlich said: "By referencing the war in Gaza in the manner that he did and at this particular event, while making no reference to any other terrible conflict, he consciously chose to draw an analogy between the conflict in Gaza, started by Hamas’s horrendous massacre of people in Israel and the premeditated and deliberate extermination of six million Jewish people in the Second World War."
"Sadly, the concerns of the Irish Jewish and Israeli communities about Ireland becoming a hostile place, a place where they are reluctant to express their Jewish identity and heritage, are not being addressed sufficiently," she added.
Ms Erlich said President Higgins "chose to ignore the obvious link between the Holocaust and the state of Israel and how our country became a refuge for survivors of the worst genocide in history".
She said she it was "shocking" to see those who disagreed with the president’s remarks be "forcibly removed from the memorial event and refused entry for the remainder of the commemoration".
"This ugly and regrettable scene has been viewed with disbelief and disgust around the world," she said.
Jewish council 'disappointed' event concerns not heeded
The Chairperson of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland has said he is deeply disappointed that Holocaust Education Ireland, which organised the commemoration, did not heed concerns raised by the Irish Jewish community ahead of the event.
Chairperson of the Jewish Council of Ireland Maurice Cohen described it as "both disturbing and upsetting" to see the video of a young woman, who he knows personally, "appearing to be assaulted by security while she stood silently and peacefully".
"I have no doubt that this matter will be a topic that will be discussed by us," he said.
The Chief Rabbi of Ireland Yoni Wieder who concluded yesterday's commemoration with El Malay Rachamim (a memorial prayer) said Ireland's National Holocaust Memorial ought to be a time to remember those who suffered unspeakable horrors at the hands of the Nazis.
In a statement, he said it was not the time to single out the war in Gaza, adding that it was no surprise that some in attendance chose to show their disagreement.
"They did so in silence, and they were not disrupting the event. The fact that anyone was manhandled or dragged out of the room by force is shameful.
"Contrast this to masked protestors who parade Hamas and Hezbollah flags freely in Dublin and call for Tel Aviv to be bombed, as happened this weekend - it’s an embarrassing contradiction," he stated.
The protesters took issue with the president being explicitly asked not to speak at the event and that this request was disregarded.
They said the commemoration was fundamentally about honouring Holocaust survivors and their experiences, not a platform for political statements.
Despite Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichenthal personally asking the President not to politicise the ceremony by bringing up Gaza, they said this appeal was ignored.
Oliver Sears of Holocaust Awareness Ireland also issued a statement on X to say he was deeply disheartened and disappointed that as keynote speaker the President chose to dismiss sensitivities, issues and responsibility.
He said President Higgins was asked by representatives of the Jewish community, including Belsen survivor Tomi Reichental, not to politicise his speech and to focus primarily on the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
"Holocaust Memorial Day belongs to the sanctity of the victims & their families. For us this time is sombre, precious and inviolable. It must be treated with respect and dignity," he said.
Mr Harris told reporters in Brussels: "I think the President was very clear in relation to obviously specific issues regarding the Holocaust and his absolute condemnation of the horror, the murder of the Jewish people, but also, I think, rightly mentioning the situation in the Middle East as well but also calling very much for hostages to be released.
"I am conscious, though, that this is a very, very sensitive time, and I don't want to say anything to distract from that."
Mr Harris said: "I understand there was a small number of people who protested, and of course, people have a right to protest. But I think the President was very clear, as is the Government, as are the people of Ireland, in calling out the horrors of the Holocaust and making sure we remember, that we record that, that we acknowledge that each year, and of course, people have the right to protest."
Mr Harris said it was the seventh time that Mr Higgins had attended the event and that it was carried out with great solemnity and sensitivity.
"I believe yesterday's event was a very moving occasion, obviously, for survivors and their families," he said.
Mr Harris said he was "not sure" if the speech was vetted by the Department of Foreign Affairs before it was delivered.
