VIDEO: Ireland's chief rabbi draws cheers from crowd as he declares 'we support Israel in taking the steps it needs to defend itself'

Yoni Wieder was speaking at a demonstration in Dublin on Monday, where he was at risk of being drowned out by a nearby pro-Palestine counter demonstration.

In the speech, he both praised and criticised Irish president Michael D Higgins, and lamented the current climate facing Jewish people in Ireland.

"Israel is not alone! The Jewish people are not alone!” he said, with "Free Palestine” chanting in the background.

“I've been asked to share the experiences of the Jewish community in Ireland.

"On Friday, president Higgins took to denouncing the Israeli ambassador for what he called the 'irresponsible claims of antisemitism' in this country.

"He said it was outrageous to speak of widespread antisemitism he labelled it a PR exercise by an administration intent on covering up violations of international law.

"The day before President Higgins made those statements I met with President Higgins – and I'm so grateful he warmly received me and my colleagues, even though he knew he's be criticised for it as he was on social media.

"And I didn't go in thinking I could persuade President Higgins about the absurdity of recognising a Palesinian state at this stage – a state that does not yet exist, at a time when Hamas is still in the helm, when they are still intent on murdering Jews across the world, still intent on eradicating the state of Israel from the river to the sea.

"But I did hope that maybe I'd be able to open President Higgins' eyes to what it is the Jews of Ireland feel – what their experience is. That he'd listen to what myself and other lay [?] leaders said about how we're feeling.

"Because the political and social climate right now in Ireland is one where so many members of the Jewish community feel deeply isolated and hurt.

"We have been told implicitly and explicitly that our views, that our feelings about the war, that our support for Israel is not acceptable. That our support for Israel has no place in Irish society.

"Not a week has passed since October 7 that I haven't had people who tell me they feel they're not able to express their Jewish identity, to express their support [for] Israel.

"Young children, teenagers in university, tell me they have no safe space to express their views, their Judaism, let alone their support for Israel.”

He cited a case of a teenager in a private school whose class watched "woefully biased" video, “like so much of the rhetoric heard in the Irish media at the moment” – drawing big boos from the crowd.

He voiced annoyance that, in his eyes, the main thing President Higgins took away from their meeting was that much of Ireland’s Jewish population does not support the halting of aid to Palestinians.

The rabbi added that “the vast majority” also “have strong affinity with the state of Israel [and] that we support Israel in taking the steps it needs to take to defend itself [huge cheers] and to eliminate the threat from Hamas”.

In the wake of the demo, the Ireland Israel Alliance (which is a not-for-profit company based in Dublin’s corporate dockside district) said: “We were very pleased that despite the heavy downpours of rain, we had approximately 1,000 cross-community supporters attend the march/rally.

"A particularly powerful speech was made by Ireland's newly inaugurated Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Yoni Wieder.

“We have since been flooded with emotional messages of support from the Irish Jewish community including this one: ‘Thank you so much for organising this march. For the first time in months I felt heard, listened to and surrounded by love. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for organising this.

"’It means more than you'll ever know. Just being able to be surrounded by friends made me feel less scared and alone. Hearing a sane voice in these dark times means everything to me. Thank you for standing by Israel and for your unequivocal support. Thank you for all that you do.’"

The demo came amid the Israeli attack on Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip to which many Palestinians from other areas have fled.

As well as worsening humanitarian conditions there, the UN has today voiced concern about some 2,300-or-so Palestinians who have been detained by Israelis during ground operations in Gaza, citing a recent report which said “at least” 31 have died in custody.