Ireland on "hateful, antisemitic path," Chair of US Senate Foreign Relations Committee claims

US Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), Chairman of the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, has accused Ireland of being on an "antisemitic path" for introducing legislation to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories.

"Ireland, while often a valuable U.S. partner, is on a hateful, antisemitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering," Risch said in a post on X on Monday, July 1.

"If this legislation is implemented, America will have to seriously reconsider its deep and ongoing economic ties.

"We will always stand up to blatant antisemitism."

The post links to a Jerusalem Post article published on June 26 about Ireland's introduction of legislation to ban the trade of goods from Israeli settlements.

Ireland, while often a valuable U.S. partner, is on a hateful, antisemitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering. If this legislation is implemented, America will have to seriously reconsider its deep and ongoing economic ties. We will always stand up to…

— Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman (@SenateForeign) July 1, 2025

Ireland moves on banning trade with Israeli-occupied territories

Announcing the General Scheme of the Bill on June 25, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said its main purpose is to prohibit the importation of goods into the State from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

Any such importation will thereby become an offence under the Customs Act 2015, and the prohibition created by the Bill will also then engage the customs powers under that Act, including those relating to search, seizure, and forfeiture.

The scheme proposes to use the Israeli settlement postal code system currently employed by the EU in differentiating Israeli goods from settlement goods in order to identify goods of settlement origin for the purposes of the new Bill.

Tanaiste Simon Harris said, in part, that the Irish Government will "use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-State solution."

The proposed legislation has been met with some criticism from opposition parties, critical that it does not include a ban on services. 

The General Scheme - which can be read online here - has now been referred to the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny.

IrishCentral contacted Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday for comment on Risch's post.

Previous criticism

This is not the first time that Senator Risch, who has received more than $255k from the pro-Israel lobbies, was critical of Ireland and its stance toward Israel and Palestine. 

During the May 1 Senate confirmation hearing for Ed Walsh, the then-nominee for US Ambassador to Ireland, Risch acknowledged that the US and Ireland "share important common interests," adding that he had "previously called for Ireland to increase its defense spending to safeguard vital undersea cables from our shared enemies."

However, addressing Walsh, Risch continued: “Additionally, as you know, Ireland has recognized a Palestinian state.

"This recognition fails to acknowledge actual conditions on the ground and worse, the horrific attack against Israel on 7 October.

"This is a mistake by Ireland.

"Until Hamas is destroyed, a Palestinian state seems exceptionally unlikely. Calls for statehood fail to recognize that Israel can no longer tolerate terrorists in Gaza or in Lebanon. For too long, these groups have been a dagger pointed at the heart of Jerusalem and must be destroyed.

"I hope you will ensure that our friends in Ireland will understand that America strongly supports Israel."

Later, in the questions portion of the hearing, Sen Risch told Walsh that it is "heartbreaking to see the mistake that the Irish are making regarding the Jewish state and Hamas."

He said: "It's absolutely heartbreaking, is all I can say, as far as watching that. With zero recognition of what Hamas did on October the 7th."

Ireland has continually condemned the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7.

Sen Risch added: "This is going to be a tough needle to thread when you got a close ally making a horrible mistake, but you've got to thread that needle.

"And I hope you convey the message that they are very much out of step with the United States as far as their relationship with those countries in the Middle East."