US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.Getty Images

Mike Huckabee, the Trump-appointed US Ambassador to Israel, trotted out a lame stereotype in his criticism of Ireland's proposed legislation to ban trade of goods with Israeli-occupied territories.

"Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication?" Huckabee said in a post on X on Tuesday night, July 15.

"It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis.

"Sober up Ireland! Call @IsraelMFA [Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs] & say you’re sorry!"

The "vat of Guinness," "intoxication," and "sober up Ireland!" comments beg the question - Would such language be used toward any other country?

Further, would they get the pass that Huckabee's appear to be getting?

Huckabee is not the only US politician speaking out against Ireland's proposed legislation, though he does appear to be the only one who leaned on shameless stereotypes.

The pile-on seems to be coordinated. In addition to Huckabee, US Senators Rick Scott, Tom Cotton, and Lindsey Graham, as well as US Representatives Tom Emmer, Mike Lawler, Josh Gottheimer, Daniel Webster, Brad Schneider, Pete Stauber, Lisa McClain, Harriet Hageman, Andy Ogles, and Barry Moore all took to social media on Tuesday and Wednesday to hit out at Ireland's proposed legislation.

Some accused the legislation of being antisemitic, while others said that its passage could threaten US-Irish economic ties.

Most of those posting on X linked to either the July 10 "Ireland will regret its anti-Israel boycott" column on The Hill, or the July 13 "BDS Will Be Bad for Irish Business" column in the Wall Street Journal.

This week's wave of criticism from US politicians comes after US Senator James Risch, Chair of the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, said on social media on July 1 that Ireland is "on a hateful, antisemitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering."

He said if the legislation is implemented, "America will have to seriously reconsider its deep and ongoing economic ties," adding, "We will always stand up to blatant antisemitism."

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Prohibit the importation of goods

Ireland's Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris published the General Scheme of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill on June 25 after it was approved by the Cabinet.

Upon publication, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that the main purpose of the Bill 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 Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade in the Oireachtas began its pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposed legislation on July 1; the scrutiny continues this week.

Should the legislation be passed, Ireland will become the first European country to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories.

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"Largely symbolic"

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said in the Dáil on Tuesday that the Occupied Territories Bill is "largely symbolic."

He said during Leaders' Questions: "It is largely symbolic, if we are honest, and, unfortunately, it seems, given everything that has happened to date, that Israel is oblivious to the views of people across Europe and oblivious to public opinion and international opinion and has sought consistently to denigrate and undermine multilateral organisations, including the United Nations, which is a very serious matter.

"I believe we should collectively call for the primacy of the United Nations in conflict zones, particularly in Gaza and indeed in the West Bank.

"There has been a consistent pattern of undermining UNRWA, OCHA and other UN agencies, without which life would be absolutely unbearable, and is unbearable now because, of course, they have been denied the opportunity to bring aid into Gaza."