A letter calling on Irish citizens to revoke their symbolic support for US President Joe Biden for next year's presidential election has gained more than 8,000 signatures in less than two days.
The open letter was posted online on Friday, December 8 after the US vetoed a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The US defied appeals to back the resolution from its Arab allies and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, stating that doing so would merely plant the seeds of another war.
An open letter addressed to Biden called on the President to "show courage" and reverse the US veto.
The letter stated that the Irish people would withdraw their symbolic support for Biden's re-election bid next year if the President did not oppose the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
"Just this year on your visit to Ireland you spoke in the Dáil about your Irish ancestry and it is widely known that you wear your Irishness as a badge of honor and with a deep pride," the letter stated.
"However, no son of Ireland, in good conscience and aware of their own history of subjugation and colonisation would support the collective punishment of the Palestinian people and the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in front of our eyes."
The letter recalled a line from Biden's speech in the Dáil in April, noting that the President stated that his mother once told him that "courage is the greatest virtue of all, for without courage, you can’t love with abandon".
"Show your courage now and reverse the US veto United Nations resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire under article 99 of the UN Charter," the letter stated.
"If you do not do so, President Biden, we the citizens of Ireland revoke our symbolic support of you, as an Irish American, running for re-election as President of the United States of America in 2024.
"Not in our name, explicitly or tacitly. Not Hewitt, not Hanafee, not Finnegan, not in the name of any of your Irish ancestors and relatives."
The letter has gained over 8,800 signatures at the time of writing.
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