Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin has responded after US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized the proposed Irish legislation to ban trade of goods with Israeli-occupied territories - all while using some lame Irish stereotypes in the process.
"Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication?" Huckabee wrote on social media on Tuesday night.
"It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis.
"Sober up Ireland! Call @IsraelMFA [Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs] & say you’re sorry!"
Huckabee is one of a number of American politicians who took to social media in recent days to criticize the proposed Irish legislation, with some deeming it "antisemitic" and others warning it could damage US-Irish economic ties.
Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication? It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland! Call @IsraelMFA & say you’re sorry! https://t.co/aiOcmCQWZ8
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 16, 2025
"Beyond any moral compass"
"I reject the comments made by the ambassador," the Taoiseach told reporters in Dublin on Wednesday, according to the PA.
"The situation is very serious in Gaza, including an appalling loss of human life. Terrible war crimes are being committed.
"Ireland has consistently condemned Hamas, and we equally condemn Israeli breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza. The slaughter of children must stop. The slaughter of innocent civilians queuing for food must stop. What is going on is beyond any moral compass.
"Ireland stands for peace and a political pathway forward."
He continued: "I think Israel needs to focus on ending the war that is slaughtering innocent children and civilians.
"This kind of row is ridiculous, given the enormity of killing and the enormity of the death and destruction that's happening in Gaza – and the continuing shocking behaviour in the West Bank and the freedom that's given to extreme settlers to destroy settlements and housing belonging to Palestinians who've been there on that land for generations."
"We are going ahead with the bill"
The Irish Independent reports that later, the Taoiseach said Ireland would not bow to American pressure on the proposed legislation.
“No, we are going ahead with the bill," he said.
"I have said previously that there have been issues in terms of [also banning the import of] services, and the impact that might have on multinational companies based in Ireland, inadvertently.
“We don’t want companies that are based in Ireland, employing people, punished in any shape or form.
“That would be counterproductive in terms of the objective being to leverage pressure on Israel, not on Ireland.”
"Many who will be offended by that"
Elsewhere, Ireland's Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe also responded to Huckabee's post while on Newstalk Breakfast.
“That kind of language is not language that any Irish diplomat would ever use about another country or another policy,” he said.
“It’s certainly not the kind of language that a member of this, or any other, Irish Government would ever use.
“I know there will be many who will be offended by that.
"From my point of view, what we should do is focus on the substance of the issue.”
Donohoe went on to say that he believes "the interests of Ireland do involve also making the case for human rights."
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Ireland's proposed legislation to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories
On June 25, 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 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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