Being Irish and Jewish: I love my home, but I am so angry

Sir, – I have wonderful memories of growing up in Ireland. As Bagatelle taught us, there was nothing quite like a “Summer in Dublin.” Summers meant playing cricket for Carlisle, playing on the rocks in Dún Laoghaire and, when I behaved, a delicious 99. Rugby winters weren’t too shabby either, playing on the wing for Wesley. Dublin was home, and it made me proud. Though I no longer physically live at home, my heart never left.But there is another part of my identity that I kept more hidden. I am Jewish. I never really felt uneasy about my background. I am Irish and I am Jewish. It wasn’t a contradiction. The lads would often joke, “If Ireland was ever at war with Israel, who would you fight for?”The answer was easy; “Ireland.” I am Irish through and through.Today, though, it’s no longer so simple. The pride I once had in being Irish is fleeting. All the visceral hate, anger and animosity shown towards Israel and the claims of genocide are disgraceful.READ MOREMoreover, they are completely hypocritical. Where is the outrage towards Nigeria? Sudan? Where actual genocide is occurring. Is this truly about defending those who are suffering, or is it because Israel is a Jewish state? The adage of “No Jews, No News” is horrifyingly true.How low has the nation fallen when an Irish-Jewish girl is brutally kidnapped by terrorists, but the then Taoiseach Leo Varakar said she innocently got lost? Claiming that they are anti-Israel and not anti-Semitic is false.Simply writing this letter breaks my heart. I love my home, I love my country ... or at least I want to. But I am so angry. The performative display put on by the men’s football team and the FAI was the disgraceful final straw.It saddens me that so many Irish people have taken upon themselves to hate and ignorantly cheer on a people’s demise.The Irish can no longer hide their anti-Semitic ways by hiding behind their pure hate towards Israel. The mask is off.I want to be proud of where I came from again. Ireland is home and shaped who I am, but I proudly declare that I am, and always will be, a Jew from Ireland. – Yours, etc,NICK DAVIS,West Hempstead,New York.