I read a thought-provoking article by Paul Biggar, an Irish software engineer and founder of Tech For Palestine. In it, he suggested that Ireland is failing Palestine despite their well-known support. Here are the opening paragraphs:
Ireland gets a lot of support and a lot of love from the international and Palestinian communities for our support for a Free Palestine. Unlike most countries, in Ireland the need for a liberated Palestine is a given, the default, and we are deeply pro-liberation and anti-genocide, having endured hundreds of years of occupation ourselves. We have turned out for protests in large numbers, and we have had numerous politicians take active and early stances.
That said, I truly believe that Ireland is failing Palestine.
Our convictions are high, but our actions are absent. We hold the right beliefs, and we are doing absolutely nothing with them.
It’s well worth a read as Biggar touches on government policies, Big tech operating in Ireland without reproach, and what direct action would look like to counteract the government’s “complicity”.