Open letter to Ireland's politicians from Derry Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign

The chairperson of the Derry branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Catherine Hutton has written on Open Letter to all the politicians in Ireland, in advance of St Patrick's Day.

It reads: "In my tenure of nearly a decade as the chair of the Derry Branch – Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, I have been struck by an unprecedented disconnection between those in positions of power and the voice of the people. 

"Throughout this time, we have tirelessly marched, protested, and boycotted, urging our politicians to take a principled stance against attending the White House festivities on St Patrick’s Day, thereby refusing to provide cover to US President Joe Biden, whom we consider complicit in enabling genocide. 

"As I compose this letter, the devastating toll of over 25,000 women and children in Gaza, slaughtered by Israel with the use of US-supplied weaponry weighs heavily on our hearts. Shockingly, Pentagon sources have verified this grim statistic.

"Additionally, we are confronted with the plight of 17,000 unaccompanied Palestinian children in Gaza, left orphaned or separated from their families due to the Israeli bombings. Tragically, 25 individuals, predominantly children, have been deliberately starved to death by Israeli forces, while tens of thousands more face the harrowing spectre of malnutrition and dehydration, placing their lives in imminent peril. 

"In the lead-up to St Patrick’s Day, we mobilized our efforts by launching a petition urging Irish politicians to boycott the White House event.

"It is deeply troubling that we, as a people whose ancestors endured the horrors of deliberate starvation imposed by the British, are now witnessing our political representatives extend cordial gestures and exchange shamrocks with Joe Biden. 

"Regrettably, our appeals have largely fallen on deaf ears, save for the commendable moral stance taken by Colum Eastwood, MP for Foyle, for which we extend our sincere appreciation. 

"As citizens, we wield a potent “weapon” for effecting change: our votes. Should our elected officials persist in disregarding our calls for action, we must exercise our democratic prerogative to ensure that they are held accountable. 

"The gravity of genocide demands decisive action and moral fortitude. We must speak out, boycott, impose sanctions, and stand in solidarity with South Africa’s efforts to address the genocidal acts perpetrated against Palestinians in Gaza by Israel. Furthermore, we call for the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador from Ireland without delay. The time for mere rhetoric in expressing solidarity with Palestine is over; concrete measures must be taken. 

"We vow to neither forget nor forgive. 

We call on the people of Derry and the North-west to bring their Palestinian flags to the local St Patrick’s Day parades. Let us show the Palestinian people of Gaza, occupied West Bank & East Jerusalem that we stand with them on our National Day."