‘Israel is starving Gazans to death’ – Irish pres. at Pope’s funeral

Irish President Michael D. Higgins hijacks Pope Francis’ funeral to launch a scathing attack on Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Irish President Michael D. Higgins leveraged Pope Francis’ funeral to engage in a diatribe about Israel’s alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to reporters immediately following the funeral on Saturday, Higgins slammed Israel’s prosecution of its war against the Hamas terror group.

Higgins began by claiming that he had falsely been accused of antisemitism, after he faced backlash for demonizing Israel during a Holocaust memorial speech several months ago.

The Irish president said he was right to “criticize a prime minister who is strengthening an army that is in breach of international humanitarian law, and many other aspects of international law,” charging that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “no respect for civilian rights, in addition to women and children.”

Notably, Higgins did not mention the ongoing egregious human rights violations committed by Hamas against Israeli hostages, nor Hamas’ regularly execution of its own people for protesting their rule and attempting to secure humanitarian aid.

The Irish president also sniped at Netanyahu for not attending the funeral. Israel sent its Ambassador to the Vatican to the service, but the premier did not travel to Rome for the event.

“It’s very significant not only who is at the event today, but who is missing,” Higgins said pointedly.

Higgins accused other world leaders who attended the funeral of hypocrisy for not using the memorial service to publicly condemn Israel, as he had done.

“How could any of them remain silent then, if you are, in fact, actually starving people to death by blocking food, blocking medicines, blocking the basic water itself, the basic necessities of life?” Higgins ranted.

Relations between Israel and Ireland have deteriorated since the October 7, 2023 massacres.

Months after the attack, the Irish government officially recognized the State of Palestine, sparking a diplomatic crisis with Israel.

In December 2024, Israel announced it was closing its embassy in Dublin, due to Ireland’s “extreme anti-Israel policies,” such as its backing of South Africa’s genocide case targeting Israel in the International Court of Justice.