PhD candidate @tcddublin as part of the @SignONEU project. Writer.
Baile Átha Cliath
Joined May 2012
- Tweets56.3K
- Following3.7K
- Followers47.6K
- Likes247K
Pinned Tweet
Good morning, everyone. It is with sadness that I share my article for the Sunday Independent. It is one that should not have had to be written.
Already we have seen a cynical narrative emerge that Israel’s conduct in Gaza is to blame for the Yom Kippur terror attack in Manchester. This is not only victim blaming, it also misses the fact that violent antisemitism has been on the rise in Europe since long before October 7th.
The tragedy that befell was Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz was the inevitable result of the viciously antisemitic language that has been unleashed on the streets and in the media for almost two years. But it is also the result of the more insidious language of silence of the majority. This silence long predates October 7th and it is long since time that it was broken.
‘While vocal antisemitic language pierces the ear and causes distress, the painful language of silence gradually seeps through the pores of one's very being, creating feelings of hollow despair.’
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
The Democrats’ Yair Golan and Ra’am’s Mansour Abbas met today to underline their commitment to a Jewish-Arab coalition government.
Thousands of Israelis are signing letters of support for such a government.
Eisenkot, Bennet and Lapid, perhaps even Liberman — will they rise to the challenge?
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
excellent picture!!
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
2026 Election vote count complete: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while opposition parties have 67.
Follow Haaretz's election updates here: haaretz.com/israel-news/elec…
Unfortunate that I have to spend time in Israel combatting this ridiculousness, but here we are. The notion that these Irish citizens were not permitted into Ireland because they are Irish is simply not the truth. Once again in the Irish Times - similar to when a sports journalist of theirs propagated a false notion that Israeli security was present at the Ireland/Israel UEFA fixture in order to spy on Irish media - there seems to be, at a very generous reading, a fundamental lack of understanding of the security threats that the Israeli people are constantly under such that these measures are necessary. A less generous reading is that there is a portion of Irish society suffering from a chronic mix of main character syndrome and victimhood complex and with respect to a region in the Middle East wherein we are entirely irrelevant.
Do I have to spell this out? I am Irish and I arrived in Israel on Sunday. Here I am right now chilling in a kibbutz with the passport I used to enter the country. The Italian woman directly in front of me did not get through (she was questioning for approximately 20 mins), but I did after under 10 mins. I arrived on my own and the security man had no idea who I was. As much as I appreciate Irish people thinking I’m important enough to be known and that this is the reason I was let through with relative ease, that is simply not the case.
The questions I was asked included:
- Is it your first time in Israel?
- Are you here for work or pleasure?
- How long are you here for?
- Where are you staying?
Amongst a few others.
I answered those questions satisfactorily so I was permitted through. The reason other Irish citizens were not permitted into the country would have been because they did *not* answer these questions similarly satisfactorily.
Everyone knows Israeli security is extremely tough, and everyone should know the devastation that is wrought when it fails. The FlyDubai hijacking occurred mere weeks ago!
If you don’t want to be subjected to tough Israeli security then there is a simple solution: don’t visit Israel. There is no way you will get around it no matter what nationality you are. Indeed, it is quite interesting that people who so loathe Israel want to visit it at all.
Israel has a right to conduct robust airport security checks in order to protect its people. If they did not have such strict security measures, then in 1986, El Al Flight 016 would have blown up murdering 376 passengers. One victim would have been the unwitting Irish bomb carrier, Anne-Marie Murphy, who was five months pregnant. Anne-Marie’s Jordanian boyfriend, Zezar Himdawi, put her on the plane with a bomb; the most extreme and evil example of the anti-Israel movement using Irish people for its own ends, although certainly not the only one. The bomb in Anne’s suitcase was similarly identified through intense questioning by Israeli security after getting through the initial checks by British authorities.
The people complaining about Israeli security need to be asked: would you have wanted those 376 people murdered? Would you have wanted that poor, naïve Irishwoman to be murdered? Indeed, have you even heard of the Himdawi affair at all? If no, then ask yourself why.
The problem here is not that a random Irishman has a persecution complex and thinks he was denied entry because he is Irish. The problem is that this ridiculous notion is legitimised in our completely biased paper of record.
If the Irish Times wishes to do a piece on the warm welcome many Irish people received in Israel, there are many of us who can speak to that. But we won’t be holding our breaths.
A European Parliament employee who was among three Irish citizens refused entry to Israel this weekend has said he believes authorities are “profiling” Irish nationals. irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/…
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
Same experience a few months back. I was treated so well and welcomed without any issue. I feel so embarrassed when I see the comments online. So much ignorance.
Unfortunate that I have to spend time in Israel combatting this ridiculousness, but here we are. The notion that these Irish citizens were not permitted into Ireland because they are Irish is simply not the truth. Once again in the Irish Times - similar to when a sports journalist of theirs propagated a false notion that Israeli security was present at the Ireland/Israel UEFA fixture in order to spy on Irish media - there seems to be, at a very generous reading, a fundamental lack of understanding of the security threats that the Israeli people are constantly under such that these measures are necessary. A less generous reading is that there is a portion of Irish society suffering from a chronic mix of main character syndrome and victimhood complex and with respect to a region in the Middle East wherein we are entirely irrelevant.
Do I have to spell this out? I am Irish and I arrived in Israel on Sunday. Here I am right now chilling in a kibbutz with the passport I used to enter the country. The Italian woman directly in front of me did not get through (she was questioning for approximately 20 mins), but I did after under 10 mins. I arrived on my own and the security man had no idea who I was. As much as I appreciate Irish people thinking I’m important enough to be known and that this is the reason I was let through with relative ease, that is simply not the case.
The questions I was asked included:
- Is it your first time in Israel?
- Are you here for work or pleasure?
- How long are you here for?
- Where are you staying?
Amongst a few others.
I answered those questions satisfactorily so I was permitted through. The reason other Irish citizens were not permitted into the country would have been because they did *not* answer these questions similarly satisfactorily.
Everyone knows Israeli security is extremely tough, and everyone should know the devastation that is wrought when it fails. The FlyDubai hijacking occurred mere weeks ago!
If you don’t want to be subjected to tough Israeli security then there is a simple solution: don’t visit Israel. There is no way you will get around it no matter what nationality you are. Indeed, it is quite interesting that people who so loathe Israel want to visit it at all.
Israel has a right to conduct robust airport security checks in order to protect its people. If they did not have such strict security measures, then in 1986, El Al Flight 016 would have blown up murdering 376 passengers. One victim would have been the unwitting Irish bomb carrier, Anne-Marie Murphy, who was five months pregnant. Anne-Marie’s Jordanian boyfriend, Zezar Himdawi, put her on the plane with a bomb; the most extreme and evil example of the anti-Israel movement using Irish people for its own ends, although certainly not the only one. The bomb in Anne’s suitcase was similarly identified through intense questioning by Israeli security after getting through the initial checks by British authorities.
The people complaining about Israeli security need to be asked: would you have wanted those 376 people murdered? Would you have wanted that poor, naïve Irishwoman to be murdered? Indeed, have you even heard of the Himdawi affair at all? If no, then ask yourself why.
The problem here is not that a random Irishman has a persecution complex and thinks he was denied entry because he is Irish. The problem is that this ridiculous notion is legitimised in our completely biased paper of record.
If the Irish Times wishes to do a piece on the warm welcome many Irish people received in Israel, there are many of us who can speak to that. But we won’t be holding our breaths.
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
Thank you for this refreshingly honest post!
Unfortunate that I have to spend time in Israel combatting this ridiculousness, but here we are. The notion that these Irish citizens were not permitted into Ireland because they are Irish is simply not the truth. Once again in the Irish Times - similar to when a sports journalist of theirs propagated a false notion that Israeli security was present at the Ireland/Israel UEFA fixture in order to spy on Irish media - there seems to be, at a very generous reading, a fundamental lack of understanding of the security threats that the Israeli people are constantly under such that these measures are necessary. A less generous reading is that there is a portion of Irish society suffering from a chronic mix of main character syndrome and victimhood complex and with respect to a region in the Middle East wherein we are entirely irrelevant.
Do I have to spell this out? I am Irish and I arrived in Israel on Sunday. Here I am right now chilling in a kibbutz with the passport I used to enter the country. The Italian woman directly in front of me did not get through (she was questioning for approximately 20 mins), but I did after under 10 mins. I arrived on my own and the security man had no idea who I was. As much as I appreciate Irish people thinking I’m important enough to be known and that this is the reason I was let through with relative ease, that is simply not the case.
The questions I was asked included:
- Is it your first time in Israel?
- Are you here for work or pleasure?
- How long are you here for?
- Where are you staying?
Amongst a few others.
I answered those questions satisfactorily so I was permitted through. The reason other Irish citizens were not permitted into the country would have been because they did *not* answer these questions similarly satisfactorily.
Everyone knows Israeli security is extremely tough, and everyone should know the devastation that is wrought when it fails. The FlyDubai hijacking occurred mere weeks ago!
If you don’t want to be subjected to tough Israeli security then there is a simple solution: don’t visit Israel. There is no way you will get around it no matter what nationality you are. Indeed, it is quite interesting that people who so loathe Israel want to visit it at all.
Israel has a right to conduct robust airport security checks in order to protect its people. If they did not have such strict security measures, then in 1986, El Al Flight 016 would have blown up murdering 376 passengers. One victim would have been the unwitting Irish bomb carrier, Anne-Marie Murphy, who was five months pregnant. Anne-Marie’s Jordanian boyfriend, Zezar Himdawi, put her on the plane with a bomb; the most extreme and evil example of the anti-Israel movement using Irish people for its own ends, although certainly not the only one. The bomb in Anne’s suitcase was similarly identified through intense questioning by Israeli security after getting through the initial checks by British authorities.
The people complaining about Israeli security need to be asked: would you have wanted those 376 people murdered? Would you have wanted that poor, naïve Irishwoman to be murdered? Indeed, have you even heard of the Himdawi affair at all? If no, then ask yourself why.
The problem here is not that a random Irishman has a persecution complex and thinks he was denied entry because he is Irish. The problem is that this ridiculous notion is legitimised in our completely biased paper of record.
If the Irish Times wishes to do a piece on the warm welcome many Irish people received in Israel, there are many of us who can speak to that. But we won’t be holding our breaths.
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
If Eisenkot and co show enough courage to cobble together a coalition with Arab-led parties, they'll be able to adopt a new social contract for Israel and integrate 20 percent of their citizenry in unprecedented ways.
The new government will have new levels of good-faith in the region and able to expand a circle of peace with Arab neighbors. Arab members of the government can become emissaries to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.
It will also be a PR coup for Israel and improves its image abroad.
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
As I mentioned yesterday, it is far fetched to believe that the Israeli authorities are singling out Irish passport holders for intensive questioning and seeking to ban people simply because they are Irish. The man in question, who claims it was his Irish passport that got him banned from entering Israel, was no average tourist. He was there to agitate against the State, not to learn about Israel's vibrant democracy
"A less generous reading is that there is a portion of Irish society suffering from a chronic mix of main character syndrome and victimhood complex and with respect to a region in the Middle East wherein we are entirely irrelevant."
Unfortunate that I have to spend time in Israel combatting this ridiculousness, but here we are. The notion that these Irish citizens were not permitted into Ireland because they are Irish is simply not the truth. Once again in the Irish Times - similar to when a sports journalist of theirs propagated a false notion that Israeli security was present at the Ireland/Israel UEFA fixture in order to spy on Irish media - there seems to be, at a very generous reading, a fundamental lack of understanding of the security threats that the Israeli people are constantly under such that these measures are necessary. A less generous reading is that there is a portion of Irish society suffering from a chronic mix of main character syndrome and victimhood complex and with respect to a region in the Middle East wherein we are entirely irrelevant.
Do I have to spell this out? I am Irish and I arrived in Israel on Sunday. Here I am right now chilling in a kibbutz with the passport I used to enter the country. The Italian woman directly in front of me did not get through (she was questioning for approximately 20 mins), but I did after under 10 mins. I arrived on my own and the security man had no idea who I was. As much as I appreciate Irish people thinking I’m important enough to be known and that this is the reason I was let through with relative ease, that is simply not the case.
The questions I was asked included:
- Is it your first time in Israel?
- Are you here for work or pleasure?
- How long are you here for?
- Where are you staying?
Amongst a few others.
I answered those questions satisfactorily so I was permitted through. The reason other Irish citizens were not permitted into the country would have been because they did *not* answer these questions similarly satisfactorily.
Everyone knows Israeli security is extremely tough, and everyone should know the devastation that is wrought when it fails. The FlyDubai hijacking occurred mere weeks ago!
If you don’t want to be subjected to tough Israeli security then there is a simple solution: don’t visit Israel. There is no way you will get around it no matter what nationality you are. Indeed, it is quite interesting that people who so loathe Israel want to visit it at all.
Israel has a right to conduct robust airport security checks in order to protect its people. If they did not have such strict security measures, then in 1986, El Al Flight 016 would have blown up murdering 376 passengers. One victim would have been the unwitting Irish bomb carrier, Anne-Marie Murphy, who was five months pregnant. Anne-Marie’s Jordanian boyfriend, Zezar Himdawi, put her on the plane with a bomb; the most extreme and evil example of the anti-Israel movement using Irish people for its own ends, although certainly not the only one. The bomb in Anne’s suitcase was similarly identified through intense questioning by Israeli security after getting through the initial checks by British authorities.
The people complaining about Israeli security need to be asked: would you have wanted those 376 people murdered? Would you have wanted that poor, naïve Irishwoman to be murdered? Indeed, have you even heard of the Himdawi affair at all? If no, then ask yourself why.
The problem here is not that a random Irishman has a persecution complex and thinks he was denied entry because he is Irish. The problem is that this ridiculous notion is legitimised in our completely biased paper of record.
If the Irish Times wishes to do a piece on the warm welcome many Irish people received in Israel, there are many of us who can speak to that. But we won’t be holding our breaths.
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
Ahmad Tibi: “We're reaching our hand out to anyone who wants to change the reality, to topple the government, and to pave the way to a different government. The question if there's a hand extended on the other side.”
Joint List candidate Ahmad Tibi said Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc could oust Netanyahu with Arab party support "if it is brave enough to." He hailed Arab voter turnout as a "historic achievement," saying it prevented Netanyahu from securing a right-wing majority.
haaretz.com/israel-news/elec…
The funny thing about this is that I posted it at the urging and direction of an Israeli friend, who posited that the mere sight of an Irish woman mentioning Israeli democracy and eating Israeli food (the necessity of a laffa in future is noted) would drive Irish Twitter apoplectic.
And so it has! Irish anti-Israel folks: please do keep exposing yourselves and do so with the knowledge that I simply don’t care about your ignorance and hatred anymore. It’s so transparent to everyone outside Ireland and I receive infinitely more support than abuse at this point. Indeed, thank you very much for helping to gain attention to and grow my page, it is much appreciated.
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
Btw, you'll never see me call them 'Arab parties' but 'Arab-majority' parties. Hadash, Balad and Raam now all have Jewish members, voters and leaders
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
A few notes on the Israeli elections:
- Ignore the early partial counts: Voting tally speed varies significantly across the country, for instance, results from many Arab towns are still pending. In the latest update of tallies Raam gained 2 more seats. The final votes to be counted are the "double envelopes" (primarily around 150,000 soldiers and active-duty reservists). Because this group is demographically distinct from the general population, with negligible Haredi and Arab representation, their votes typically cause late shifts in seat distribution.
- Exit poll adjustments: Overnight, TV networks updated their exit polls using real results from sample polling stations to adjust for late voters and those who misled pollsters. This shifted roughly three seats in favor of the Netanyahu bloc. Still, he remains short of the 61-seat majority needed to form a government.
- The leaders of the 3 of the opposition parties, Eisenkott, Bennet and Lieberman, have to break one of their core campaign promises, or Israel will head to another election in six months. In the interim, Netanyahu would remain caretaker PM leading a minority in the Knesset, which could allow the opposition majority to pass key legislation, including establishing a State Commission of Inquiry into the failures that led to the October 7th massacre.
- Netanyahu's strategy: The core promises from these three leaders were to exclude Netanyahu, exclude Arab parties, and exclude Haredi parties from a coalition. Netanyahu’s "victory" speech and political track record indicate he will not abandon his ultra-Orthodox alliance. Instead, he aims to pressure right-leaning opposition leaders to abandon their principles and join his government on his terms (much as Benny Gantz did previously, destroying his own political credibility).
- The consequences of racism: Netanyahu, the Right, and their media ecosystem have systematically delegitimized Arab political participation or reliance on Arab party votes. Currently, "The Democrats" is the only opposition party advocating for a joint Jewish-Arab coalition. The three right/centrist opposition leaders who reject Arab inclusion must now decide: bow to Netanyahu's narrative, thereby depriving themselves of power and giving Bibi another shot to win the elections in 6 months, or cooperate with Arab parties to have them support the government from the opposition. Such a government won't be stable, but it could get important things done for all of Israel's citizens.
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
זה הזמן להבין: רק שותפות פוליטית יהודית-ערבית יכולה להציל את כולנו כאן ולהבטיח עתיד של חיים לארץ הזאת. שתפו.
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
מה זו אווירת התבוסתנות הזו בגוש השינוי הבוקר. לביבי אין ממשלה, יש גוש חוסם, וגם הרבה יותר מחוסם אם משתחררים מהנרטיב הגזעני שהכתיב פה נתניהו. מה חשבתם שייצא מהקלפיות בישראל - קולה? רוב אזרחי ישראל בחרו נגד נתניהו. האחדות היחידה שצריך היא בין היהודים לערבים שמתנגדים לו
Rachel Moiselle retweeted
יאיר גולן קורא לשותפיו לגוש להקים ממשלה עם המפלגות הערביות: "אסור לקבל את החלוקה הגזענית של נתניהו בין קולות יהודיים לערביים"
@avivi_efrat
