Whataboutery is the favourite tool of those against progressive change. When you drag everything down into whataboutery, you drag debate down into a lowest common denominator mudslinging match which only suits those in favour of tyranny.
The logic is that those in favour of progressive change must be 100% morally unimpeachable in every facet of their existence, so must everybody even loosely attached to any progressive cause, and if they are not, the logic is that their cause is automatically discredited.
Whereas those opposing progressive change donāt care if theyāre seen as absolute bastards, they usually welcome it. They only care about getting their way, about power.
The white South African apartheid regime really missed a trick by not engaging in whataboutery like the Israelis do.
āWhy are you only boycotting us? Weāre a democracy, weāre a threatened people. South Africa is a great place to live, the blacks have it much better here than they do elsewhere. Why are you not boycotting Saudi Arabia? Why not Israel? This just shows you up as hypocrites.ā
Also I think for Ireland itās about not breaking with the EU. If a couple of EU countries would ever cop on the EU could bring a lot of pressure to bear on Israel fairly fast. The EU is Israelās biggest trading partner, Israel would be fairly fucked if the EU as a group decided to stand up for its much vaunted principles.
As it is a handful of countries wonāt even boycott goods made in occupied territories, or even require labelling of them.
If Ireland goes off and does anything on its own itāll be labelled as anti-israel and everything it ever says will be dismissed forever more, and so itās stuck with trying to bring EU countries along.
We need to recognise the Palestinian state. Iām not sure what the latest count is but approx 140 out of 190 UN nations recognise Palestine. We must do the same. Several other EU countries have. Israeli ambassador should also be fucked out. We expelled russian ambassador for the poisoning of a russian agent in Salisbury back in 2018. The self proclaimed only democracy in the middle east can kill innocent children with impunity and the handwringing and false equivocation goes into overdrive. It is truly sickening.
It is. Youāll see in my post that Ireland is left with a bit of Sophieās choice. Go it alone and everything you say on the topic be dismissed forever more, and be shunned for breaking with EU common lines, or stay within the tent and try to influence a more proactive response from the EU overall.
In my own view if we could get even a dozen EU states to go with us then we should. Going it alone loses you any political capital you have at all.
the EU issue is that germany will want to avoid calling israel out for obvious reasons and until that particular issue can be hurdled, there will be no common position on isreal
The pattern is by now familiar: a clutch of mostly small states, including Belgium, Ireland, Sweden and Finland, will agitate for an assertive defence of Palestinian rights. Hungary and the Czech Republic will block, and will usually be joined by Austria and Poland.
If we could get the other decent countries to break with the EU and boycott goods made in occupied territories we should go for it. It might make it harder for those resisting not to follow.
you could make the same point about italy, from a financial perspective
i think what theyll do is start to creatively try to limit exports to try and put pressure on israel, nothing out in the open, all soft with plausible deniability
thereās much more important stuff facing the EU, ursula had to sit on a couch FFS. this shall not stand