Vladimir Rakhmanin | Deputy Editor
Boaz Modai, Ambassador of Israel to Ireland, addressed the Society for International Affairs (SoFIA) on the topic of the Middle East in the Global Room of the Hamilton Building last night. Ambassador Modai has held numerous diplomatic positions around the world previous to his current posting in Ireland, which began in August 2008.
The talk began with a short film on the historical and cultural aspects of Jerusalem. Ambassador Modai proceeded by giving an overview of the history of Israel. He noted that in order to speak about today’s politics, it is important to know the history of the events leading up to the crisis in the Middle East. He noted that the land was important throughout history due to the fact that it lay at the crossroads of Asia and Africa. He stressed the fact that the Jewish people have always lived in the land, sometimes as a majority, sometimes as a minority. Ambassador Modai mentioned the fact that Israel is approximately the size of Leinster, and is 3.5 times smaller than Ireland. He also stated that Israel is ‘a startup nation’ with strong business growth – for instance, Israel has more companies on the NASDAQ than any other foreign country.
Ambassador Modai continued by speaking of the conflict in the Middle East during the 20th Century, mentioning the 1948 and the 1967 conflicts, as well as the foundation of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). He also spoke of his own experiences as a nine-year-old child during the 1967 war. He recounted an incident during which his family had to hide in a shelter by the sea, being so close to the conflict that he could see the flashes of gunfire and the aircraft. He said that ‘as a child, you know nothing of war, that people get killed…I just knew I was afraid’. He noted that he ‘feels [this] as if it was yesterday’, and that he ‘doesn’t want his children to feel [this way]’.
The talk continued with an overview of the history of Israel up to present day, with the 1993 Camp David agreement and the 2008 prisoner swap being discussed.
Ambassador Modai also stressed the importance of Jerusalem to the Jewish faith, stating that the city is mentioned 662 times in the Old Testament. He said that he is part of the 8th generation of his family to live in Jerusalem, and that when he is within the city, he is ‘at home’, and has ‘no doubt about his roots’.
Next, Ambassador Modai discussed the Arab Spring, he mentioned that he was ‘sad about it’. He stressed the difficulty in attempts to enforce democracy on people who ‘are not educated to respect democracy’. However, he also stated that he ‘wants to be optimistic’. Evidently, he said that this will be a ‘long progress’, that ‘may take years, decades’.
The talk concluded with Ambassador Modai speaking of the Holocaust, and its’ devastating effect on the Jewish people. He stated that 90% of Jewish people in Poland were murdered as a result of the actions of the Nazis. He said that ‘without understanding the Holocaust, you cannot understand the state of mind of the people of Israel’.
Ambassador Modai ended the talk on a positive note, however, stressing the need for mutual compromise, and stating that ‘there should be peace between the countries [in the Middle East]’.
After the talk ended, Ambassador Modai answered some questions from the audience. He answered a question to do with Iran-Israel relations, admitting that nuclear capability is his biggest worry about the country, but that he was hoping for ‘a diplomatic solution’. The Ambassador also responded to questions regarding settlements and international intervention.
When asked about his thoughts on the fact that Irish people might be more sympathetic to the Palestinians, the Ambassador admitted that it was ‘no secret’. He stated that his solution to this problem was to ‘speak to the people’, as they may not ‘know the reality’. He stressed the need to ‘put things clearly’ so that people can decide based on facts.
A controversial series of questions from one member of the audience was asked, criticising the Ambassador for being too one-sided. The discussion began to get heated, but the MC ended the discussion diplomatically before the events took a bad turn.
Photo by Sinead Baker
