{"id":66410,"date":"2025-05-01T18:59:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T18:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/66410\/"},"modified":"2025-05-01T18:59:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T18:59:09","slug":"ireland-is-out-of-step-with-united-states-on-israel-us-ambassador-nominee-is-told-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/66410\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland is \u2018out of step\u2019 with United States on Israel, US ambassador nominee is told \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The chairman of the United States<\/a> senate foreign relations committee told Edward Walsh, the nominee to become US ambassador to Dublin, that Ireland was \u201cmuch out of step\u201d with America on Israel<\/a> and Palestine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jim Risch, the Republican senator for Idaho, told Thursday\u2019s nomination hearings on Capitol Hill that while his grandmother was \u201ca Murphy\u201d he noted Ireland\u2019s recognition of the right to Palestinian statehood as \u201ca heartbreaking mistake with zero recognition of what Hamas<\/a> did on October\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a tough needle to thread when you got a close ally making a horrible mistake,\u201d he told Mr Walsh.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you have got to thread that needle and I hope you will convey the message that they are very much out of step with the United States as far as the relationship with those countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Walsh, who described himself as \u201chumbled\u201d by his nomination, told the committee that he would be happy to meet them to further address that concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am looking forward to getting a really detailed brief on all the issues relevant to this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump has been very clear that Ireland is an ally and there\u2019s no room for anti-Semitism throughout the world. It will definitely be a big part of my conversations with them. I hear you. I would be glad to meet with you on it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI do understand the issue, but I am really looking forward to diving into more detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Walsh was also asked by Texas senator Ted Cruz about Ireland\u2019s membership of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Israel\u2019s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Mr Cruz described the ICC as a \u201cclear assault\u201d on Israel and the US as it claims the ability to issue arrest warrants on nations that have not acceded to its authority.<\/p>\n

Mr Walsh said \u201cit is a difficult conversation\u201d and he said he would be glad to relay Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s message.<\/p>\n

The New Jersey businessman and philanthropist was introduced to the committee by senator Lindsey Graham, who described him as one of president Trump\u2019s \u201cclosest friends\u201d. A noted golfer, Mr Walsh is a member of the Bedminster club, which the US president owns and frequently visits.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a highly respected business person,\u201d Mr Graham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went to Villanova [university], got in a car wreck and lost one of his classmates. He spent an entire semester in a hospital. He is a very determined fella when it comes to succeeding. So, our friends in Ireland: you are getting one of the closest friends president Trump has and that will benefit you because when Ed picks up the phone president Trump will answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EdwardEdward Walsh, second right in navy T-shirt, poses with Donald Trump, centre, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Photograph: Lamington Golf <\/p>\n

Mr Walsh was one of four nominees present for the hearing which included Mr Trump\u2019s choice for ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, whose son Jared is husband to the US president\u2019s daughter, Ivanka Trump. <\/p>\n

The tone of questioning towards Mr Walsh was generally cordial, with frequent reference to Ireland as \u201can ally\u201d and predictions that his presence would help to strengthen economic bonds between the countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am proud to come from New Jersey, home to over one million residents with Irish roots,\u201d Mr Walsh told the committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our foremost priorities to be enhanced is the economic partnership between the United States and Ireland. Ireland has a population of five million people yet is the sixth largest source of foreign direct investment in the United States. If confirmed, I will strive to enhance this framework.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and his wife Lynn, whom he met while studying at Villanova university, have three daughters, Rachel, Maggie and Anna. Mr Walsh said their daughter Anna was planning a wedding which will \u201chopefully\u201d take place in Ireland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The chairman of the United States senate foreign relations committee told Edward Walsh, the nominee to become US…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[33784,32,835,837,1814,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-66410","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-binyamin-netanyahu","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-hamas","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-palestine","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114434117639253739","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}