France, Canada Join UK in Expanding Trade Sanctions on Israeli Communities in West Bank

Ailin Vilches Arguello

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband speaks at the House of Commons in London, Britain, Sept. 8, 2026. Photo: HOUSE OF COMMONS/Handout via REUTERS

France and Canada will join the United Kingdom in imposing new trade sanctions on Israeli communities in the West Bank, marking one of the most far-reaching Western measures yet as international efforts to boycott and isolate the Jewish state continue to grow.

During a speech in the British Parliament on Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a sweeping package of sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, along with a series of additional punitive measures, in what marks one of London’s sharpest rebukes of Israel as relations between the two longtime allies deteriorate.

In a sharp break from Britain’s longstanding foreign policy, the country’s top diplomat accused the Jewish state of “unlawful occupation” of the West Bank, denouncing what he described as an “expansionist agenda via illegal settlements.”

Miliband further accused Israelis of fueling escalating violence against Palestinians, warning that “settler terrorism is rampant.”

“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Miliband said during his speech. “The Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and, worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.”

Unlike the current framework, a sweeping trade prohibition goes further by legally blocking goods produced in the West Bank from entering the British market, rather than simply imposing differentiated trade rules or labeling requirements — significantly tightening restrictions and fundamentally reshaping Britain’s trade policy toward the region.

Expected to take effect within six to nine months, London’s new policy measures will ban imports of goods from Israeli communities in the West Bank and impose sanctions on companies and individuals that “facilitate settlement expansion,” including those providing construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate services for such development.

The British government will also deny licenses for arms and other exports deemed to materially support what British officials called Israel’s “occupation,” ban advertising for settlements in the UK, and sanction a group of “extremist settlers” accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinians.

Some analysts were quick to note that such actions will hurt Palestinian workers, thousands of whom work for Israeli employers in West Bank settlements and could lose their jobs as a result.

France and Canada have announced they will both join Britain in imposing their own import bans on goods from Israeli communities in the West Bank, adding to growing boycott efforts aimed at economically isolating the Jewish state.

The measures mark another escalation in the growing rift between Israel and the two Western allies amid the war in Gaza, with Paris and Ottawa backing efforts to recognize a Palestinian state last year and France also pressing within the European Union to end the bloc’s association agreement with Israel.

According to Miliband, several other European countries — including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden — have also pledged to back the UK’s latest measures, signaling growing support for the British initiative.

“The unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationships we choose to have with the occupied territories,” the top British diplomat said. 

Eleven other countries ultimately joined the UK in saying they would “introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures,” according to a joint statement.

Even as the bilateral relationship between Israel and the UK comes under increasing strain, Miliband said Britain would maintain trade with the Jewish state within the Green Line and continue to oppose the broader boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

“Our argument is not with the people of Israel, with whom the UK has unshakable bonds,” he said. “Our argument is with the conduct of its government.”

Experts noted that the economy of Israel proper and the West Bank are inextricably linked, making it virtually impossible to take such punitive measures against the latter without affecting the Israeli economy.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar sharply denounced the British government’s latest measures, announcing the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem and warning other countries against taking similar action against Israel.

The top Israeli diplomat rejected Miliband’s accusations as “outrageous lies,” denouncing the British government’s “hostile actions” as driven by domestic political considerations in London.

“The British move is morally distorted, and constitutes blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and its electoral process,” Saar said in a statement. “The message to every government that harms us is clear: You will lose your influence and relevance in the region.”
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In coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saar announced further retaliatory measures, including barring Britain from the US-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel, ending British training for Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank, and banning 12 elected officials and British citizens involved in anti-Israel or antisemitic activities from entering the country.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee had also warned that Washington could retaliate against Britain amid the escalating dispute, accusing the British government of “Jew hate” and describing its actions as “discrimination against the Jewish people.”

Britain’s Jewish community has also voiced strong opposition to the government’s latest measures, warning that they could undermine prospects for peace while further worsening an already hostile climate for Jews and Israelis across the country.

UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis accused British authorities of playing “gesture politics,” arguing that such measures only “embolden those, at home and abroad, who use hatred as a weapon against Jews.”

“The measures announced amount to little more than political flag bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric and those who harbor a dangerous obsession with the Jewish state,” Mirvis wrote in a post on X. “These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target.”

“On the eve of Rosh Hashanah and at a time when our community is more vulnerable than ever to the wave of extremism that has been building over recent years, these sanctions do nothing to advance the cause of peace. Nor do they make anyone safer – quite the contrary,” he continued.
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So far, Ireland, Belgium, Norway and Spain are the only European countries to have advanced comprehensive legislative efforts aimed at banning trade with Israeli settlements, while Slovenia has encountered legal and political obstacles that have delayed similar measures.

The Netherlands is also expected to join such efforts, with a new law set to take effect on Sept. 22 that goes beyond similar measures elsewhere by banning imports from Israeli communities not only in the West Bank beyond the Green Line, but also from the Golan Heights.

According to market estimates, goods produced in Israeli communities beyond the Green Line account for about 1 percent of Israel’s exports, meaning exports from these areas to the EU are estimated at roughly $200 million annually, or about 0.3 percent of Israel’s total exports.

Under the current Israeli government, settlement construction in the West Bank has accelerated, with new housing approvals and the legalization of previously unauthorized communities expanding Israel’s presence in the territory — land Palestinians seek as part of a future independent state and which most of the international community considers a violation of international law.

Israel disputes claims that the settlements are illegal, pointing to historical and legal ties to the land as well as arguing they provide strategic depth and security considerations.

Earlier this year, the Israeli government announced plans to advance the E1 project, a settlement initiative east of Jerusalem that would effectively bisect the West Bank and sever its connection to East Jerusalem — a move that drew widespread international condemnation and renewed calls from some governments for sanctions against Israel.

UNICEF Report Dispels Gaza Famine Narrative, Enclave Less Malnourished Than Finland

Corey Walker

Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid make their way to the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, May 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A newly released nutrition survey coordinated by UNICEF has found that acute malnutrition among children in the Gaza Strip remains at low levels, with Israeli officials arguing the findings undermine widespread claims that a famine is taking place in the enclave.

The survey, conducted using World Health Organization methodology and published on July 22, measured children’s weight, height, and mid-upper-arm circumference (WHZ) to assess acute malnutrition. According to the results, acute malnutrition rates across Gaza ranged from 0.2 percent in Khan Younis and Rafah to 0.8 percent in Gaza City and North Gaza, figures that researchers said are comparable to or lower than those recorded before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

The survey covered an estimated 1.72 million people, or 83 percent of Gaza’s population. Around 360,000 people, 17 percent,were excluded because of access and security constraints.

These figures are also far below the 30 percent acute-malnutrition threshold associated with the IPC’s Phase 5 Famine classification, suggesting that no famine is occurring in Gaza.

The survey revealed that malnutrition rates in Gaza are less severe than many neighboring Middle Eastern countries and are comparable to several European countries. For instance, roughly 3.3 percent of Egyptian youth under 5 suffer from malnutrition, according to the data. Further, approximately 4.3 percent of youth in Iran and 2.3 percent of youth in Jordan suffer from malnutrition, per the data.

In Germany and Finland, 0.5 percent and 1.4 percent of children suffer from malnutrition, according to the UNICEF 2025 Joint Child Malnutrition survey.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, welcomed the findings, arguing they refute accusations that Israel is deliberately starving Gaza’s civilian population.

“Facts prevail over fiction,” Danon said, asserting that Israel continues to fight Hamas while facilitating humanitarian assistance into the Strip and accusing the terrorist organization of exploiting civilians throughout the conflict.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry similarly pointed to the survey as evidence that conditions do not meet the threshold for famine, emphasizing that measured levels of acute malnutrition remain well below internationally recognized emergency benchmarks.

“In other words: There is no famine in Gaza. Malnutrition is not only significantly below the critical values—it is exceptionally low in regional comparison. Anyone who is still open to arguments can look at the empirical data themselves,” the Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement.

While the survey found little evidence of widespread acute wasting, it identified several longer-term nutritional concerns. Researchers reported that approximately one in eight children suffers from stunting, an indicator associated with chronic nutritional deprivation rather than immediate food shortages. The report also noted the continued presence of childhood overweight, suggesting that poor diet quality, not simply food availability, remains a significant public health challenge.

“Acute malnutrition remains low, but nutritional vulnerability remains high,” the study contends.

According to the survey, unhealthy dietary patterns remain widespread. In Khan Younis and Rafah, as many as 78 percent of children were found to consume unhealthy diets, while roughly 64 percent of children in Gaza City and northern Gaza reportedly do not regularly eat fruits or vegetables. The report raises concerns with dietary diversity, arguing that roughly 30 percent of those in the Gaza Strip are receiving sufficiently varied nutritional sources.

The findings are consistent with a July assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which reported that food security and nutrition conditions in Gaza had improved following the October 2025 ceasefire due to expanded humanitarian assistance, while cautioning that humanitarian needs remain substantial across the territory. The IPC classified Gaza’s nutrition status at its lowest acute malnutrition phase beginning in mid-April 2026.

The findings also throw cold water about a supposed “ongoing famine” in Gaza, a narrative popularized among many anti-Israel activists. The United Nations claimed in December 2023 that over a quarter of Gaza’s population was starving as a result of the war, contending that hunger levels had surpassed war-torn countries such as Yemen and Afghanistan. The UN subsequently accused Israel of inflicting a famine in Gaza in July 2024. In August 2025, Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, alleged of “irrefutable” evidence of a famine in Gaza and criticized the international community for not taking aggressive action to intervene in the supposed humanitarian crisis.

However, many have cast doubt on allegations of famine in Gaza. In December 2024, the Biden administration disputed a report from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) alleging the emergence of a famine in northern Gaza. The report claimed that 65,000-75,000 people in Northern Gaza lacked access to sufficient food in Northern Gaza.

The survey is likely to play a significant role in ongoing international debate over humanitarian conditions in Gaza, as governments and aid organizations continue to assess both the scale of humanitarian need and the impact of relief efforts during and after the conflict.

Recenzja książki „Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages” Ahmeda Fouada Alkhatiba

Grupa oporu, która nie potrafiła rządzić

Jill

Recenzja książki „Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages” Ahmeda Fouada Alkhatiba

Przez lata Gaza i jej żydowski sąsiad były prawdopodobnie najczęściej omawianym skrawkiem ziemi na świecie. Większość treści na ich temat konsumujemy za pośrednictwem ekranów, w bezpieczeństwie i komforcie Zachodu, korzystając z anglojęzycznych źródeł. Bardzo często osoby wypowiadające się na ten temat nie kierują się głębokim zrozumieniem ani pragnieniem dotarcia do prawdy, lecz potrzebą moralizowania. Ci samozwańczy aktywiści i komentatorzy polityczni zagłuszają głosy mieszkańców Gazy, zamiast przemawiać w ich imieniu. Prawdziwe zrozumienie Gazy przez zachodnich odbiorców wymaga perspektywy ludzi dobrze znających to miejsce – najlepiej takich, którzy sami z Gazy pochodzą.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib jest właśnie jednym z takich głosów. Dorastał w Gazie, a w 2005 roku, jako nastolatek, wyjechał do Stanów Zjednoczonych, aby uczęszczać do szkoły średniej w ramach programu wymiany międzykulturowej. Krótko po jego przyjeździe Hamas został wybrany do rządzenia Strefą Gazy po całkowitym wycofaniu przez Izrael swoich osiedli. W 2007 roku Ahmed otrzymał azyl – jako pierwszy Palestyńczyk, któremu przyznano azyl polityczny w następstwie przejęcia Gazy przez Hamas – a w 2017 roku uzyskał obywatelstwo amerykańskie. Od czasu przejęcia władzy przez Hamas nie postawił już stopy w swoim ojczystym mieście.

Choć od lat niemal nieustannie myślę o tym konflikcie, głębokie zrozumienie Gazy i jej mieszkańców zawsze mi umykało. To miejsce wydawało mi się niemal mityczne. Za każdym razem, gdy spacerowałam po plażach Tel Awiwu, ciesząc się ciepłą śródziemnomorską bryzą, myślałam: „Gaza jest tuż obok”. Dosłownie leży na tym samym wybrzeżu, a jednak jest oddzielona w sposób, który wydawał się nieprzekraczalny i nieosiągalny. Choć dość dobrze znam historię Izraela, nigdy naprawdę nie rozumiałam Gazy poza kontekstem konfliktu z Izraelem.

Nawet samo słowo „zakładnik” stało się podczas wojny niezwykle kontrowersyjne. 7 października Hamas dokonał masakry na terytorium Izraela w jego międzynarodowo uznanych granicach i uprowadził 251 zakładników. Tym samym naraził własną ludność cywilną na działania militarne Izraela. Już sam tytuł tej książki podważa narrację „my kontra oni”, sugerując, że najliczniejszymi zakładnikami organizacji terrorystycznej są jej właśni rodacy – dwa miliony ludzi, którym odmówiono możliwości opuszczenia Strefy Gazy podczas najgorszej katastrofy w historii Palestyńczyków.

W ciągu ostatnich kilku lat Ahmed pozostawał spokojnym i rozsądnym głosem ponad hałasem aktywizmu, który przedstawia się jako „propalestyński”, podczas gdy w rzeczywistości jest przede wszystkim antyizraelski i antyzachodni. Pod adresem przedstawicieli tego ruchu kieruje bardzo mocne słowa, określając ich działania po 7 października jako „formę zbiorowej psychozy”:

„Byłem wściekły – pisze Ahmed – że wyjątkowa, być może jedyna w swoim rodzaju szansa na zdobycie poparcia dla narodu palestyńskiego została zmarnowana na slogany i pusty aktywizm. Nie usłyszałem nic konstruktywnego, żadnej chęci ani próby wypracowania pragmatycznych rozwiązań i realnych rezultatów dla Palestyńczyków. Zamiast konsekwentnie opowiadać się za rozwiązaniem dwupaństwowym i uznać, że Palestyńczycy nie pragną zniszczenia Izraela, lecz dążą do godności, wolności i niepodległości, aktywiści na Zachodzie upili się najgorszą możliwą mieszanką ekstremizmu, uproszczeń i maksymalizmu. Ta toksyczna kombinacja zaszkodziła życiu i wolności Palestyńczyków oraz samej sprawie palestyńskiej.

Gdy zacząłem krytykować te tendencje, spotkałem się z brutalnymi atakami. Zdałem sobie sprawę, że wielu ludzi z tak zwanego ruchu propalestyńskiego jest w istocie głęboko antypalestyńskich, ponieważ interesują ich wyłącznie poglądy i doświadczenia potwierdzające ich własne przekonania. Fakt, że człowiek z Gazy taki jak ja – który stracił członków rodziny podczas wojny, który po izraelskim bombardowaniu w 2001 roku niemal całkowicie stracił słuch w lewym uchu i który od lat angażuje się w pomoc humanitarną dla Palestyńczyków w Gazie – może zostać odrzucony za prezentowanie „niewłaściwych poglądów”, był alarmującym sygnałem upadku zachodniego aktywizmu.”

Chciałabym zwrócić uwagę na pewne podobieństwo między Ahmedem a mną: oboje należymy do pokolenia milenialsów i oboje postrzegamy lata 90. jako najbardziej pomyślną i pełną nadziei dekadę naszego życia. Dla mnie, wychowanej bezpiecznie w Stanach Zjednoczonych, oznacza to przede wszystkim Nintendo 64, Nickelodeon i centra handlowe. Dla Ahmeda są to czasy Porozumień z Oslo – okres, którego znaczenia nie byłem jeszcze w stanie zrozumieć, gdy się rozgrywał. Był to moment, gdy najbliżej było do powstania funkcjonującego państwa palestyńskiego, z międzynarodowym lotniskiem w Gazie obsługiwanym przez Palestinian Airlines, paszportami umożliwiającymi swobodne podróżowanie do i ze Strefy Gazy oraz lepszymi perspektywami zatrudnienia dla jej mieszkańców.

Książka szczegółowo opisuje okoliczności, które doprowadziły do dojścia Hamasu do władzy, co w praktyce zniszczyło nadzieję na rozwój sprawnie funkcjonującego społeczeństwa, o którym wielu marzyło w czasie pełnych optymizmu lat procesu z Oslo. Często słyszymy argument, że Hamas reprezentuje wolę swoich obywateli, ponieważ został wybrany w wyborach w 2005 roku (były to ostatnie wybory w Gazie). Rzeczywistość jest jednak bardziej złożona. Przejęcie władzy przez Hamas – po wyborach, których przebieg budził poważne wątpliwości – było elementem walki o władzę między tą organizacją a innymi ugrupowaniami palestyńskimi (Fatahem, OWP i Autonomią Palestyńską). To, co nastąpiło później, trudno nazwać pokojowym przekazaniem władzy.

Analiza działalności międzynarodowych organizacji pozarządowych jest znacznie bardziej wyważona i opiera się na uzasadnionej krytyce. Autor, doceniając ich rolę w dostarczaniu mieszkańcom Gazy niezbędnej pomocy, zauważa jednocześnie, że ich obecność w praktyce wzmacniała Hamas. Bez względu na liczbę aktów terroru popełnianych przez Hamas pieniądze płynące przez organizacje humanitarne nieustannie finansowały podstawowe usługi, których sam Hamas nie zapewniał. Trzeba jednak uczciwie przyznać, że jest to szerszy problem międzynarodowych organizacji humanitarnych działających w państwach rządzonych przez opresyjne reżimy – Gaza jest po prostu jednym z najbardziej wyrazistych przykładów.

Gaza jest wyjątkowa pod względem stopnia, w jakim jej przywódcy wykorzystują organizacje międzynarodowe, takie jak ONZ, jako element – trzeba przyznać – niezwykle skutecznej kampanii wizerunkowej (napędzanej w dużej mierze przez Al Jazeerę), skierowanej do odbiorców na całym świecie. Jak inaczej wyjaśnić fakt, że „Ministerstwo Zdrowia Gazy” nagle stało się wiarygodnym źródłem informacji dla czołowych amerykańskich dziennikarzy? Dopóki Hamas utrzymywał w ruchu tę machinę – organizacje pozarządowe, darczyńców i aparat propagandowy – mógł przedstawiać się jako „ruch oporu”, jednocześnie całkowicie zawodząc jako rządzący. Nie miało znaczenia, ile przerw w dostawach prądu, niedoborów paliwa czy zwykłego cierpienia zafundował własnym mieszkańcom.

Skupianie uwagi świata wyłącznie na oburzeniu wobec Izraela pozwala Hamasowi bez przeszkód kontynuować swoje bandyckie działania. Smutna rzeczywistość jest dziś taka, że im więcej brutalności i chaosu wywołuje Hamas, tym więcej pieniędzy napływa z zagranicy, aby finansować skutki tej sytuacji. Terroryzm stał się znacznie bardziej opłacalny niż pokój.

Nie sposób pominąć najbardziej oczywistej kwestii. Zapytałem Ahmeda wprost, dlaczego zdecydował się wydać swoją książkę w żydowskim wydawnictwie, a nie w muzułmańskim lub innym nieżydowskim. Oddaję mu głos:

„The Jewish Quarterly” złożyło mi ofertę, a ich model wydawniczy idealnie odpowiadał temu, czego szukałem – publikują krótkie książki lub długie eseje. To było doskonałe rozwiązanie. W społeczności muzułmańskiej istnieje poważny problem z podejściem do Hamasu i nastrojów określanych jako „propalestyńskie”, a poza tym nie ma zbyt wielu alternatyw wydawniczych. Jednocześnie świadomie chciałem dotrzeć do żydowskich odbiorców, do których tradycyjny ruch propalestyński nie jest w stanie dotrzeć, mimo że znaczna część mojego przekazu skierowana jest właśnie do środowisk propalestyńskich.

Można bezpiecznie założyć, że większość czytelników tej książki będą stanowić osoby nastawione proizraelsko, które już dziś postrzegają Ahmeda jako swego rodzaju wyjątek. Nie wiem, w jakim stopniu jego poglądy podzielają zwykli mieszkańcy Gazy żyjący obecnie w Strefie. Wiem natomiast, że ten poruszający tekst jest szczerym wysiłkiem rodowitego Palestyńczyka, który próbuje edukować innych jako przedstawiciel społeczności, o której mówi się bez końca, lecz którą rozumie się bardzo słabo. Właśnie tak powinno wyglądać bycie naprawdę „propalestyńskim” – w sposób, na jaki obecna debata publiczna po prostu nie pozwala.

Link do oryginału:

The Liberal Jew

A Resistance Group That Failed To Govern: Review of “Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages” by Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib

For years, Gaza and its Jewish neighbor have served as possibly the most talked-about territory in the world. We consume most of the content about it from our screens in the safety and comfort of the West, from English-language channels. Much of the time, those who speak of it here do so not out of profound understanding or a desire to seek truth, but r…

Activists Against Israel-Ireland Nations League Soccer Match Occupy Department of Sport Offices in Dublin

Shiryn Ghermezian

Soccer Football – UEFA Nations League Draw – Brussels Expo, Brussels, Belgium – Feb. 12, 2026, General view during the draw. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Anti-Israel activists occupying Ireland’s Department of Sport in Dublin were removed by police on Wednesday after demanding that the country cancel two upcoming UEFA Nations League soccer matches against Israel.

Supporters of the #StopTheGame campaign entered the lobby of the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport on Leeson Lane, repeatedly chanting “stop the game” and “don’t play,” according to videos posted online.

The demonstrators asked to speak with officials before Gardaí removed them less than two hours later. No arrests were made. Other activists gathered outside the building carrying a banner reading “Show Israel the red card.”

The campaign, organized by Irish Sport for Palestine and backed by prominent soccer players, coaches, and cultural figures, said the occupation was part of a protest effort that “will intensify” unless both matches are canceled. It accused Ireland of “sportwashing genocide.”

“The Government has placed pressure on the FAI, who are also culpable, to fulfil these fixtures,” the group said, referring to the Football Association of Ireland. “We are failing in our moral, humanitarian and legal obligations as a country in playing these games.”

Ireland is scheduled to face Israel on Sept. 27 at Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary. Israel has played UEFA home matches abroad since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Ireland’s Oct. 4 home fixture has also been moved out of the country. The FAI announced last month that the match would be played behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, Serbia, citing “operational challenges” that could prevent it from safely staging the game in Dublin.

The relocation did not satisfy campaigners.

“We don’t want the Irish team to play Israel anywhere,” Dublin City Councilor Cieran Perry said after the protest.

The dispute is the latest in a series of increasingly hostile confrontations between Irish sporting institutions and Israel.

In February 2024, Ireland’s women’s basketball team refused to shake hands or exchange gifts with Israeli players before a EuroBasket qualifier in Riga after Israeli player Dor Saar accused the Irish team of antisemitism. Basketball Ireland denounced her remarks as “inflammatory and wholly inaccurate.” Israel won the game 87-57.

In November 2025, delegates to the FAI voted 74-7, with two abstentions, to ask UEFA to suspend the Israel Football Association from European competitions, citing alleged violations of the governing body’s statutes. UEFA did not suspend Israel, leaving Ireland obligated to fulfill the Nations League fixtures or risk forfeiting them and facing further disciplinary action, including possible disqualification.

A spokesperson for the Department of Sport stressed that the government and Sport Ireland have “no role in the organization of such fixtures,” saying national governing bodies such as the FAI operate independently.

The department said Gardaí were called “in accordance with normal protocols.” Police said they facilitate peaceful protest while protecting public access and business operations, using enforcement only as a last resort.

The FAI has warned that refusing to play could cause significant and lasting damage to Irish soccer. Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson has opposed a boycott but said he would respect the decision of any player who refused to participate.

French Jewish DJ Leaves Music Festival Set After Violent Antisemitic Abuse From Pro-Palestinian Protesters

Shiryn Ghermezian

French DJ Barbara Butch during her performance at the Nuit Blanche festival on the forecourt of the City Hall in Paris, France on June 6, 2026. Photo: Quentin de Groeve / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect

French Jewish disc jockey Barbara Butch was forced offstage Saturday after a large group of antisemitic, pro-Palestinian activists disrupted her performance at a music festival in Grenoble, pelting the stage with objects and subjecting her to sustained abuse.

Butch later described the incident in an op-ed for the French newspaper Le Monde, written with her lawyer, saying the confrontation represented the culmination of a months-long campaign to drive her from French cultural and public life.

She was performing at the Cabaret Frappé festival when more than 100 protesters packed the audience and assailed her with “whistles, boos, shouts, and insults,” according to the op-ed. Demonstrators also hurled gravel, cardboard, plastic objects, liquids, and glass bottles, some of which shattered on her mixing console and near her feet.

Video from the scene, shared by the pro-Israel entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace, showed protesters waving large Palestinian flags and chanting “Free, free Palestine.” Some members of the far-left La France Insoumise party were among the demonstrators, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.

Butch was eventually escorted from the venue and her set was cut short.

The demonstrators had called for a boycott of Butch over her support for a controversial bill introduced by French lawmaker Caroline Yadan that sought to address contemporary forms of antisemitism. The measure was withdrawn in April, only hours before it was scheduled for debate in the National Assembly, amid criticism that it could restrict criticism of Israel.

Butch and her lawyer argued that the incident went far beyond political protest.

“That evening, a line was crossed: the one separating protest from coercion, disagreement from intimidation, speech from violence,” they wrote in Le Monde. “It was no longer a matter of responding to an artist; she was being driven off the stage.”

They said Butch has for months been subjected to an organized campaign intended to make her professionally untouchable.

“The method is consistent: singling her out; discrediting her morally; relentlessly spreading defamatory accusations against her; demanding her removal from lineups; pressuring venues, festivals, local authorities, and the public; intimidating those who invite or support her; and turning every one of her trips into a threat, every concert into an ordeal, and every employer into a target,” they wrote.

“Then, when none of that suffices, coercion is brought to bear at the very venue where she is scheduled to perform.”

In a lengthy video posted on social media, Butch said she has endured antisemitism since childhood and that the abuse intensified after she signed an open letter denouncing antisemitism in France and rejecting attempts to hold Jews collectively responsible for Israeli government policy.

She was also targeted after participating in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, receiving death threats and a stream of antisemitic, sexist, fatphobic, and anti-LGBT abuse.

Butch described what happened in Grenoble as “intolerable.”

“The antisemitism that I have been subjected to on a daily basis and endured for years, ever since I was a child, and which has become even more intense after the Olympics — I’ve had enough,” she said.

“I’m not someone who resorts to violence. I am someone who advocates love, and that won’t change. I don’t condone any violence.”

Butch said antisemitism must be discussed as openly as other forms of bigotry.

“It’s an issue that affects us all and which, for me, is on par with racism, fatphobia, and LGBT-phobias,” she said.

“We need to talk about it and create safe spaces together. If we don’t have those spaces, we’re heading straight for defeat.”

She added that her work as a DJ is intended to bring people together rather than deepen political and social divisions.

“My job is to bring people together, to unite them, to get you dancing and ensure we’re united; ensure we love one another and carry on doing it, even if everything around us is causing anxiety,” she said.

“I hope you’ll try to understand, try to reestablish dialogue so we can talk again, because things are getting worse and worse and we can’t let things carry on like this.”

Nuñez condemned the attack on Butch, describing the perpetrators as “pro-Palestinian militants.”

“Antisemitism, intimidation, and pressure have no place in our Republic,” he wrote on X. “Preventing an artist from performing is an unacceptable violation of freedom of expression and creation.”

Prominent French record producer and DJ Bob Sinclar also expressed solidarity with Butch, calling the episode “unacceptable.”

“Clubbing is a sacred, blessed community where racism, homophobia, antisemitism, or all forms of discrimination are unacceptable,” he said in an Instagram video Monday. “We are here together to celebrate music and happiness. That is it. No judgment, but love.”