Jon Ihle

The reason is that in a very real sense, and we've seen examples of this all over the world, in Golders Green most recently, but also Bontai Beach or the Manchester synagogue shooting at Yom Kippur last year, is that Jewish people are in actual danger of being victims of violence, of anti-Semitic violence.

And that's something that the community and the Gardaí here recognize, and they take serious steps forward.

protect against.

So in my household, the conversations we have before we attend a Jewish event or where we're going to be in an area where lots of Jews are gathered together always involves some consideration of what the security is going to be like at that event, right?

Is it easy to escape from, for instance?

Is this something that's appropriate to bring our six-year-old son to?

if it's an event for adults, is one of us going to stay home in case something happens so that at least there's one of us who survives?

Like, that sounds melodramatic, but in the context of a sort of regular drumbeat of violence against Jewish communities around the world, I don't think it's completely crazy, although it has been normalized.

No, and I think, and I'm not sure how well known it is, but I think if it were happening to another community, right, if there were another community that felt that sense of siege and that they had to take steps to protect themselves in moments where they're visible, I think there would be a sense of moral outrage about it.

Mm-hmm.

However, because the Jewish people are connected to Israel, or it is somehow accepted as, well, this is just the price you pay because that country over there is behaving in a way that we find objectionable.

And that's the part that's very difficult to deal with, right?

Because on the one hand, it's legitimate to criticize Israel as a state acting in the world.

On the other hand, it's not really fair that Jews in Ireland should have to pay a price to

for the behaviour of a country that they have no control over.

Well, like, okay, in a very basic sense, it's almost impossible for Jews not to be connected to Israel.

And I mean that in a sense of having either a personal connection in that they have family or friends there, right?

Half the world's Jews live in Israel, right?

That's important to point out.

Or they have a religious connection.