Barry O’Halloran: If we want to mend relations with Israel, there’s one area that would be a great start

Genocide is the most serious crime that can be levelled against any state. According to international law, it is more serious, for instance, than war crimes, or crimes against humanity or even ethnic cleansing. For that reason, claims of genocide come with a very high burden of proof.

Irish-Israeli diplomatic relations reached their nadir last Sunday with Israel’s decision to close its embassy in Dublin. Of all the red lines that Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said Ireland has crossed, the Irish proposal to redefine a word that originated from the unique and systematic extermination of six million Jews is one of extraordinary sensitivity both to Israelis and to Jewish people in general..