New polling shows that 71% of people in Ireland agree that Palestinian people live under a system of apartheid implemented against them by Israel.
The polling was carried out by Ireland Thinks on behalf of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine (IAACP).
When asked: “The UN defines apartheid as involving systematic oppression, domination and discrimination by one racial group over another racial group. To what extent do you think this applies to the situation facing Palestinians?”, 71% agreed.
When broken down by political party support, all parties in Government had a majority in agreement, with 85% of Green Party, 71% of Fianna Fáil, and 56% of Fine Gael supporters agreeing with this statement.
Among opposition parties, 100% of Solidarity PBP, 90% of Labour, 86% of Social Democrats, 80% of Sinn Féin, and 41% of Aontú supporters agreed.
The twenty-three member organisations of the IAACP have been calling on the Irish Government to officially recognise that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians.
Responding to the poll, the Chair of the IAACP, Senator Frances Black said: “As we enter an election year, including the possibility of an Autumn general election, politicians should pay attention to the depth of feeling among the Irish public evident from this polling and from the hundreds of thousands of people who have marched throughout the country in the last three months.”
Whether they live in Gaza, the West Bank, or Israel itself, Palestinians are treated as an inferior racial group and systematically deprived of their rights. In the context of the current devastating conflict in Gaza, addressing and ending this system of apartheid should be a domestic and international political priority.
When asked: “Do you think Ireland should restrict trade or investment with Israel’s settlements (illegal under international law) built on Palestinian land?”, 61% of people agreed with this statement.
Members of the IAACP have campaigned in favour of the Occupied Territories Bill, which proposes to ban trade with illegal settlements in all occupied territories, including all Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. This polling suggests that such legislation has widespread backing from the public.
Most people (62%) also think that the EU should now impose a set of sanctions on Israel similar to those imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The 2022 Amnesty International report on Israel’s apartheid regime highlights the key role the EU can play to dismantle the system of apartheid against Palestinians and end the associated human rights violations. The unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza highlights the urgent need for the Government and the EU to act.
Collectively our organisations are calling on the Irish government to listen to the public and lead international efforts to see the dismantling of the Israeli apartheid system as it did against apartheid in South Africa.
Background
About the Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine
The Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine is a group of civil society organisations, trade unions and academic experts committed to working collaboratively to end Israeli apartheid against Palestinians. The IAACP’s twenty-three member organisations represent more than one million members across the island of Ireland. It was established in November 2022.
Through shared actions, campaigns and advocacy initiatives the group has pledged to engage members of the Irish public and politicians on the situation of Palestinians, and to build political support for effective measures by Ireland and the international community to condemn Israel’s actions and to end the crime of apartheid against Palestinians.
A full list of members can be found here.
About the poll
The poll, delivered by Ireland Thinks on behalf of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine, was conducted between 2-3 November 2023 using a representative sample of 1,387 members of the public, weighted to ensure they are an exact replica of the latest census. Participants were sent an SMS message with a unique URL to participate in the opinion poll.
Participants were asked the following questions:
Q1. How would you evaluate the Irish government’s response to the war in Gaza?
Insufficiently supportive of Palestinian people: 35%
Balanced: 41%
Too supportive of Palestinian people: 13%
Not sure: 12%
Q2. The UN defines apartheid as involving systematic oppression, domination and discrimination by one racial group over another racial group. To what extent do you think this applies to the situation facing Palestinians?
I agree: 71%
Not sure: 16%
I disagree: 13%
Q3. Do you think Ireland should restrict trade or investment with Israel’s settlements (illegal under international law) built on Palestinian land?
Yes: 61%
Not sure: 19%
No: 20%
Q4. Do you think the EU should now impose a set of sanctions on Israel similar to those imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine?
Yes they should: 62%
Not sure: 14%
No they should not: 24%