Verbal Clash Between Irish President and Israeli Embassy Over Letter to Behdar

The President of Ireland accused the Israeli embassy in Dublin of leaking the contents of a letter he sent to Masoud Behdar on the occasion of the inauguration of his new counterpart in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Michael Higgins, who traveled to New York to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly, told reporters on Sunday, October 1, that he does not know how his letter was leaked but "surely the Israeli embassy (in Dublin) did it." He stated that his letter was "standard" and within the framework of congratulating a newly inaugurated president. The publication of the contents of the Irish President's letter to Masoud Behdar last month sparked criticism in Ireland, and the Israeli embassy also criticized it. However, the Israeli embassy in Dublin rejected the accusation made by the Irish President regarding the deliberate leaking of the letter, calling it "a baseless accusation." The Israeli embassy wrote in a message on X that the responsibility for correspondence lies with the sender. The Israeli embassy also described the tone of Mr. Higgins' letter to Masoud Behdar as "friendly" and sarcastically noted the "best wishes" he expressed for the Islamic Republic of Iran in his letter, stating that he could have used the opportunity to condemn Iran's funding of terrorism. The Israeli embassy further stated that it would have been good if the Irish President had called for an end to the Iranian government's actions in "provoking jihadist terrorist organizations, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis" in his letter to his Iranian counterpart. The Israeli embassy had previously pointed out that the people of Iran live in fear of "a tyrannical government," adding that Mr. Higgins' letter, which did not mention the violation of the rights of the Iranian people, sent a misleading message to the Iranian people. The opposition in Ireland had protested against the contents of the President's letter to Masoud Behdar. Relations between Ireland and Israel have been tense over the past year. The then Prime Minister of Ireland wrote about two months after the attack by the extremist group Hamas on Israeli territory, during which Emily Hind, a seven-year-old Irish-Israeli girl, was kidnapped along with 250 other Israelis and taken to Gaza, that the girl was "missing." The use of the term "missing" by Leo Varadkar, the then Prime Minister of Ireland, for a girl who was kidnapped from a family friend's house in one of the kibbutzim in southern Israel and held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for about two months, met with a strong reaction from the President and government of Israel. Emily Hind's father also severely criticized the government of his home country. Additionally, Ireland's recognition of "the State of Palestine" in June this year led the Jerusalem government to summon Ms. Dana Erlich, its ambassador in Dublin, to Israel in protest of this decision by Ireland. Official statements from Irish officials in support of Palestinians in Gaza during the Gaza war, as well as widespread protests in Ireland to stop the war in Gaza, have been other reasons for the escalation of tensions in Jerusalem-Dublin relations. However, the Israeli government expressed hope to send its ambassador back to Dublin in "different and friendlier conditions." In the absence of an ambassador, the Israeli embassy in Dublin remains active.