This was after the curfew in Nablus, and Palestinians were not allowed to go out into the streets. Mulligan recalls that a young man had been killed earlier that day, and because of religious beliefs, his family had to bury him within 24 hours. But if they go out, Israeli armed forces “open fire on them for violating the curfew.”

The dead man’s mother asked Mulligan: Can you stand at the front with our family? Because they won’t shoot you, you’re white…I just need someone, literally, to stand with me.

“It seemed to me like going to political funerals in the north of Ireland, with helicopters flying in the sky – in this case, it was the British Army. And here was the Israeli army.” “It really resonated.”

Mulligan points to these similarities as part of the reason he and other Irish Americans in the United States rallied in support of Gaza.

The leaders of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland will meet with Biden this weekend. Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill met with Biden on Friday, telling him that “the world watches in horror the genocide of the Palestinian people,” and urged him to work for an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state.

“I can identify with colonial oppression, and the violence of the colonial state,” Mulligan says, “because of my childhood in Ireland.” Now, in Palestine, “they are stripping people of their humanity. They criminalize resistance, criminalize entire populations, and use “starvation as a tactic” as the British did in Ireland during the Great Famine.

For others, support for Biden remains strong

Brian O’Dwyer, vice chair of the Irish American Democratic Political Action Committee (PAC) and the Irish for Biden campaign, also stressed the importance of the Irish vote, saying there is “no doubt” it is one of the few votes left. Swing votes in the United States.

“Biden won the presidency in 2020 in large part because of the Irish vote in Pennsylvania and Michigan,” which voted for Trump in 2016, O’Dwyer says, adding that those two states “will definitely be targeted in this upcoming election.”

But O’Dwyer says Irish-American Democrats remain “very supportive of the way President Biden handles his support for Israel.” When asked about the Irish Americans who protested and objected, O’Dwyer held back somewhat: “Of course, there has been a shift in the last few years and weeks and days. “That has become very clear.”

In order to hear from Irish-American voters, “this time of year, we meet regularly with community members,” whether virtually or in person, O’Dwyer says. He explained that the PAC had not conducted an opinion poll on the issue.

Speaking just hours after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for an end to Netanyahu’s rule, O’Dwyer agreed with the senator, calling Netanyahu “the main obstacle to peace… We all believe it is time for him to go.”

“Palestine liberates us all”

McCann, a registered Democrat who says he works with Irish Americans in more than 30 states, called O’Dwyer “deliberately out of touch with the actual sentiments of our communities across the country.” It is estimated that more than 90% of Irish Americans they speak to support a free Palestine.

When Matt Carthy, foreign affairs spokesman for the main Irish opposition party Sinn Féin, was asked about current US policy in Gaza, he wrote in an email: “Simply put, the United States is on the wrong side of history. They must stop funding and arming Israel while it continues to blatantly violate international law.”

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is visiting the US this week. She told an audience at Georgetown University that Biden was getting things “so bad, so wrong.” McDonald will meet with US leaders including Schumer and Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib.

Carthy also notes that “we have a real sense that public opinion there has changed, particularly within the Irish-American community, which rightly saw parallels between the fate of their ancestors and what the Palestinian people are currently experiencing.”

Doyle also feels that the Democratic Party establishment “misunderstands young people, certainly young people” who do not support the Israeli occupation.

“It’s anti-colonial. It is increasingly secular. He defends human rights and liberation. I think there are a lot of Irish Americans who would gladly identify with that. Indeed, the widespread interest this month, as people, young and old, began to rally under the name Irish Americans for a Free Palestine demonstrates just that – it truly embodies the spirit of “Palestine will free us all,” and gives us an opportunity to draw on our Irish heritage and values ​​as people.