Fact Check: Ireland’s McDonald did not expel Israeli ambassador

A speech by the leader of Ireland’s main opposition party that criticised Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and called for ramifications has been misrepresented online as an announcement by the Irish government.

Posts on messaging platform X (archived), and Facebook (archived) misidentified Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald as Ireland’s leader, with the Facebook user writing on Nov. 14 alongside a video of the speech: “Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland is bold enough to send Israeli ambassador home….”.

The X user made the same claim, though misidentified McDonald as Ireland’s president.

Speaking on Nov. 11 at the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis, or annual party conference, McDonald criticised Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, saying it was not a justifiable response to the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian military group Hamas.

McDonald said (archived) the attacks on Gaza amounted to war crimes and called on the Irish government to refer Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as to “send the Israeli ambassador home”.

McDonald is the president of Sinn Fein, Ireland’s main opposition party. The president and prime minister of Ireland are Michael Higgins and Leo Varadkar, respectively.

Sinn Fein put forward a motion in the Irish parliament to refer Israel to the ICC, while a second party put forward a motion to expel Israel’s ambassador, both of which were defeated on Nov. 15, according to local reporting.

Verona Ní Bhroinn, press and public relations officer at the Houses of the Oireachtas Service, the Irish parliament, told Reuters in an email on Nov. 21 that the motion to dismiss the Israeli ambassador failed.

“The Ambassador of Israel to Ireland has not been expelled,” a spokesperson for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs told Reuters in an email on Nov. 21. “The Irish Government believes that maintaining diplomatic channels of communication is essential, including at times of conflict or tension.”

McDonald’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

False. Israel’s ambassador to Ireland has not been expelled as of Nov. 23, 2023.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.

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