We invented it. In the nineteenth century, Charles Boycott worked as a land agent for Lord Erne, in County Mayo. In 1880, as they pursued the Three Fs – fair rent, fixity of tenure and free sale, as well as oppossition to evictions, the Irish National Land League persuaded Boycott’s employees to withdraw their labour. Boycott was also socially isolated, with shops in nearby Ballinrobe refusing to serve him.
Charles Stewart Parnell gave a speech in 1880:
“When a man takes a farm from which another has been evicted, you must shun him on the roadside when you meet him – you must shun him in the streets of the town – you must shun him in the shop – you must shun him on the fair green and in the market place, and even in the place of worship, by leaving him alone, by putting him in moral Coventry, by isolating him from the rest of the country, as if he were the leper of old – you must show him your detestation of the crime he committed.”
In 1984 ten young Dunnes Stores workers, aged between 17 and 24, refused to handle goods from apartheid South Africa because of how their government treated black people.
That’s just two examples showing how oppressed people were supported by a peaceful boycott of eviction in the nineteenth century and apartheid in the twentieth century.
Do we think that what is happening in Gaza is less serious than farm eviction or apartheid? To take just one instance: as of June 2024, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Israel has attacked 464 health care facilities, killed 727 health care workers, injured 933 health care workers, and damaged or destroyed 113 ambulances. To that could be added the tens of thousands of journalists and men, women and children slaughtered by Israel.
Has Ireland responded to these horrors? When Frances Black tried in 2018 to get the Occupied Territories bill passed in the Dail, aimed at boycotting goods and services coming from the territories occupied by Israel, the government found ways of dithering and twittering about the legality of such a bill. Here we are seven years later and the Irish government is again dithering.
OK, Micheál and Simon, dither if you must. But this weekend is the Eurovision Song Contest. It attracts millions of viewers. I feel confident in saying that if either or both of you were to urge Ireland’s entrants to boycott the whole event, there would be massive support for them in Ireland.
Will they? Is Michael D in the IDF?
Shame on all you Israelophopbes who want to silence a survivor of the 7th October atrocity.
Not quite a simple as that though is it Surveyor? Israel has permanently silenced circa 75,000 people since 7th October – some of the detail is in Jude’s article – who’s going to speak for them?
Whilst Hamas’s attack was abhorrent, I would suggest the shame should be on anybody trying to justify Israel’s response to it.
Israel bears responsibility for the region by virtue of being the occupying power, much like the British here. Hamas knew Israel would retaliate on October 7th. The Palestinians have suffered more than enough already. Of course they are being used as political footballs by idiots like Queers For Gaza or whatever they’re called. Give me a break. They wouldn’t last two days there. A lot of Israelis are vehemently opposed to the actions of their corrupt PM. If I could stop the slaughter by clicking my fingers I would. I still think it suspicious that Israel was caught out by the attacks of October 7th.We have personal experience of governments lying.