Press Release, Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Tuesday 8th July 2025
A protest, organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, will take place outside the Central Bank of Ireland on North Wall Quay, TODAY Tuesday 8th July between 12.30pm and 2pm, to demand that the Central Bank stop authorising the sale of Israeli genocide bonds in Europe.
There will be a Photo Op at 1.30pm where Irish faith-based organisations will hand in a letter of protest to the Central Bank Governor (details below).
Why? The Central Bank of Ireland is the gateway into Europe for the Israeli “war bonds”. These “war bonds” directly fund the genocide in Gaza, the apartheid regime in Israel, the occupation of Palestinian territories and illegal settlements. As UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in her report "From economy of occupation to economy of genocide” explains:
“As the main source of finance for the Israeli State budget, treasury bonds have played a critical role in funding the ongoing assault on Gaza. From 2022 to 2024, the Israeli military budget grew from 4.2% to 8.3% of GDP, driving the public budget into a 6.8 %. Israel funded this ballooning budget by increasing its bond issuance, including $8 billion in March 2024 and $5 billion in February 2025, alongside issuances on its domestic new shekel market…….
"[Israel Bonds] provides a bond solicitation service for the Government of Israel for overseas private individuals and other investors. The Development Corporation for Israel tripled its annual bond sales to funnel nearly $5 billion to Israel since October 2023, while offering investors the option of sending the return on bond investments to charitable organizations supporting the Israeli military and the colonies."
IPSC Chairperson Zoe Lawlor said: “Apartheid Israel is starving children to death, denying access to formula milk to babies even as their starving mothers can’t breastfeed. Every day apartheid Israel relentlessly commits brutal crimes against Palestinians population of Gaza. Our Central Bank is fundraising for this genocide and we will not stop protesting until it ends this shameful complicity in genocide. The Government has a responsibility under the Genocide Convention to take all possible steps to prevent genocide. The Government must immediately direct the Central Bank, an organ of this state, to stop acting as a pivotal cog in Israel’s fundraising machine in Europe.”
Gary Gannon TD, who is taking a case against the CBI, said: “We can’t look away from injustice. We have to deal with what is in front of us and what is in front of me is our Central Bank signing off on genocide. This case is not just a legal challenge, it is a line in the sand. If Ireland lets the enabling of the funding of genocide go unchallenged, we send the message that our laws apply only when they are politically convenient. As a public representative, my job is to act in the public interest and there is no greater public interest than making sure our institutions take every action that are obliged to take in the face of genocide.”
Mr Gannon concluded: “The Central Bank, as a competent authority under MiFIR and an emanation of the State, is legally required to act in accordance with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Ireland’s obligations under the Genocide Convention and to avoid regulatory complicity in atrocity crimes. Under EU investor protection law the Central Bank has the responsibility and the power to act when there are significant risks to investors. Under MiFIR Article 42, the Central Bank may act to restrict any financial instrument where there is a significant investor protection concern. The Central Bank can and must end its authorisation for sale of Israel Bonds. This is a test of what kind of country we are. Do we quietly enable war crimes and genocide, or do we do everything we can to stop them?”
Padraig Mannion of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance said: “In seeking to find a parallel for the collusion of this government in the actions of the Central Bank in relation to Israeli war-bonds, the most appropriate example we can find has to be that of Pontius Pilate. Like him they think they can just wash their hands and the evidence of their collusion will wash away. Well, from this platform, we can tell them their collusion cannot be hidden and no amount of expensive spin-doctoring will make it go away.”
IPSC faith-based liaison Katherine Looby said: “Today faith-based organisations from across Ireland are delivering a letter of protest to Central Bank Governor Gabriel Makhlouf, urging the Central Bank to immediately cease the authorisation for sale of Israel Bonds in Europe.
"Signed by representatives from multiple faith communities, the letter expresses 'deep concern for the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the role of the Central Bank in facilitating the sale of the Israel Bonds in the EU. The CBI, in approving the Israeli Bond Programme, are providing the means for the widespread death and destruction that is taking place'."
Ms Looby concluded: “We urgently call on the CBI Governor, Gabriel Makhlouf to end the approval of the Israeli Bond programme. If the Governor fails to act, then we call on the Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to direct the Governor to act and withdraw the approval of these Bonds.”
ENDS
Note for editors: Signatories to the faith-based coalition letter include - and the bolded names will be present today to hand in the letter:
Dr. Gary Carville, Council for Migrants, Refugees and Justice & Peace of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference
Rev. Steven Foster, Council on Social Responsibility of the Methodist Church in Ireland
Kevin Hargaden, Director of the Jesuit Center for Faith and Justice
Toni Pyke, Justice, Peace and Ecology Coordinator with the Association of Leaders of Missionary and Religious of Ireland (AMR)
Rev. Alison Gallagher, Irish Methodist Church, Co. Kerry (personal capacity)
Will Haire, Clerk of Ireland Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Lara Kelly, Coordinator, Congregation Justice Office, Congregation of Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary and Saint Catherine of Siena, Cabra
Rev. John Parkin, Chairperson, Kairos Ireland
Rev. David Oxley, Church of Ireland (personal capacity)
