Central Bank Commission Must Act To End Complicity In Genocide: Protest at the Central Bank of Ireland, TOMORROW Tuesday 11th March 12.30pm - 2pm

 Press Release, Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Monday 10th March

A protest, organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), will take place outside the Meeting of the Central Bank Commission at the Central Bank of Ireland on North Wall Quay, TOMORROW Tuesday 11^th March between 12.30pm and 2pm  to demand an immediate end to the regulation of Israel Bonds. The protest follows this afternoon's occupation of the Central Bank by Palestine solidarity activists, and will be addressed by Marie Sherlock TD (Labour), Ruth Coppinger TD (Solidarity), and Cllr Darragh Adelaide (PBP), with more to be confirmed. 

Why? Israel Bonds fund genocide. In September 2024, nearly a year into the genocide in Gaza, the CBI renewed its regulation of the bonds on basis that: The net proceeds from the issue of the Bonds are intended to be used for the general financing purposes of the Issuer which explicitly includes military action, which resulted in drafting more than 300,000 reservists, launching the war in Gaza with the aim of negating Hamas’ political and military capabilities in Gaza and releasing all hostages.

Israel is at War – Stand with Israel is the slogan use to sell the bonds. On the website which markets the bonds, Israeli President Isaac Herzog lauds “the crucial role of Israel Bonds during this time of conflict and war” and advocates  “unwavering support" for the nuclear-armed genocidal apartheid state.

By regulating Israel Bonds and thereby acting as the lynchpin for their sale in Europe, the CBI is violating the violating the Genocide Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide which is encoded in Irish law in the Genocide Act 1973. Complicity in genocide is specifically named in the Act as a crime, (schedule, article III). Article IV states Persons committing genocide or any other act enumerated in Article III shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.

IPSC Chairperson Zoë Lawlor said:  "The IPSC believes that the Central Bank must stop funding apartheid Israel’s ongoing slaughter of civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and elsewhere. Not only is there a moral obligation, but there is also a legal obligation under the Genocide Convention not to be complicit in genocide. Regulation of Israel Bonds places the Central Bank of Ireland at the heart of Israel’s fund-raising for genocide, apartheid and the illegal settlements. The CBI is the lynchpin for the sale of the bonds in Europe and this is shameful complicity in genocide.

"While a fragile ceasefire currently holds in Gaza, all aid has been blocked by Israel from entering Gaza. The people of Gaza, over 1.9 million of whom are displace and living in catastrophic conditions, are being subjected to a renewed threat of starvation. At the same time, Israel is intensifying its assault on the West Bank where Israeli forces have destroyed scores of homes and critical infrastructure. The Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarem refugee camps have been subjected to weeks of sustained violence and destruction."

Ms. Lawlor concluded: "We call on the Central Bank Commission which is meeting today to seriously consider its obligations under the Genocide Convention and to withdraw the right of Israel Bonds to trade under the authority of the Central Bank of Ireland. Regulation must be ended immediately. The Central Bank must stop facilitating the sale of apartheid Israel’s war bonds which directly fund its crimes against the Palestinian people. If the CBI does not end regulation of Israel bonds, then the government must act. Ireland is a signatory to the Genocide Convention, so the government is obliged to make sure that our state institutions do not facilitate genocide."

Ken Powell, of the IPSC Dublin branch said: "Across the world the campaign against Israel Bonds is growing, with massive divestment from these bonds in the past year.  

"In February 2024, Norway’s oil fund divested $500m dollars from Israel Bonds. In July, the American Federation of Teachers announced full divestment from Israel Bonds. In August, the UK’s largest private-sector pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme, divested £80m from Israeli assets including Israel Bonds, following sustained pressure from the pension fund’s members, represented by the University and College Union (UCU). In October 2024, the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee, one of the largest pension schemes in Northern Ireland, announced its divestment from Israel Bonds. Two of the largest US churches, the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church USA, also voted to divest from Israel Bonds in May and July respectively.

"We demand that the Central Bank of Ireland stop facilitating the sale of Israel bonds – bonds that fund genocide and crimes against the Palestinian people – immediately."