Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
This message comes from Mattress Firm. Start the new year strong with quality sleep. Find your best rest with Mattress Firm's premium selection of mattresses. Get matched at Mattress Firm's President's Day sale and sleep at night. Restrictions apply. See mattressfirm.com or store for details. Today on State of the World, Ireland weighs a boycott. You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We're the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. I'm Greg Dixon.
The conflict in the Middle East can cause changes far away, like in Ireland. The country is considering a controversial bill that would ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Ireland would be the first country in the Western world to do this. And the last time Ireland led a boycott, it changed history. NPR's Lauren Freyer begins our story in rural County Wexford, south of Dublin.
Old black and white food. That's me there. This is definitely the 1980s. Yeah, yeah, now look at the hair size. In 1984, Mary Manning was just out of high school, working a grocery store cash register and annoyed by all the rules. Just stupid things, like if you were three minutes late, you got a warning. So she and a few other cashiers picked a political fight. In fairness, we didn't know anything about South Africa at the time.
Kind of just to spite their bosses, they decided to boycott goods from South Africa because it was under apartheid at the time. Mary was first to refuse to ring up a customer who was trying to buy South African grapefruit. I just said to her, like, I'm sorry, we are boycotting South African goods and solidarity with the people of South Africa.
She was grand. She just said, OK. And she put two grapefruit and she left them on the checkout. But the manager who was behind me saw. Her manager suspended her. So Mary went on strike. Her co-workers joined and their union backed them up. Mary, what gives you the right to tell people what they should and shouldn't buy in the shop?
But we're not saying that people should or shouldn't buy them. We're saying that we should have the moral right not to handle the goods. That's Mary 40 years ago being interviewed in the picket line. Reflecting back, she says that's where she came of age. It was only as we were standing on the picket line that we started to read what was happening in South Africa. It just became...
They stayed on strike for nearly three years and were nicknamed the most dangerous supermarket workers in the world until 1987. When not only did their supermarket give in, their entire country did. Because of the
Because of this boycott, Ireland that year banned imports from apartheid South Africa. It was first in the Western world to do so. Mary went back to private life. Marriage, kids, a cute rescue dog in a house near the sea south of Dublin. But now she's back on the streets, 40 years on, lending her clout to another boycott movement. I haven't done this in a long time, so... Free Palestine! Yeah!
Ireland is now poised to become first in the Western world to ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Those are settlements the United States, the United Nations and the European Union all consider illegal. And in practice what that would mean is that if you're a supermarket here and you're stocking dates that have been produced in illegal settlements, you'll be asked to pull them from your shelves.
If you refuse to do that, you could be fined or sent to prison. Connor O'Neill is a Christian aid worker who helped draft the Occupied Territories Bill. We met at the gates of Ireland's Parliament where the bill is expected to pass this year and where citizens have been gathering every month to rally for it.
With Mary Manning's example in mind, he says. There is a street in Johannesburg named after Mary Manning. And I think the stance we took as regards apartheid South Africa in the 80s is really to the front of public consciousness here. Last year, a poll found 71% of people in Ireland now think Israel is an apartheid state.
Now, Israel does not see itself that way. And Ireland didn't always. Many Irish supported Israel in its early years. But perhaps because of Ireland's own history of British occupation, as Israel annexed and occupied more Arab land, Irish public opinion flipped. And it's now one of the most pro-Palestinian countries in the world. Why now? This is one of our hardest years in history.
And we've seen Ireland take more and more anti-Israeli steps. Dana Ehrlich is the Israeli ambassador to Ireland. We spoke as she was packing her bags. Israel is closing its embassy here.
Because since the October 7th Hamas attacks and the Gaza war that followed, Ireland has recognized Palestinian statehood, joined a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and said it would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he ever sets foot on Irish soil. The ambassador says those actions go beyond policy critique. That has crossed the lines to incitement.
So when you are solely focused on punishing the only Jewish state, that is an anti-Semitic move. The ambassador says Jews here feel vilified and that Israelis who came to work in Ireland's tech sector are leaving. Dublin is decked with Palestinian flags. People wear buttons that say pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
The bill's only domestic critics. There are very few. Even many of them say they don't disagree with it. They just think it's unnecessary. The bill will not affect the $6 billion in annual trade Ireland does with Israel proper. It only applies to Irish trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, which is... Very, very, very little, if any at all. This would be more of a...
Daniel Mulhall was Ireland's ambassador to Washington during the last Trump administration, when this bill was first drafted. It sparked concern among U.S. companies, many of which have branches in Ireland that also do business with Israel and with settlements. Mulhall convinced President Trump not to retaliate against Ireland back then, when it was only a draft bill.
But when it passes... There are particular risks for a trade-dependent country like ours when you have the imposition of tariffs and trade wars breaking out all over the place. Ireland is already in Trump's sights because of its trade surplus with the U.S. Why rock the boat, Mulholl asks, for a bill that's only symbolic? For one reason, because I firmly believe that this is the right thing to do. Frances Black is the Irish senator who wrote this bill, and she's worried...
Because even though all of Ireland's main political parties support it, they're spending a lot of time revising and amending it, tweaking the language to make sure it doesn't clash with EU trade law. And votes have been delayed. Will they carve out our exemptions or are they going to water it down? I don't know. And the Irish people will be very, very upset by this.
I can guarantee you. Because they so overwhelmingly support this. So a 20-year-old cashier said she wouldn't handle South African fruit. Back in the 80s, after Mary Manning refused to sell that South African grapefruit, she was blacklisted. For years, no one in Ireland would hire her. But news of her strike reached a certain prisoner who'd been held on Robben Island. And when he was freed, he thanked her. The sacrifices they underwent.
So many thousands of miles away from us. And when Nelson Mandela died, Mary was a guest of honour at the funeral in a giant football stadium in Johannesburg. Long live the spirit of Nelson Mandela. Long live. Long live. And it was just unbelievable. It was unbelievable to be there.
Like a kind of, you were right in what you did. You know that kind of way? Because we were kind of, we used to not doubt ourselves because we knew what we were doing was right, but no one seemed to kind of believe that. She says it took years for her to feel vindicated. Back then, Mary Manning was an outlier. This new boycott has widespread Irish support. But if it passes, it could make Ireland the outlier. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, Dublin. That's the state of the world from NPR. Thanks for listening.
This message comes from Schwab. At Schwab, how you invest is your choice, not theirs. That's why when it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices. You can invest and trade on your own. Plus, get advice and more comprehensive wealth solutions to help meet your unique needs. With award-winning service, low costs, and transparent advice, you can manage your wealth your way at Schwab. Visit schwab.com to learn more.
Support for NPR and the following message come from IXL Learning. IXL Learning uses advanced algorithms to give the right help to each kid, no matter the age or personality. Get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when you sign up today at ixl.com slash NPR.
This message comes from Bombas. Socks, underwear, and t-shirts are the top three requested clothing items by people experiencing homelessness. Bombas makes all three and donates one item for every item purchased. Go to bombas.com slash NPR and use code NPR for 20% off.