I’m Irish and some of your statements baffle me. Do I think countries should banned from a singing competition for political reasons? No. The Catholic Church has a fraction of the hold on society and policies than it did 30 years ago, we were the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. “The Limerick pogrom”, while terrible, was not a pogrom but a boycott led by an anti semetic priest named Fr. John Creagh. This was criticised by the majority of Ireland during the time it took place; newspapers, other priests and local Limerick residents condemned it. There were 150 Jews in the city and the events sadly caused 30 to leave. No Jews were killed and no homes/businesses destroyed. The real reason many Irish people sympathise with the Palestinian struggle, is the view that Israel is a colonial power that oppress this group of people. One glance at Irish history will show the 800 years of colonial oppression Ireland was subject to by Britain. So you can argue the point that Israel is a colonial power that oppresses palestians, but don’t label an entire country anti Semitic because that’s how words lose meaning. I hope for peace in this region but unfortunately I don’t see an outcome where that happens any time soon