Varadkar responds after Israeli outrage over tweet about freed hostage Emily Hand
By Rebecca Black, PA
A tweet by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar referring to former Hamas hostage Emily Hand as having been "lost" has sparked outrage in Israel.
The Taoiseach welcomed the release of the nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl on Saturday as a “day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family”.
“An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief.
“Our prayers have been answered,” he posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen accused Mr Varadkar of needing a “reality check”, saying Emily was not lost but kidnapped.
He said he had summoned the Irish ambassador in Tel Aviv “for a reprimand” following Mr Varadkar’s statement.
When questioned on Sunday about the Israeli reaction, Mr Varadkar said: “I think the vast majority of people understand what I was saying, recalling the amazing joy and awe that occurs when a child comes home.
“I've always been consistent in my unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and hostage taking.
“I call for all hostages to be released without any conditions and always have done so. And the Irish Government has worked very hard over the last few weeks, with Egypt, with Qatar, with the Red Cross and also with Israel.”
He told RTÉ that the most important thing was that Emily was at home with her family, adding “that’s all that really matters”.
Mr Varadkar said that Israel had also called in the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium, with the Irish ambassador, and that all three will be happy to explain their positions to Israel on the conflict.
Mr Cohen had earlier on Sunday posted on X at Mr Varadkar: “Mr Prime Minister, It seems you have lost your moral compass and need a reality check!
“Emily Hand was not “lost”, she was kidnapped by a terror organisation worse than Isis that murdered her stepmother.
“Emily and more than 30 other Israeli children were taken hostage by Hamas, and you @LeoVaradkar are trying to legitimise and normalise terror. Shame on you!”.
Mr. Prime Minister,
It seems you have lost your moral compass and need a reality check!
Emily Hand was not “lost”, she was kidnapped by a terror organization worse than ISIS that murdered her stepmother.
Emily and more than 30 other Israeli children were taken hostage by Hamas,… https://t.co/CD5wIZJN4i— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) November 26, 2023
Earlier the Minister for Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe, said Mr Varadkar had been “unambiguous in condemning the violence of Hamas”.
“The Taoiseach has been unambiguous in condemning the violence of Hamas and also calling for restraint from Israeli military forces, and what we have now seen in the release of Emily is a tribute to the work her father did, his dignity, his restraint, his leadership in awful circumstances, but it also shows what diplomacy by the Irish government by the Taoiseach, by the Tánaiste, and also by allies and partners in Egypt, in America and Qatar can achieve,” he told the BBC.
“I think even today we still need to reflect on what a quiet word and what a well-made argument and the value of countries working together and what that can achieve.”
In a statement on Sunday, the Israeli embassy in Dublin said: “For the past weeks we have been working tirelessly with Irish counterparts, and we are all happy to see the return of Emily Hand to her loving family.
“Words matter, especially in war when lives are at stake, and when there is an increase of extreme discourse.
“It is important to remember Emily was kidnapped by terrorists who knew very well where she was all this time – in their hands.
“So too is still the fate for many Israeli men women and children who were kidnapped and are still held in Gaza.
“We continue to work and call for their immediate release.”
