Politics

Leo Varadkar tells Biden: It is possible to be for Israel and for Palestine

The taoiseach told the US president that Irish people were ‘deeply troubled’ by the war in Gaza and that lessons could be learned from Ireland’s peace process

Joe Biden, the US president, and Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, during the St Patrick's Day reception and shamrock ceremony in the the East Room of the White House. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Leo Varadkar told the US President it was possible “to be for Israel and for Palestine” during a speech at a White House event for St Patrick’s Day.

He said the Irish people were “deeply troubled” by what was happening in Gaza because “we see our history in their eyes” through forced emigration, a denied identity and hunger.

But the taoiseach also said “we also see Israel’s history reflected in our eyes” through a diaspora ...