Irish police released the man who assaulted a Jewish man on a Dublin bus on Friday night. The attacker claimed that “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza” and that “Jews are murderers.” He also slapped the Jewish man and tried to snatch his mobile phone. He was arrested by officers who were called to the scene by the bus driver.
The attacker told the Jewish man he could identify Jews “by their faces.” In the video, another female passenger is seen trying to calm the assailant—without success. The attacker then said: “The white woman is protecting the Jew,” and accused the Jewish passenger of being complicit in “the genocide of Palestinians.”
On Sunday, Irish police told The Jewish Chronicle that the assailant, a man in his 30s, had been arrested under public order laws and taken to a Dublin police station. According to their statement, the man “was later released without charge,” though “the investigation is ongoing.”
Former Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter condemned the incident and criticized the Irish government. Writing on X, he stated: “A routine Friday night bus ride in Dublin reflects the repeated claims by Ireland’s president and government that there is no antisemitism in Ireland, and that the Israel-Gaza war isn’t fueling antisemitism.”
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In another post, Shatter added: “If a Muslim had faced similar Islamophobia, or a Black person had been subjected to similar racism, there would be widespread condemnation from the political establishment—like confetti at a wedding.”
Jim O’Leary, a councilman representing the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown district, also denounced the attack: “As an Irishman, this saddens me. It’s clearly antisemitism. The language consistently used by our national political leaders reeks of double standards and antisemitism. Their words embolden views and actions that any decent person would find abhorrent. Will they condemn it?”