“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonour’s you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” -Genesis 12: 3

What Did I Hope to Achieve by Blogging About Israel — From Ireland?

When I began blogging about Israel from an Irish perspective, I believed I could serve as a bridge — a thoughtful, informed mediator between two emotionally charged worlds: an increasingly anti-Zionist Ireland and an embattled, often misunderstood Israel. I hoped to challenge lazy narratives, provoke reflection, and offer a voice of balance in a space saturated with heat and little light.

As part of the Journalism diploma I took in 2023/24, students were encouraged to pitch internships for the work experience module. I emailed a few Irish Jewish organisations with great expectations. Those initial contacts stalled. They promised follow up, then ghosted me. A strange non-response to a free and willing philo-Semitic advocate…

Undeterred, I then I decided to apply to broadsheet newspaper, The Irish Independent. I also contacted the editor of The Dublin Inquirer, a community newspaper. The former didn’t reply, the latter promised a follow-up but that vaporized.

Was possible ageism responsible for that? Perhaps my nuanced pro-Israel position on socials raised red flags? Harsh, judgmental assessments seemed to hang in the air…

Refusing to quit, I next applied to the Jewish media abroad. (There is no Jewish media in Ireland). I emailed my CV to The Jewish Chronicle, in London and Haaretz (a left-wing newspaper) in Tel Aviv. No dice with either of those very diverse newspapers.

I thought I might strike gold with The Times of Israel in Jerusalem. They kindly responded to my query, suggesting that I try applying for an internship again “after the war”. However, they invited me to apply to be a blogger.

I passed their test and wrote the first of fifty audacious blogs, in November 2023:

‘Why I am a Friend of Israel’.

My first few blogs shared a number of personal observations about Jewish life and culture, then my writing shifted to a more confrontational theme. 

My blogs covered the protests on Ireland’s streets, and exposed breaches of media impartiality, despite the NUJ ‘code of practice’ [1].

The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces above lies, as oil floats on water.” - Don Quixote by Cervantes

Some blog titles reflected Ireland’s pungent political mood: President Higgins many anti-Israel speeches; left-wing pro-Palestinian politicians; an anti-semitic Anglican ‘sermon’.

Much subject matter had telling titles: - ‘Judenfrei Trinity College Dublin?’; ‘Blueshirt not Brownshirt – Irish neo-Nazis’; ‘Why are the Irish so bigoted against Israel and the Jewish people?’

As a late-life learner, I started academic study in my early 60s – sitting for diplomas in creative writing and then podcasting. I later revelled in and grew to believe more in the possibilities of being a contrarian contributor to the “fourth estate” by taking a diploma in journalism. I became a student member of the NUJ.

Encouragement from my son and daughter-in-law, commending late-life attempts at academia.
The journalism diploma was a personal success, with good marks and solid guidance. I then pursued an Arts & Humanities diploma seeking to deepen my research and political insight. It was academically demanding, but fascinating.

This course also required work placement. I applied to a number of Irish and Israeli Jewish organizations as potential researcher. Surprisingly, both The Irish Jewish Museum and Knesset internship applications drew a blank. I tried the Campaign Against Antisemitism but that also drew a blank.

Back to writing blogs, I surmised.

I tried to emulate the Ground News left/ right balanced approach, drawing from many diverse sources. (2)

I researched Jewish, Christian & Muslim sources, including the Bible and Koran. I also gave links to Arabic and secular sources. It was very educational, stimulating and challenging.

I attempted to discern facts from opinions and falsehoods, to challenge the anti-Israel western media bias, and to also frame my writing with a soft focus biblical lens.

But getting traction for my pieces was slow. I shared my blog-links to the Irish government bodies, leading politicians on X. I also posted to many Jewish / Israeli websites, and even to some anti-semitic social accounts. Very few responded. Fewer reposted. I wasn’t expecting to change public opinion – but I wasn’t expecting such a muted response. Brickbats or plaudits - some engagement critical or otherwise - would have been welcome!

My attempts to advocate for Israel went beyond mere “preaching to the choir” – so I bought an expensive banner advert for my blog in The Irish Catholic newspaper. Ireland’s Catholic culture has long been cool towards Israel, but I felt it important to challenge its anti-Israel assumptions.

Being such a nuanced, pro-Semite blogger was a lonely, thankless task. I expected little to no support from the mainline churches. What shocked me was that most Irish evangelical Christian leaders timid silence about October 7th, and its tumultuous angry aftermath.

Do they no longer see scripture prophecy as being relevant to current events in the Middle East, in these fraught and febrile times? Perhaps Irish Christian leaders don’t question the mainstream media narrative enough? I vainly hoped that my blogs might provide a nudge towards their advocating on behalf of the “people of the book” also.

Two sources of kind-minded support sustained me over the past two years of blogging. A loyal, enthusiastic Christian friend forwarded blog links to her Pentecostal Christian WhatsApp circle. There was also a Jewish Community group which allowed reposting of my blogs on their Facebook page.

I lost a few friends and experienced significant friction generally. But one insightful person cheered my quixotic mission by summing up my promotional personality, by saying – that I’d always known how to stand out in a crowd – and was good at it.

I thought that being measured in tone and factual in sources would protect me from dismissal. I thought some nuance towards a world-despised democracy would be welcome.

I was wrong — not because I wasn’t heard, but because perhaps, no one wanted to listen. Maybe I wasn’t controversial enough for the extremes, or orthodox enough for the insiders.

I wasn’t blogging for applause, adulation or allies. I was blogging because I believed it mattered — because something within me, and maybe Someone above and in me, nudged me forward. But for now, my evangelical aspirations and ecumenical intentions are quite exhausted…

Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.

“When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility that (Jesus) plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” Hebrews 12: 3.

NB None of my blogging journey in journalism would have been possible without the steady guidance of my teachers at Dún Laoghaire Further Education. Their patience helped transform a contrarian conscience into a fifty-blog series.

 

To read more of Louis Hemmings’ writing, visit https://louishemmings.substack.com/

 

Sources

1. https://www.nuj.org.uk/about-us/rules-and-guidance/code-of-conduct.html
2. https://ground.news/media-bias