Dublin councillor apologises for claiming US economy is ‘ruled by the Jews’

A Dublin city councillor has apologised for claiming “the entire US economy is ruled by the Jews, by Israel”.

Cllr Punam Rane made the statement during a discussion on Israel and the West Bank.

In response to the backlash, Rane retracted her comments in a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying: “I completely withdraw my comments made at last night’s city council meeting in relation to a motion on the Occupied Territories Bill. It was wrong, and I fully apologise for it.”

In her attempts to clarify, Rane later stated that she did not mean to refer to a specific community but instead suggested that the US economy was influenced by Israelis, adding that the US is financially dependent and unable to take a firm stance on the matter.

During the meeting, Rane had spoken about the shift in global power dynamics, referring to the US as the sole superpower following the dissolution of the USSR. She then stated that the US could not take a strong stance on Palestine because of what she described as Jewish or Israeli control over the American economy.

Her comments were challenged by fellow councillor Conor Reddy from People Before Profit, who urged her to clarify her remarks, emphasising that “identifying one religious group over another is inflammatory” and that the US’s policies towards Israel are driven by politicians in Washington, not by any one religious or ethnic group.

Rane now faces potential disciplinary action from her party, Fine Gael, which described her comments as “unacceptable” and referred the matter to the party’s disciplinary procedures.

The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland said: “Comments like this have led to Ireland being labelled as the most antisemitic country in Europe.”