Question re NI and the Middle East

[AZOffaly]

I was just looking at a post on facebook there from LAD, and it brought to mind a question I'd been meaning to ask here for a while. It showed a loyalist area (Cluan place I think?) festooned with UVF flags, Union Flags and the Israeli flag. At various times around Belfast and nationalist gatherings, I've seen the Palestinan flag flown. I don't think I've ever seen the situation reversed, where an Israeli flag flew at a Nationalist gathering, or a Palestine flag at a Unionist event.

Now I'm not aware of any historical reason for this, so forgive my ignorance. I always thought that the Nationalist/Palestine link might be out of sympathy/identification with a similarly occupied people, as Nationalists would see it, but I am unsure as to why the Israelis would be a cause celebré for the Loyalists/Unionist hardliners. Is it because they are the 'opposite team' to the one supported by the Nationalists (apologies if that is trite), or is there some connection through religion/the lost tribe of David etc etc?

[Hardy]

I asked this here a few years ago, AZ and the answers, amazingly, amounted to "both" in response to the question in your last sentence (although the "lost tribe" connection is purely imaginary, of course).

[Ulick]

I was just looking at a post on facebook there from LAD, and it brought to mind a question I'd been meaning to ask here for a while. It showed a loyalist area (Cluan place I think?) festooned with UVF flags, Union Flags and the Israeli flag. At various times around Belfast and nationalist gatherings, I've seen the Palestinan flag flown. I don't think I've ever seen the situation reversed, where an Israeli flag flew at a Nationalist gathering, or a Palestine flag at a Unionist event.

Now I'm not aware of any historical reason for this, so forgive my ignorance. I always thought that the Nationalist/Palestine link might be out of sympathy/identification with a similarly occupied people, as Nationalists would see it, but I am unsure as to why the Israelis would be a cause celebré for the Loyalists/Unionist hardliners. Is it because they are the 'opposite team' to the one supported by the Nationalists (apologies if that is trite), or is there some connection through religion/the lost tribe of David etc etc?

There's myriad of reasons. Yes the native Irish in the north identify with the Palestian's who were also had their land stolen and generally made to fell persona non grata in their own land but the unionist & protestant link/affinity with Israel is more than being against what the others are for: E.g.:

- some unionists traditionally believed  they were descended from one of the lost tribes of Israel. Nelson McCausland I think espouses this.
- unionists are led in the most part by fundamental evangelical Protestant types who believe the day of judgement or whatever will come when the Jews have all returned to Israel and as such will do all in their power to support the Zionist regime in Israel. This explicit support filters down to the 'unwashed' as something they're traditionally supposed to do.
- as the former colonial power Britain is a close ally to Israel especially in arms trading. Unionists naturally believe supporting Israel is the British thing to do. Kind of how they supported the racist regimes in South Africa and Rhodesia.

[southdown]

This may answer some Questions, you may also see a board member too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71xFuIiXMZw

[deiseach]

I think the overriding issue is feeling an affinity with the enemies of themmuns. In the days when I used frequent OWC, you'd occasionally see an embittered rant against Athletic Bilbao and their Basque-only policy. It was comical to see Loyalist types developing a sudden respect for the minutiae of European employment legislation.