A politician in Ireland has apologized after saying “the entire US economy is run by the Jews, by Israel” on the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.Dublin city councillor Punam Rane, of the Fine Gael party, made the comments during a council session.Speaking in a
debate calling on the Irish government to enact a bill banning trade with Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land, Rane said the US had emerged as the world’s only superpower following the collapse of the USSR, but said the US failed to “take a stance”.“America should have taken a stance, but how many of you know the entire US economy today is ruled by the Jews, by Israel. They will never be able to take a stance.”Another councillor, Conor Reddy, asked Rane to clarify her remarks, and she responded by saying, “I didn’t actually mean a particular community. But I’m just saying, today the US economy is ruled by the Israelis. It’s not wrong. They have worked hard for it. That’s [inaudible] what I’m saying. But what I’m saying is that [the] US is unable to take a stance today because [of] their financial dependency. That’s all I’m saying.”In an
X post on October 8, Rane said: “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.” Credit: Dublin City Council via Storyful