Opinion
16 Jul 25

U.S. Ambassador to Israel asks "Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness?" over proposed bill

The Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade meeting on July 15. Photo: Oireachtas/www.oireachtas.ie.

"Sober up Ireland!" Ambassador Huckabee wrote.

In a bizarre post on X this morning, U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticised Ireland's proposed bill to prohibit imports of goods from Israeli settlements.

The Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025 would make any import from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine an offence under the Customs Act 2015.

"Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication?" Huckabee wrote.

"Sober up Ireland!"

Huckabee tagged the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and told Irish politicians to "say you’re sorry!"

Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness & propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication? It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. Sober up Ireland! Call @IsraelMFA & say you’re sorry! https://t.co/aiOcmCQWZ8

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 16, 2025

Huckabee's comments come amid a series of meetings held by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade about the bill.

Yesterday, the Committee held a meeting attended by the Ireland Israel Alliance, the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Sadaka, the Ireland-Palestine Alliance. Former Minister for Justice Alan Shatter claimed the bill was antisemitic, an accusation which Committee chair John Lahart of Fianna Fáil said was "hugely hurtful and slanderous."

The Committee is set to meet again today for a pre-legislative scrutiny of the bill. The meeting will be attended by representatives from Ibec, Ireland's largest business representation body, and the Institute of International and European Affairs.

Huckabee is a former FOX talk show host and Southern Baptist preacher, who served briefly in the Arkansas state government and attempted two failed presidential campaigns. In April of this year, he was sworn in as ambassador to Israel upon U.S. President Donald Trump's nomination.

In June, he lashed out at France’s advocacy for a recognised Palestinian state, saying France should "carve out a piece of the French Riviera" and create one.