https://arab.news/9qgdr
- Matthew Brodsky sparked outrage for his inflammatory remarks, raising concerns about promotion of extremist views in US political circles
- Irish PM Simon Harris says that Brodsky’s attack is ‘disgusting’
LONDON: Former White House adviser Matthew Brodsky has been suspended from X (formerly Twitter) after posting a tweet suggesting that Israel should “drop napalm” on Irish peacekeeping forces stationed in Lebanon.
Brodsky, a senior fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy and former director of policy at the Jewish Policy Center, sparked outrage with his inflammatory remark: “Israel should carpet bomb the Irish area and then drop napalm over it.”
The tweet, which has since been removed, included a map showing the location of Irish peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon, who recently refused to comply with Israeli Defense Forces evacuation orders.
The former adviser to the Trump administration’s Middle East peace team and the White House’s Israeli-Palestinian peace team has been widely criticized for the comments, raising concerns about the influence of hard-line Zionist ideologues on US foreign policy.
Brodsky, who has lived and studied in Israel, has previously suggested the use of napalm, a firebomb mixture notoriously used by US forces during the Vietnam War, against both Lebanese forces and the Houthis.
His repeated advocacy for the use of such weapons has been condemned as promoting extreme views and fostering further polarization within US political circles.
Critics argue that his statements are an attempt to promote Jewish supremacism, with fears they could inflame tensions and undermine American diplomatic efforts in the Middle East.
Brodsky is currently working with two Republican candidates running for US Congress in Minnesota — Dalia Al-Aqidi and John Nagel. While Al-Aqidi has distanced herself from Brodsky’s comments, Nagel has yet to issue a statement.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, who was in Washington DC, meeting US President Joe Biden, condemned Brodsky’s remarks as “the most disgusting thing” and “entirely inappropriate.”
He described the comments as “despicable,” particularly in light of the recent escalation in violence near the peacekeepers’ base.
“Our peacekeepers are doing an extraordinary job, and have been for many decades. I think everybody in Ireland is very proud of them,” Harris said.
On Thursday, the UN issued a statement confirming that two UNIFIL peacekeepers were injured after an IDF tank fired at an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqura, southern Lebanon.
The statement also noted that other areas were targeted and that IDF soldiers deliberately disabled the position’s perimeter-monitoring cameras.