HEALTH MINISTER JENNIFER Carroll MacNeill has responded after a four-year-old photograph of her with Israeli political candidate Yoseph Haddad resurfaced following his involvement in pro-IDF chants at Ireland\u2019s match against Israel.<\/p>\n
The photograph was taken during a visit by Haddad to Leinster House in February 2022.<\/p>\n
Haddad is running as a candidate for Amcha Yisrael,\u00a0a right-wing party that supports Netanyahu, in the upcoming\u00a0Israeli Knesset elections next month.<\/p>\n
Haddad, an Arab-Israeli who served in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and now advocates for Israel through social media and international speaking engagements, was among Israeli supporters at Sunday\u2019s match in Hungary.<\/p>\n
Ireland won the game 3-0 following days of controversy over whether the fixture should proceed.<\/p>\n
Following the match, Haddad posted footage from among Israeli supporters in which chants in support of the IDF could be heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, we lose in football, but where we don\u2019t lose?\u201d Haddad said, before answering: \u201cIDF. We always win.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe the Irish football team beat us on the football field, but they will never, ever break the Israeli spirit,\u201d he added, as he then joined the crowd in chanting \u201cIDF\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a separate post accompanying footage from the match, Haddad wrote: \u201cIsrael\u2019s national football team lost to Ireland\u2019s national team on the pitch, but before the antisemites celebrate too much \u2013 remember, the IDF will defeat the terrorists they support!\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s national football team lost to Ireland\u2019s national team on the pitch, but before the antisemites celebrate too much- remember, the IDF will defeat the terrorists they support! pic.twitter.com\/yTfLxQulJf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \u05d9\u05d5\u05e1\u05e3 \u05d7\u05d3\u05d0\u05d3 – Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) September 27, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n His appearance at the match and previous visit to Leinster House were raised by opposition TDs today.<\/p>\n In a statement to The Journal today, Carroll MacNeill said the photograph of Haddad and herself should not be portrayed as representing her position on Israel and Palestine.<\/p>\n She said she had joined both the Oireachtas Palestinian Friendship Group and the Israeli-Irish Parliamentary Group in 2020 because she supported Ireland\u2019s longstanding position of pursuing a two-state solution.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was within that context of parliamentary engagement and dialogue that we met with a wide range of voices and facilitated robust discussion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Carroll MacNeill said her position on Gaza was clear, backing the words used by Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin at the UN last week.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation in Gaza remains an affront to all that is decent. I utterly condemn the actions of the Israeli government,\u201d Carroll MacNeill said.<\/p>\n She also pointed to her support for Ireland\u2019s recognition of Palestine, her work to \u201camplify Palestinian voices and support those affected by the conflict\u201d, and her involvement in welcoming Palestinian families who travelled to Ireland for medical treatment over the past 18 months.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is always fair to ask questions of politicians,\u201d Carroll MacNeill said.\n<\/p>\n It is not balanced to portray the meaning of a photograph taken at a point in time as something that it is not.<\/p>\n Haddad visited Leinster House on 24 February 2022 after then-Ceann Comhairle Se\u00e1n \u00d3 Feargha\u00edl agreed to a request from the Ireland Israel Alliance for him to address interested members of the Oireachtas.<\/p>\n In a statement to The Journal today, \u00d3 Feargha\u00edl said a \u201crelatively small number\u201d of TDs and senators attended the event, including members of both the Israeli and Palestinian parliamentary friendship groups.<\/p>\n \u201cThe meeting was held in the context of Ireland\u2019s long-established support for a two-state solution,\u201d \u00d3 Feargha\u00edl said, adding that it took place \u201cwell before the commencement of the current unjustifiable hostilities in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n Those present heard Haddad\u2019s address in the AV Room at Leinster House and took part in a question-and-answer session.<\/p>\n Haddad subsequently appeared by video link before the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee on 5 April 2022 to discuss the situation in the region at that time.<\/p>\n The photograph, which has now resurfaced, shows Carroll MacNeill and Haddad together outside Leinster House during Haddad\u2019s in-person visit.<\/p>\n Speaking in the D\u00e1il days after Haddad\u2019s visit in March 2022, she said she belonged to both groups because of her interest in conflict resolution and desire to see Israelis and Palestinians \u201cthrive and live well side-by-side\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Carroll MacNeill told The Journal in 2024 that she was no longer involved with either group<\/a>, saying she had automatically ceased to be a member when she became a minister of state.<\/p>\n Opposition criticism<\/p>\n Haddad\u2019s appearance at Sunday\u2019s match and his previous visit to Leinster House were raised several times in the D\u00e1il today.<\/p>\n People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett criticised the government and Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for leaving players to decide whether they were willing to play the fixture and praised goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, who withdrew from the squad ahead of the match.<\/p>\n Describing the Israeli regime as a \u201cdeath cult\u201d, PBP leader Richard Boyd Barrett says the Irish government and the FAI \u201cshould hang their heads in shame\u201d for allowing the Nations League fixtures to go ahead. pic.twitter.com\/SQT5hZHLWJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) September 29, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Referring to the pro-IDF chants, Boyd Barrett said: \u201cThe person leading those chants in the stadium had been invited into that room right behind you here in the D\u00e1il by the person who\u2019s currently the Minister for Health, Yoseph Haddad.\u201d<\/p>\n Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger also raised the footage during Leaders\u2019 Questions.<\/p>\n Coppinger said the Irish team had been sent into a \u201ccauldron of racial abuse\u201d, referring to reported monkey chants directed at Ireland striker Adam Idah<\/a> as well as chants in support of the IDF.<\/p>\n \u201cA video was circulated showing Yoseph Haddad, who apparently was brought into Leinster House by the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, saying that Israel may lose the football but the IDF always wins,\u201d Coppinger said.<\/p>\n Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin pushed back against Coppinger\u2019s argument that withdrawing from the fixture would matter to Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does not matter to Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu could not give a toss whether Ireland plays a soccer match or not, so let us be a bit real,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n Boyd Barrett then interjected: \u201cWhy did they send Yoseph Haddad there then?\u201d<\/p>\n The Ireland and Israel teams are due to meet again on Sunday<\/a>, with Ireland\u2019s nominal home fixture being played behind closed doors at a neutral venue in Serbia.<\/p>\n