We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
IT BEGAN ON A CHRISTMAS DAY – and for the next 14 days the sea saga off the south-west coast of Ireland was to grip the whole western world.
It was the Chilean Mine Rescue of its time – the dying days of 1951 and the first ten of 1952.
Every day, the radio and newspaper reports became longer, more detailed and more excited as everyone — from small boys to grandparents — kept watch to learn what might be the fate of the stricken freighter Flying Enterprise and its heroic skipper, Captain Kurt Carlsen.
The ship that was to inspire such massive media coverage was an ordinary 6,700 ton cargo ship that would by now be long scrapped and forgotten had it not sailed into the worst storm to hit the Atlantic in 35 years. It was sailing from Hamburg in Germany bound for New York with a cargo of pig iron and furniture. On board were 40 crew and 9 passengers.
The Flying Enterprise was 300 miles off the southwest coast of Ireland on Christmas Day when it was hit by huge waves driven by a 100 mph gale. Crew and passengers were tossed violently from side to side. The ship battled on, but on December 27th the pounding of the seas took its toll: the freighter cracked right across the deckhouse and down one side.
One of its holds filled with water and it began to list badly.
The Enterprise had been driven by the force 12 winds well north of the traffic lanes. The captain, 37-year-old Danish-born Kurt Carlsen tried to steer it back to where other ships might be able to come to its assistance.
His requests for help were heard, and two U.S. Navy vessels – a destroyer and a transporter rushed to the area. The crew and passengers prepared to jump into the freezing sea: each passenger to be accompanied by a crewman. They were all safely picked up and taken aboard a ship bound for Rotterdam.
That left just one man on board – Captain Kurt Carlsen. He declared that he was staying with his ship – and that was when the world began to pay attention.
Reading about it in the old newspaper files of the time one can see how the story grew and grew. A few days after Christmas there is a one-paragraph mention of the Flying Enterprise – among several other ships that were in peril on the high seas in that awesome winter weather.
Then it began to get individual attention as the headlines began to proclaim: “Lone Captain Stays With His Ship”.
Day by day the story grew as the New Year of 1952 dawned and the Enterprise remained afloat, though listing even more than 60 degrees. By now it was getting six-column front page treatment, with aerial pictures that showed Carlsen on the deck, the ship looking tiny amid the mountainous waves.
There was no television in those days, but the story could have been written for the newsreel companies, who supplied cinemas worldwide with news events. This one was probably better than the main features from Hollywood – and in Captain Kurt Carlsen it had the very personification of cool, calm hero.
There was hardly any accessible food or drink left on board the wallowing Enterprise. Its main engines had stopped and what light there was on board came from batteries. But Captain Carlsen reported by radio to the US transporter Golden Eagle (skippered by one William E. Donahue) that he was contentedly dining on currant buns, some beer and Rhine wine. He confessed to being “a little tired” but that otherwise everything was “fine and dandy”. He quipped that he had no alarm clock and would try not to disturb the US crew unduly. They later got a messenger line to him and sent over coffee, cigarettes and magazines. Before that his only reading matter had been a book “The Seaman and the Law” (probably the driest material on board).
His mother, meanwhile, was now being interviewed, telling reporters that her son, who had emigrated to America in 1938, had always been “a very good boy, but very obstinate”.
New storm
The second chapter of the Flying Enterprise saga started on January 2nd when the tug Turmoil set off from Falmouth in England to try to rendezvous with Carlsen and tow his ship to safety.
No other tug in the vicinity could take on this challenge: the 1,136 ton Turmoil was what we would now call a “state of the art” tug, the fastest and biggest on this side of the world. It had been unavailable until then because it was busy towing a storm-hit tanker into Falmouth.
A new storm began to blow up as the Turmoil set out. Its skipper was Ted Parker – but it was the Turmoil’s first mate, Kenneth Dancy (27) who was to gain his own slice of fame in the next few days.
By 4 January the newspaper headlines were proclaiming “Tug Now Alongside”. By now no elaboration on those three words was necessary. Everyone in Europe and America knew which tug it was and of what it was alongside. There were wars and rebellions and political developments going on elsewhere, but for some reason the eyes of the world were fixed on one small corner of the Atlantic and two small ships bobbing side by side.
The Turmoil made several attempts to get a line on board. Captain Carlsen leaned out precariously, holding the rail with one hand as he tried to grasp the line, but to no avail.
Then Kenneth Dancy made his epic leap.
The Turmoil had edged as close as possible to the other ship and First Mate Dancy (whose favourite hobby was knitting) jumped across the gap between them, bringing with him the tow line. The newspaper headline writers went wild – and the deed was later flashed on millions of cinema screens – where audiences would queue – not to see the main feature, but for the thrilling newsreel.
Now a hawser could be reeled aboard the Flying Enterprise and it could be towed to shore. But where? Falmouth was favoured, but Bantry Bay was closer. And Brest in France was also in range. The tug company and the Enterprise’s owners, opted for Falmouth. The two ships set out, followed by a flotilla of other craft, and shadowed overhead by ’planes. It was now ten days since the Enterprise had put to sea – but its story was not over yet.
For the next three days they inched closer to Cornwall. Each days’s mileage was reported and avidly read. “100 Miles To Go” … “36 Hours From Port” … “57 Miles Off Falmouth” ….
It was no longer a case of whether Captain Carlsen would heroically go down with his ship in the old tradition: he and Ken Dancy would probably be rescued if it sank – but by now everyone wanted the Flying Enterprise to survive. And it was listing at nearly 80 degrees.
Falmouth was filling up. Over 300 reporters and cameramen had taken up every available hotel and boarding house room in the seaside town. Irish newspapers joined in, no longer satisfied to simply print the daily agency reports. Kevin O’Kelly of the Irish Press (and later of RTE) was among them, sending back colourful descriptions of a town keeping vigil. The seafront was swathed in flags and bunting, waiting to greet two storybook heroes.
Then on day 13 the towline snapped. The Flying Enterprise was once more adrift.
Could a new line be got to her in time? “Carlsen In Peril”, screamed one headline,
(forgetting about Kenneth Dancy) but the skipper himself commented laconically that it was “nothing very alarming” and said that they would both try to get some rest.
But the Flying Enterprise was doomed.
It began to list further.
Carlsen and Dancy donned their lifejackets and walked out along the sloping funnel and jumped into the angry waves. They were quickly hauled aboard the Turmoil just before the Enterprise slid below the waves. The saga had lasted 14 days. The ship had been 30 miles off land.
Kurt Carlsen became a world hero. He was feted in London, and went home to New York to be greeted with a ticker tape parade on 5th Avenue. (He lived in New Jersey with his wife Agnes and two young daughters.)
He passed through Shannon Airport on the way and was presented with a lifebuoy from the city of Limerick by Lord Mayor Stevie Coughlan.
Captain Carlsen told the Irish reporters that Bantry had not been an option as a safe haven, because the weather dictated otherwise. He also joked that he was a little nervous facing into his first ever transatlantic flight. And he might well have had good reason – the plane had to turn back to Shannonbecause of ice on its wings. The New York ticker tape parade had to be postponed for a day – but then it rivalled the welcome given to the returning war hero General Douglas McArthur.
Kurt Carlsen was somewhat taken aback by it all. “I wasn’t able to sleep last night thinking about this”, he said.
Now I realise just how much trouble I’ve stirred up.
Éanna Brophy is a journalist and former Sunday Press columnist. His novel, Crossfires — set in Dublin in the final days of World War 2 — is available to buy on Kindle.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
lol why the hell would any Irish politician support Israel?
They bullied our soldiers in Lebanon on peace keeping missions
Mossad has illegally used Irish passports in an assignation mission
Staff of the Israeli foreign ministry have stated that we’re the most radical country in Europe.
Intifada = Dead Israeli civilians. Paul called for this .He is gloating on his personal Facebook page. Intifada means terror, It means suicide bombings, it means jihad, it means blowing up cafe’s and buses.
Yup, regardless of whatever side your on in the debate, you can hardly see the continuation of violence as a good thing.
Exactly, Killjoy. We all want to see a peaceful process and a peaceful solution. However, this does mean that BOTH sides need to drop all pre-conditions before beginning. Israel needs to stop building settlements, and the Palestinians need to stop calling for the destruction of the Zionists.
That’s it Micky. Zionists. Sweet Jesus. Are people still propagating this crap?
Why would anyone who is anti-Israel have JFK as their profile pic? Oh wait he’s the first Irish-Catholic pres. I can’t dislike him even though my ideology is totally different from his! Jeeze I wonder why Israelis think Ireland is Anti-Semitic?? Limerick trials, aiding/support for Nazis, and murdering of Belfast Jews by the Provos. You don’t think they report this?? On top of it the obsession of Israel and Jews by Irish politicians. Though the Israelis misinterpret this when thinking that it’s mainly motivated by anti-Semitism. It’s a mere displacement of anti-Ulster Protestant hatred. The adoption of the Israeli-Arab conflict was started by the Provos to paint Ulster Protestants as foreigners/land occupiers. The obsession with Israel in Ireland shows the racist/tribalist side of Ireland and is disgusting.
Fcuk “Palestine”.
It doesnt mean terror you propagandist
Kevin..please dont insult us with the lazy “anti-semitic” propaganda. A semite can be and are christians also..so Ireland is hardly an anti-christian state now!!??!?!?
I smell Hasbara all over this thread
as Donald replied I didn’t even know that any body can earn $7035 in 4 weeks on the internet. have you seen this page… www.Can99.com
No Robert it’s because I find the fact he, a man left with many crippling illnesses from birth, rose to the most prominent in the United States.
And lol at you totally avoiding any argument from my point.
You fool, you obviously don’t understand what “anti-Semitic” means and how the term came into usage. While thinking you’re all clever while rambling how Christians, Martians, etc. are “Semites”. Jews aren’t “Semites”. Arabic and Hebrew along with other languages are Semitic; that is not genetics. No one is Muslim or Christian by genetics like Jews are.
Murdering of Belfast jews by the provos? Right, please show me an example of this infamous anti-semitic killing spree. So infamous it has never been mentioned by a single Jewish person. Or any unionist. Or anybody. Ever
Adam, read your tweet again and you will realise how pathetic it is.
Sssssshhhh no tears
If the Palestinians had Tanks, Warplanes, DIME weapons, White Phosphorus, 2000 lb Bombs etc the Israelis might for a change say they were in a fair fight..
Intifada (انتفاضة intifāḍah) is an Arabic word which literally means “shaking off”, though it is popularly translated into English as “uprising”, “resistance”, or “rebellion”. Intifāḍat (“uprising of”), not to be confused with the Arabic plural intifāḍāt (انتفاضات). It is often used as a term for popular resistance to oppression.
If they had all of these the Israelis would still wipe the floor with these cretins.
The truth is most Irish people don’t really know or care much about Israel or Palestine.
It simply makes some people feel better about themselves to say “bad Israel” and “poor Palestinians.” How complex the situation is doesn’t enter the equation.
Being jewish has absolutely nothing to do with genetics. Being a jew because of it’s genetics implies a jjewish race. So you are on the line of Hitler and his band. He spoke of the jewish race aswell, although it is possible for any non-jew to convert him/herself to the jewish creed.
But before considering that you should read Professor Israel Shahak
about Jewish “Religion” : Jewish History, Jewish Religion, The Weight of Three Thousand Years.
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/jewhis.htm
I don’t think you will be so fond to convert to jewishness after reading that
The Commander of the Warsaw uprising Marek Edelman felt that Palestinians had a right to arm themselves against the Israelis too.
Israel has a population of under 7 million where as the Islamic nations that surround it (and are loosely allied) have a combined population of over 300 million. Islamic doctrine says that any land that has ever been under Muslim rule but is ruled by infidels must be returned to Islamic rule. & that includes most of the Balkans & Spain. Arab states occupy 99.3 % of the area of the Middle East and all have Muslim majorities and governments. Israel, even with the West Bank included, occupies less than 1 % of the Middle East. But no matter how small, its existence cannot be tolerated by Islamists. Right now in the West Bank, Salam Fayad, the PM, is building the infrastructure of a state for the Palestinian people and there is relative calm there. It will take time but the basis for a future state that is now being created and will hopefully emerge in due course. Gaza on the other hand is in chaos. Hamas is, as their charter points out, not just opposed to Israel, but to all Jews globally. As things stand, negotiations and compromise with Hamas are impossible.
You could easily find Arabs who say it the other way around as well…
So does the UN.
“The struggles of peoples under colonial and alien domination and racist regimes for the implementation of their right to delf-determination and independence is legitimate and in full accordance with the principles of international law”
– United Nations Resolution 3013
Remember this as you read the comments Islamists will try to block real criticism of Islam by controlling the narrative. Sharia doesn’t allow freedom any questioning of Islam, and its supporters will try to block your viewpoint by claiming that any criticism is racism.
Meanwhile Nada Al-Ahdal, the 11-year-old Yemeni girl who garnered worldwide sympathy when a MEMRI TV video, in which she said she was fleeing a forced marriage, went viral, is now facing death threats from Islamists, according to her uncle. In an interview with Al-Hurra TV, Abd Al-Salam Al-Ahdal, who raised Nada since she was a toddler, said that Islamist groups connected to the Muslim Brotherhood “want Nada to disappear, along with the entire problem.”
What the Israelis are doing today is akin to what was done to us during the plantations. Removing an indigenous people from their land based on religion. No-one intervenes properly because of residual guilt about the holocaust. The US won’t do anything because Israel is their only real ally in the middle east. The fact is, if a country anywhere else in the world was doing what Israel is doing NATO would be bombing the sh*t out of them in about 10 mins.
@Kevin N
“You could easily find Arabs who say it the other way around as well…”
but Kevin I found one of the greatest Jewish heros, a leader of one of the most iconic battles against the Nazis, commander of the Jewish fighting organisation, who says it this way round. He said that the spirit of their resistance to the Nazis belongs to the Palestinians and not to the Israelis.
@ThomasFrancisMeagher
You’re argument is as to why Israelis should arm themselves. Most of it Valid.
On the other side .. your average Palestinian who is dominated by Israel would feel the same intimidation. Also they are merely pawns to other Arab states …. few who have the security of Palestinians near the top of their agenda.
Just like the Israelis feel pressurised, so do Palestinians.
X V -TFM
And your point is?
Blah, blah, blah, change the record
In 2002, in the middle of the second intifada, Edelman wrote a letter to Palestinian resistance leaders. Though the letter criticized the suicide bombers, its tone infuriated the Israeli government and press. According to The Guardian, “He wrote in a spirit of solidarity from a fellow resistance fighter, as a former leader of a Jewish uprising not dissimilar in desperation to the Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories.” He addressed his letter to “To all the leaders of Palestinian military, paramilitary and guerrilla organizations – To all the soldiers of Palestinian militant groups”. This set up a howl of rage in the Israeli press, especially that Edelman had consciously used the terms that described the structures of the resistance movement in Warsaw.
Zionism Boycotts the Funeral of Marek Edelman
A sad farewell to Marek Edelman – the last surviving Commander of the Bund. The article below describes his funeral in Warsaw, where he was buried, although he lived in Poland’s second city, Lodz.
It is noticeable that apart from the attendance of Shevach Weiss, a previous Israeli Ambassador to Poland, in his personal capacity, there was no representation from the ‘Jewish’ State or any ‘national’ institution of Zionism.
Having tried to claim the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising for itself, despite the fact that Zionism from 1933 onwards collaborated with Nazism wherever it could, and opposed resistance as ‘unZionist’, in particular in breaking the anti-Nazi economic and cultural boycott, [see Edwin Black's 'The Transfer Agreement for details] it found Edelman an embarrassment.
It is written in the UN charter that every oppressed people have the right to defend themself, not excluding armed resistance. Itis not written in the charter that suicide bombing is forbidden. Besides , the jews themselves were the first back in the thirties and forties to commit bomb attacks against civilians in then British occupied Palestine.
So what are you talking about?
Damn right. Sickening what the Zionists are allowed to get away with.
You do know that Zionism is simply a term describing the right of Jews to a homeland and that not all Zionists support the actions of the IDF against the Palestinians, right? If you know this it means you support the complete destruction of Israel and it’s eradication from the face of the earth as well as acknowledging that you believe out of all the nations on the planet, only the Jews don’t deserve a homeland. In other words, you are a racist for singling out one ethnicity above all others.
I’m sure Stephen is very apologetic for not making it more obvious to you about which particular “flavour” of zionism he meant….
There are many.
Damn right? Why, oh why, do you want yet more violence in that region? Let’s give peace talks a proper chance. Coming from Ireland especially, we should be against violence and for a structured peace process.
Agreed
So what you’re saying, Tony, is that sweeping statements and generalisations are fine as long as the person making them understands, but who cares about the audience. It’s generalisations like those which have ensured the Irish people haven’t a clue about the difference between Jews (an ethno-religious group), Israelis (citizens of Israel, including Jews, Arab Muslims, Arab Christians, Bedouins and Druze) and Zionists (who don’t necessarily live in Israel, may or may not be Jewish, and may or may not recognise Israel). As an aside, the attitude of Irish people in general in supporting more deaths and murder is appalling. I don’t recall the same bloodlust for the Irish against the British during the troubles, but because this is so far away it’s suddenly fine. What this boils down to for us as a society is that the Irish are not just racist against Jews; they’re also racist against Palestinians too. Why else do they keep calling for war and violence?
Brian – do you read what you post?!
You put words in my mouth and, in parallel give out about generalising?
Pfff…
I think anyone who knows anything about the conflict understands that Palestinians have been treated like dirt. As a nation, Israel’s actions have been appalling.
Many Palestinian actions deserve to be condemned of course but the Israeli reaction has been disproportionate in the extreme. If you lived on the Gaza strip I’m sure you would feel completely justified in defending yourself.
I do read what I post. I didn’t put any words in your mouth. Would you care to enlighten me on what words they were?
I don’t really want to get into such “tennis” but it’s pretty obvious from your first line. “So what you’re saying is…..”
Well you said it should have been obvious about the flavour of Zionism. Which means you don’t believe people need to be clear about what they say, ipso facto, you support generalisations. And I have yet to meet an anti-Israeli who actually knows the difference between the three groups I outlined. So, I stand by my belief that we should not be conflating the three groups.
Brian – again, no I did NOT say that it should be obvious.
Now you’re going beyond giving a point of information and turning to anal retentiveness.
To me, it felt obvious what was meant and, seeing as you want everyone to be so specific, there are more categories of zionist than you have highlighted.
I take your point that the term may be misused by people to lump murderous palestine haters in with those who just want a peaceful homeland, but it would have saved you a bit of effort to just have made the effort to say that in the first place.
No, YOU are a racist by saying that the jews is the only relgion which has the right to have a state of their own. You would be a racist too if you think that in Ireland only Catholics should live and no Protestants or Muslims.
In Nazi Germany it was only allowed to live there if you were a Nazi. So th eisraelis are in fact copying Nazi Germany with a different ideology.
Yes, and I am favor for eradicating israel from the face of the earth in being the only country in the world solely reserved for people with the jewish creed. Yes < and I am in favor for Palestine in which Christians and Jews and Muslims and atheists live peacefull together with equal rights for all.
Are you against the latter?
Now we are talking about time Ireland stood up fir the Palestinian people instead of remaining quiet while Israel carries out genocide .. Our president was quite vocal while a td on the suffering of the Palestine people maybe its time he started to speak up … Goddam Zionists giving the Jewish people a bad name
You really need to look up actual genocide events around the world. Your language lets any pertinent points you might have down.
Genocide, you have proof I assume because the UN might wanna hear about it.
Genocide????? What exactly is your definition of genocide? Since 1948 when the State of Israel was recognised by the UN, Palestinian Arabs have increased in number from approx 800,000, to approx 7,000,000. In 1948 following the Israeli War of Independence, approx. 700,000 Palestinian Arabs became refugees. In the following years, approx. 900,000 Jews from Arab lands became refugees too, ‘encouraged’ to leave those countries. Do they have a right of return?
Today, there is not a single Jewish refugee from that time; there are however hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arab refugees, along with their families. Why? Why has not the Arab League absorbed it’s brother Arabs?
Well said, Thomas.
I know exactly what genocide is . In this case Illegal settlements designed to fence in the Palestinian people they living in an effective prison.. As for the UN they fully aware my friend but we all the USA calls the shots when it comes to Israel and the terrorist acts … “The state of Israel ” don’t make me laugh handed to Rothschild by England & USA . Now don’t for one minute think I a problem with Jewish people I don’t .. Its Zionist …
Logic we are the chosen people we have suffered great injustice we have no homeland
I know lets take Palestine remove the Muslims from their land steal more than we should have and call them terrorists if they fight back
The Palestinian people does not exist. That according to the PLO chap Zahir Muhsein
seriously? must be the worst attempt at genocide in history if the Palestinian population is about ten times what it was sixty years ago. You could at least try and get your terminology right.
X V – TFM
cut and paste
Everyone wants peace
They the jews, didn;t fly out of Arab countries. The Shabak coerced the to make Alya ( return to Zion ) by attacking jewish property with bombs and hold ups.
See ; The Lavon Affair and Naeim Giladi
Everyone should have the right to defend themselves against an aggressor and to arm themselves to do this, if necessary.
Except Israel of course you mean.
Israel, of course have the right to defend themselves. Their treatment (as a nation) of palestinians is not limited to defense though.
If I didn’t say that, you may take it that it’s absolutely NOT what I meant. You’re trying to put words in my mouth…what are you on?
See my message as is written in the UN charter. You talk about if necessary”"? After more then 60 years of delaying, false promisses, broken promisses, continuing creating facts on the ground it is necessary.
It is an absolute joke to take israeli committment to peace seriously. There is none. The only thing they are interested in is “Greater Israel from the NIle to the Euphrat.
Read Ilan Papé, The ethnic cleansing of Palestine and you are bettter informed as anyone.
And read this: http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/jewhis.htm. Then you know with which kind of phenomen we have to do in the ME.
Paul is an honourable person dedicated to this cause, so much so, that he is going to resign from the EU and go over to Israel to lead the new intifada, Paul is not the type of person to suggest others put themselves in harms way while he sits back and reaps the publicity, no Paul is going to actually go and face down the IDF himself.
Others are all talk and great at fighting from afar, but our Paul is putting his words into actions. Well done Paul, a politician who does what he preaches, I wish there was more of him out there.
Excellent +100
maybe he should also suggest an Intefada here – as the politicians will not and are not interested in the people . Its about time – the only language they know.
Sorry, Mick. I meant to green thumb your comment, which I like a lot.
However, I hit the red one by accident.
Journal, this is not the first time I’ve said it, you NEED to introduce a reverse vote function!
No worries, I always red thumb anything I post myself.
I believe that’s been implemented since last update
Unfortunately, saltaroo, on my horrendous phone, I don’t have an app for access. I’m just on the laptop here.
Oh those nasty Israelis. Seriously – is this guy for real?
You need an iPhone. You can reverse the vote on the app.
Israel is an apartheid state they say! Well according to Kul Al-Arab, an Arab weekly, 83% of the citizens of the predominantly Arab city of Um Al-Fahm, located within the borders of Israel proper, proclaimed they would prefer to continue to live in Israel. The Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Ahmad Tibi, is an Arab. One of the country’s Supreme Court judges is an Arab. Every state-run company must have at least one Arab Israeli on its board of directors. Arabs are also represented in the army including many officers such as Major General Hussain Fares, Major General Yosef Mishlav and Lieutenant Colonel Amos Yarkoni. Israeli Arabs are free to live, work, socialise, etc., just like any other Israeli citizen. Arabic is also an official language in Israel. That doesn’t sound like apartheid to me.
Flotilla! That flotilla was not interested in helping the people of Gaza. It refused to land the cargoes in Israel or in Egypt and have them passed across the border after inspection. Rather, the goal was to help Hamas. A key role in the flotilla was played by the IHH, an Islamist group that has been involved in terrorism.
These ships were intercepted by Israel’s navy and after warnings were seized. On all of the ships this happened without any injuries except on the Mavi Marmara, where radical jihadists with weapons had sworn to fight. They attacked the arriving soldiers, injured several, and took a couple of soldiers hostage. At that time the soldiers opened fire and several Turkish citizens were killed.
Flotilla! That flotilla was not interested in helping the people of Gaza. It refused to land the cargoes in Israel or in Egypt and have them passed across the border after inspection.
You just need to press the thumb a second time and it reverses.
There is!
Peter, I don’t know about your laptop, but I have tried pressing the thumb a second, third…. hundreth time. It definitely does not reverse.
Ah. Sorry about that. It works on my iPhone and iPad. I don’t know why it should be different for laptops. Sorry.
X V
End Zionist apartheid arm a Palestinian
Israel has one of the most powerful military machines in the world. Why would Hamas continue to antagonise it by firing rockets at its civilians unless they wanted a reaction?
Hamas deliberately and cynically engineer conflict as a way of diverting attention away from Syria and Iran. It fires missiles from within inhabited civilian areas specifically to force retaliation that will cause casualties. Those casualties are then held up to the world as examples of Israeli aggression, and those who want to find fault with Israel are given a cause to promote. What’s the point of this? It’s just going to end up with lots of dead Israelis & dead Palestinians. Who wants more of this other than Paul Murphy?
LOL
@ TFM
1. Are you constantly plagarising other peoples posts or just post zionist propaganda filth under multiple accounts on this site?
2. Do you think demonstrating every single time that you are woefully capable of an original thought on the matter, or a capacity to make a point of your own, helps your agenda?
“The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct “Palestinian people” to oppose Zionism. For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan. ”
Zahir Muhsein,PLO executive 1977, has this changed somehow?
Sure israel should just ignore it then!?! No?
Wow Thomas, thats a lot of shite right there. You arent fooling anyone.
If the palestinians recognised the state of Israel it might help in trying to reach a proper peace settlement these socialist politicians are very slow to condemn Russia or China on human rights issues. Tibet doesn’t get much of a mention. Not on the socialist agenda.
People stand by America while they raise countries like Saudi Arabia on a high stool for there own gain. Works both ways.
Being anti-Israeli is the glamourous cause that unites D4 Socialists & IRA sympathisers who like ignoring facts & reality. 200,000 dead in Syria, thousands deaf in Iraq & Pakistan yet they don’t care, but it’s no fun because it can’t be blamed on the Jews. Most of these campaigners don’t know anything about Palestine or have interest in their future & just want an excuse for their anti-Israeli rubbish.
What complete and utter bullshit
Tomas, you’re still at it.
This being the person who is one of only a handful of
M.E.P.s we have he however is one that wasn’t elected by ONE single person in this country so how can anything utterance this individual make be held with any level of credence
fair play
I support a 2 state solution. This isnt helpful especially when this bleeding heart oaf will not be facing israel/palestinian bombs or bullets. Soundbite clown.
the two State solution is deader than dead .
One radical option is for a One State solution . This has some support from some – quite a lot of Jews – but Zionists want a one state solution – but a Jewish state .
The other idea [ a one state solution inc . Jews , Arabs etc ] is now the only one that can work without the destruction of the Palestinians
One state solution is even deader.
The two State solution is not dead. It’s the only possibility that could work.
Do you understand what “a Jewish state” is? It doesn’t mean a state exclusively for Jews. Look at Israel just now. There are plenty of Arabs, Christians, Druze etc. in public office, the military, senior positions. The idea of the Jewish State was solely to provide a place where Jews, for the first time in modern history, could live and avoid persecution based on their religion.
Personally, I like the idea of a one-state solution where they would all live in harmony, but the reality is, it won’t happen. It certainly wouldn’t be a “Jewish state” as Jews would then be the minority, but the Palestinians apparently don’t want to share any land with the Israelis at all. It has to be a two- state solution, reached by peaceful means.
No people ever needed a state of their own as much as the Jews , the problem is the price the Palestinians are paying to accommodate it. As for sharing the land , the Palestinians have already given up most of their country yet are still being squeezed out the scraps they have been left with. The twenty years since the Oslo accords have been used to pack hundreds of thousands more ‘settlers’ onto the West Bank in Jewish only settlements .
I dunno. The neighbours seem to be experimenting with a No State Solution. It’s not going all that well.
Still, it’s an impressive feat to make Jordan look like a well run country.
Fair points, Gavan. I have spoken out in the past against the continuous building of settlements and will continue to do so. There’s no doubt about it- this will need compromise on both sides.
The Palestinians already made their compromise, agreeing to have a state on 22% of their historic homeland. This historic compromise was rewarded with more West Bank colonies, invasions, and massacres in Gaza.
The Palestinians didn’t make the comprise. Arafat did. Not the same thing
This Paul Murphy is a complete w@nker .
How much is this extremist costing Ireland and who are the morons who elected him?
I could be wrong, but I think he just stepped into Joe Higgins’ seat, after the latter took a Dáil seat. Thus, nobody elected him.
No one elected him, he got the job from some guy who seemingly owned the seat and gifted it to Paul. A bit like the Royal family or the Haugheys handing over positions to their heirs.
He should stick to his job rather than attracting unnecessary controversy. The EU and Ireland have many problems that need solving and Israel isn’t one of them.
Dom, there is problems in Israel, of that there is no doubt, the EU parliament and the Paul’s of it should be helping both sides come to an agreement. However this is best done by political and diplomatic means, whereas calling for an intifada makes Paul seem tough, the only thing an intifada will lead to is the loss of life of innocent ordinary Palestinians and innocent ordinary Israelis.
Pitting the ordinary people who live both sides of a conflict against each other doesn’t work (God knows we should be experts on this), and making Paul tough guy statements doesn’t work either- Political influence properly exerted on both the Israeli and Palestinian Governments from the EU, is the only thing that will ease (not end) the shitebaggery going on out there.
Before Paul opened his publicity hungry mouth he may have been part of he solution, now he is one more part of the problem.
Pretty ironic that he inherited his position without election, given the usual socialist condemnation of hereditary positions such as royals etc..
;-)
We need more politicians and MEPS like Paul- ones with integrity, principle, sense of justice and not afraid to speak out.
Integrity is inciting others to die?
I bet this is Paul posting lol.
I don’t think calling for intifada displays integrity, principle or justice. What are you talking about?
Is Israel in Europe now, slightly outside of his remit if you ask me. Unless he was talking about the Eurovision.
Is Israel in Europe now”
no – but its in the ”West ” as is Australia, the ”West ” not being a geographical Unit .
I know many Israelis/Jews who get irritated if their confused as “white”.
My point is he’s an MEP, not a member of the Knesset. So as usual he doesn’t matter.
Well said Paul Murphy. Hear hear.
You going to bring your weaponary to the region too? Or are yiu happy to incite violence and likely death from the comfort of north west europe. Imbecile
If you don’t know what the First Intifada entailed, why comment. The First Intifada, that Paul speaks of, had very little to do with political violence.
I know it entailed a few thousand dead people. That’s enough to know this clowns words are poorly chosen from his safe distance
I totally agree with Paul Murphy’s stance on the Israeli/Palestine problem, but I think he should come out more in defence of the less well off Irish citizen’s and defeat this present FG/L government that are hell bent on crucifying people with unnecessary austerity.
Paul Murphy was never elected to be an MEP. He was simply nominated by fellow Socialist Joe Higgins TD when Higgins was elected to the Dail. Paul Murphy is a young immature man of extremist views who has gained a lot of bad publicity for Ireland and himself because of his support for the armed struggle of extremist Islamist fascist groups against both the social democratic State of Israel and moderate Palestinians who seek peace, justice and co-existence with Israel. People all over Europe are amazed that any Irish politician should advocate fanatical armed struggle in view of Ireland’s own recent history of fanatical armed struggle perpetrated by terrorist groups such as the IRA and the UVF. Let us hope that the electorate will vote for an end to Paul Murphy’s short but misguided political career should he ever actually stand for election as a Socialist (Pro Islamist Fanatical Terrorists and Murders of Innocent Children, Women and Civilians Red Army Faction).
And vote in such a moral compass like Michael Lowry or Bertie Ahern instead then yeah!?
At the end of the day the Murphy MEP wants others to fight to the last drop of their blood-not his-good luck to the Palestinians in their attempts to get a working Peace process-
Intifada doesn’t imply violence at all. The First Intifada consisted mainly of strikes and civil protest. You did know that, right?
Paul Murphy said he would not have a problem with Palestinians being armed against Israel soldiers-you did know that,right?- its wrote above- funny-I cant remember the Socialists being so hardline in Ireland in the 70s-80s-90s-against british soldiers in Ireland-you know-there own country-
Yes international law allows people who are militarily occupied to defend themselves militarily if they so choose. Does anyone disagree with this?
Check out what Chomsky has to say about US-Israeli Foreign Policy and Palestine. Make up your own mind after hearing this….
And in breaking news, crackpot Irish politician makes wildly outlandish rallying call to arms to a people he’s probably never had any real dealings with in a conflict no matter how much he researches he can only see it through the prism of the “outsider”….we all know f@#k all bout it boys and girls, we haven’t lived it….
In today’s other news, the EU gets round to banning Hezbollah, who carried out the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria.
Israel has tried many times to create a solution but has always been rejected by the palestinians, to state that israel isn’t interested in a peaceful solution is just false. I’m guessing this guy also roots for the like of unite against fascism
@joe six two
Why would you want to namecall somebody and personalise a political issue- stick to the facts.
The Guy is an Idiot, why else would he encourage terrorism and violence, those are the facts. Only a scatter brained nutjob would encourage the Palestinians to do such a thing.This idiot is one of the main reasons that there in no credible left wing in Irish politics; parrioting empty paroles without a realistic plan. Is that enough fact for you Fidelma.
If the Islamic factions are allowed to wipe out Israel they will aso destroy any evidence of Christianity in the area. This they are doing elsewhere where they have taken over.
His right,forget those Jews! Biased people,suppressing the Palestinian people!! Of course there always right taking over land that’s not there’s & have there big Allie in U.S. hmm.. Wonder why?!!if ye don’t research it
Son, you are illiterate.
I fail to see the connection between the headline and the article. While according to international law an oppressed people is fully entitle to “arm itself” against its oppressors, the first Palestinian Intifada was in fact unarmed – if you except the stones with which persecuted Palestinians confronted Israeli tanks and armoured cars. There is nothing exceptionable about Paul Murphy’s comments. On the other hand, Tory MP Charles Tannock seems to have nothing against the “futile and needless violence” of the Israeli armed forces and the armed illegal settlers. Oh, and the Jerusalem Post is indeed “a propaganda rag” – of the most virulent kind.
And you Sir are a Palestinians mouthpiece – of the most virulent kind
“I have done things that have put my life in danger but that is something I’m prepared to do,”
look sonny, going to a relatively safe country where the worst they’ll do to you is shove you in a cell and then deport you is not what ‘putting your life in danger’ is. Try going to Syria and fight for something there and tell us what it was like. Oh wait, you won’t be able to – you’ll have been buried in the desert somewhere.
No surprises there.
Popcorn
This headline could be rewritten as ‘Irish MEP has no problem with United Nations General Assembly Resolutions and the opinion of most sovereign states on the legitimacy of armed struggle’.
In many other places, Paul Murphy’s remarks would be considered entirely unremarkable. It is only the influence of pro-Israel propaganda -apparent in the headline- that makes people believe there is something exceptional about the idea Palestinians should use arms to defend themselves and liberate themselves from Israeli occupation domination.
Indeed, General Assembly Resolution A/RES/3246 (XXIX) of 29 November 1974
‘reaffirms the legitimacy of the peoples’ struggle for liberation from colonial and foreign domination and alien subjugation by all available means, including armed struggle’ and ‘strongly condemns all Governments which do not recognize the right to self-determination and independence of peoples under colonial and foreign domination and alien subjugation, notably the peoples of Africa and the Palestinian people’.
Alternatively, the headline could be rewritten as ‘The Journal has no problem with Israel’s illegal and brutal occupation of Palestinian land and does not believe Palestinians have the same rights as other peoples’.
Unelected guy advocates violence. His parents must be so proud.
Thats kinda like saying a bludgeon victim attacked their assailant’s cricket bat with their head!
Hennessy seems to be friends with Murphy. #Twitter.
Oh! Bollocks, not another Israel v Arab story ! My fingers are sore from the last one!!
Cheers Dom you made me smile regardless!
Shame on the journal for censorship !!
Free Palestine!
You’re right it is free and doing very well, especially if you are a member of the corrupt Fatah government in the West Bank or the terrorist Hamas one in Gaza. Not so good if you happen to be gay, atheist, Christian, female, disabled, a trade unionist or anti-government. But best to sweep those under the carpet, doesn’t fit in with the socialist narrative to have some things about their beloved Palestinians shown to the world. Things like gay men being beaten and thrown from the top of buildings to their deaths, opponents being tortured in prisons, Christians being tortured to convert, collaborators (anyone the government doesn’t like) being dragged behind motorbikes to their death, disabled people being hidden away in dark rooms or dumped in Israeli hospitals So yeah, Paul Murphy can back those thugs if he wants, give me the multicultural, religion and sexuality tolerant, anti-apartheid Israel any day.
Amazing concept! People have the right to armed struggle against a brutal occupier of their land.
I agree. Turks, Turkomans, Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Copts, Jews, Maronites, Assyro-Chaldeans, Circassians, Somalis, Armenians, Druze and numerous additional minor ethnic groups forming other significant populations in the Middle East and North Africa have the right to armed struggle against the demonstrably brutal occupation of the Arabs who invaded, occupied, killed, expelled, forcibly and by continual intimidation converted the non Arab, non Muslim inhabitants beginning with the 7th century.
It is, of course, the recipe for continual warfare and they are unlikely to win but hey the Chris Boyd supports it so it must be OK. Amazing concept!
I have a lot of respect for Paul Murphy. People don’t know, but the First Intifada was completely non-violent on the Palestinian side, despite heavy losses. Whenever a prominent non-violent movement begins to organize politically, Israel jails its leaders. Just look at all the political prisoners still locked up for daring to organize politically. Btselem.org, an Israeli human rights group, has excellent stats.
Unbelievable unless of course you define non violent in some special definition to excuse Palestinian aggression.
The non violent First Intifada ended with the following casualty figures.160 Israelis total dead of whom 100 were Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians. 2,162 Palestinians total dead
of which 1,087 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces, 75 Palestinians killed by Israeli civilians and approximately 1,000 Palestinians killed by Palestinians. The Palestinians killed so many of their own that a new word was coined: the INTRAFADA. Perhaps they were killed non violently?
These figures don’t include those injured in the non violent Intifada. More than 1,400 Israeli civilians were injured. I don’t have Palestinian figures but I assume they were proportional. The leaders of the Intifada had no compulsion about beating workers who wished to continue working in Israel and defied the supposed ‘Ghandian withdrawal of labour’ to feed their families. Like those killed, anyone who didn’t agree was automatically a collaborator and subject to nonviolent beatings, arson and worse.
Mubarak Awad who introduced the fiction of nonviolence into the Palestinian lexicon said, “Palestinians on the inside must attempt to block the roads, prevent communications, cut electricity, telephone and water lines, prevent the movement of equipment, and in other ways obstruct the tools of government in carrying out their unjust and evil plans.” Most people would describe that as violent action. All governments would use force to prevent it and capture those engaging in it.
Awad also wrote, “Non-violence does not affect the methods open to Palestinians on the outside, nor does it constitute a rejection of the slogan of armed struggle. Nor does it negate the possibility that the struggle on the inside may be turned into an armed struggle at a later stage,” Or in simpler words Palestinian nonviolence doesn’t replace violence it complements it. Reciting the slogan that the First Intifada was nonviolent placates the fools and hypocrites who refuse to see the aggression that is part and parcel of Palestinian tactics.
Here’s Paul’s full statement: http://www.paulmurphymep.eu/2013/07/mep-defends-first-intifada-call/
Palestinians have every right to oppose military occupation through armed resistance, as international law allows it.
Ireland didn’t gain freedom through non-armed resistance and neither did Israel’s main backer US. Western countries – and not just USA – have also done their worst to oppose Palestinian political moves to gain independence, so they can have no rightful complaints whatsoever.
Palestinians have started wars against Israel; lost wars against Israel and whined about the inevitable consequences of their decisions to wage war for 65 years. What makes you think starting another unnecessary war will have a different result?
I have no problem either.
There,their,oooops
*they’re
“As a socialist activist, I have done things that have put my life in danger but that is something I’m prepared to do,” he (i.e. Paul Murphy) said.
Would Paul Murphy or anyone else like to provide a list of his life threatening acts?
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say