We say: good riddance. Israel is run by a fanatical, right-wing government and even mild criticism of its action in Gaza is met with spurious charges of antisemitism. It is pure nonsense.
Simon Harris, however, thinks it's regrettable Israel has closed its embassy here. What's actually regrettable is that the Israeli ambassador wasn't expelled a long, long time ago.
The Irish Government could have taken an international lead in building pressure against Israel. Instead Micheál Martin invited the ambassador to Fianna Fáil's Ard Fheis and the Greens invited her to the National Famine Commemoration.
The Irish Government has stood by, letting planes with munitions fly through our airports and over our airspace. It has taken them nearly a year to sign up to South Africa's case against Israel in the ICJ.
Simon Harris and Micheál Martin will now want to do something to prove to the United States and other Western countries that they're team players.
All of us in the Palestine movement need to use this announcement to keep up the pressure and push for more. Those cracks might be small, but they're growing. Let's keep pushing.