Former Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has accused the Social Democrats of making the party “Judenfrei” after it deselected a candidate of Jewish origin.
In a post on X, Shatter said, “See the Social Democrats, anxious to resemble all other Irish political parties, have taken action to ensure the party is Judenfrie.”
“Going with the current zeitgeist more National Socialist than Social Democrat! Maybe considering a name change?” he said.
His comments came after SocDem candidate Orli Degani who was running for the party in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
In a statement, Degani said, “I am a German Jew with Israeli citizenship, and when I decided to run for local government I did so because I wanted to give back to the community that accepted me and my family with open arms, and I chose to do so within a party that I thought shared the same values of inclusion, acceptance and support.”
Degani lives in Ireland with her husband and the pair run a business, OH Degani Consultants Ltd, since 2018.
“When I started feeling unwelcome and concerned about the actions and statements of the Social Democrats, and their impact on the local Jewish community, I sought to constructively engage internally and raise these concerns.” she said.
Degani, who is understood to be seeking legal advice on the matter, said she will “not back down” and that she will contest the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown constituency as an independent.
A SocDem policy document states that, “At its core, social democracy is about protecting those fundamental elements that provide every member of society with dignity and opportunity.”
“This is why the Social Democrats want to provide people with a real choice about what that future will look like. The Social Democrats is a party for a new era – not defined by old loyalties, old politics, old policies, cosy business connections or jobs for the boys. We stand for change. We stand for equality. We stand for accountability.” it says.