LAST UPDATE | 10 Mar 2025

PROTESTORS ARE CURRENTLY holding a demonstration inside the Central Bank in Dublin over its role in approving the sale of Israel bonds in the European Union.

Following Brexit, Israel chose the Central Bank of Ireland as the designated authority to approve Israel Bonds sold in the EU, since it could no longer use the UK for this purpose.

Sales of Israel Bonds have exceeded $54 billion since they were first issued in 1951, including more than $4 billion since the 7 October attacks.

🚨 Activists staging a protest inside Central Bank of Ireland RIGHT NOW protesting it facilitating the sale of Israeli Genocide Bonds! Come out on your lunch break and support them outside! 🇵🇸

N Wall Quay, North Wall, Dublin, D01 F7X3#StopFundingGenocide pic.twitter.com/JqrQyNJcXf

— IPSC (@ipsc48) March 10, 2025

Israel Bonds are advertised as supporting the country’s economy and holders of the securities are promised that the principal and interest will be repaid after the bond matures.

In recent times, websites promoting the bonds emphasise their role in supporting Israel during the war.

Israel president Isaac Herzog has stated that Israel Bonds have a “crucial role during this time of conflict and war”.

In a video to Israel Bonds holders in October 2023, Herzog said the bonds are a means for people “to step forward to do your part in this critical hour”.

In a statement this afternoon, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) said its activists have “occupied the Central Bank in protest at the sale of Israel Genocide Bonds”.

Israel has been accused of genocide in a case brought to the International Court of Justice by South Africa.

The ICJ issued provisional measures against Israel after finding there are reasonable grounds to believe Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, where close to 47,000 people have been killed since October 2023. 

The IPSC protest is currently ongoing.

“Ending complicity in genocide is a fundamental priority for Ireland, and the continued regulation of Israel Bonds by the Central Bank of Ireland is morally and ethically reprehensible and must be ended,” said an IPSC spokesperson.

The spokesperson added that since Brexit, the Central Bank of Ireland is the sole regulator in the EU of Israel Bonds and has “acted as the gateway into Europe for these bonds”.

The IPSC said it is protesting the Central Bank to “demand” a meeting today with the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Gabriel Makhlouf.

A spokesperson for the Central Bank said that it is “responsible for assessing whether a prospectus has been drawn up in compliance with the disclosure requirements of the Prospectus Regulation”.

A prospectus is a legal document that provides all relevant details pertaining to a bond offering for sale to the public.

“We are required to approve the prospectus under the Prospectus Regulation where the prospectus documentation meets standards of completeness, consistency and comprehensibility,” said the spokesperson.

They added that “approval should not be considered as an endorsement of the issuer and the securities that is the subject of the prospectus”.

“The Central Bank will adhere to any financial sanctions or restrictive measures that are imposed under law,” said the spokesperson.

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