The online petition "Boycott The White House on St. Patrick's Day 2025" has drawn nearly 800 signatures.
"We call on all political parties on the island of Ireland to listen to the people and not go to Washington on St. Patrick's Day to shake hands soaked with the blood of Palestinians," the petition on ActNowNI states.
It adds: "Every step of this genocide has been funded and supported by the United States."
This year's petition has been endorsed by more than 20 groups: Derry Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), Mid Ulster IPSC, Cairde Palestine, Gaels Against Genocide, Mothers Against Genocide, QUB Palestine Assembly, Artists Against Genocide, Teachers for Palestine, Fermoy IPSC, D7 For Palestine, Lurgan IPSC, Minority teachers Ireland, Louth IPSC, The People of Clare Against Genocide, BadAds, Hcworkers for Palestine, Derry Anti-War Coalition, Swords For Palestine, United Against Racism NW, BDS Strabane, and NYirish4palestine.
This is the second year that a petition has been launched urging politicians from the island of Ireland to not attend St. Patrick's Day engagements at the White House in light of the US response to the war in Gaza.
In 2024, during the Biden Administration, a petition on MyUplift ultimately drew more than 17,300 signatures, while two smaller petitions on ActNowNI drew nearly a combined 2,000 signatures.
This year's petition says: "The pressure we put on politicians [last year] not to go resulted in several prominent politicians not going, as well as protests in Ireland and the US against the betrayal."
March 23, 2024: A parody of President Joe Biden with blood on his hands at the National March for Palestine in Dublin. (RollignNews.ie)
Indeed, Colm Eastwood, then the MP for Foyle and leader of the SDLP, announced last January that he would not be attending the annual White Houseevents.
Still, plenty of politicians went ahead with the St. Patrick's Day visit, including then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, as well as members of Sinn Féin.
March 2024: US President Joe Biden with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Washington, DC.
"This year, considering Trump becoming President, we think it is crucial that our politicians do not give cover to the enablers of the genocide in Gaza," Irish woman Catherine Hutton, who launched last year's MyUplift petition and this year's petition on ActNow, told IrishCentral on Thursday.
"Trump has already canceled sanctions against violent illegal Israeli settlers and given Netanyahu the green light to annex and ethnically cleanse the West Bank."
Hutton said that the ceasefire, announced on January 15, is "far from stable," adding that "[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has said that he reserves the right to resume the war on Gaza."
She continued: "Already here in Ireland, the Government has gone back on its commitment to pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
"People power in Ireland has resulted in Israel closing its embassy and Ireland joining the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
"We want this petition to make it crystal clear to politicians that attending St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Washington is crossing the BDS [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions] picket line."
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