That was probably de Valera’s worst judgement call and he was strongly advised against it at the time. Still, the actual history is a lot more nuanced than that. There’s no evidence that de Valera was anti-Semitic. His 1937 constitution for the Irish state specifically recognised “Jewish Congregations” in its Article 44 (Religion). While claiming in public to be neutral during the Second World War, the Irish state imprisoned Axis pilots who crashed in Ireland but downed Allied pilots were quietly repatriated.

For more details: https://www.irishtimes.com/history/2025/05/02/de-valeras-con...