The Prime Minister of Ireland was met with intense backlash on Saturday after he said on social media that one of the Israelis who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last month was “lost” and had been “found and returned.”
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar made the remarks about 9-year-old Emily Hand, who was released by terrorists on Saturday after Israel brokered a deal to ensure her safe return to her family.
Emily, who was 8 years old when she was kidnapped on October 7, was thought to have been killed during the unprecedented terrorist attack in which Hamas murdered 1,200 Israelis. She was kidnapped during a sleepover at a friend’s house at Kibbutz Be’eri.
“This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family,” Varadkar wrote on X. “An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.”
Holy cow…
The Taoiseach of Ireland (Prime Minister) refers to a 9 year old girl who was brutally kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas as “lost” and “been found and returned.” pic.twitter.com/9qgsc1ZDVL
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 25, 2023
Israeli Government Spokesman Eylon Levy responded to the post: “This is how you describe a little girl who went missing during a stroll in a forest, then gets discovered by a friendly hiker. Not a girl brutally abducted by death squads that brutally massacred her neighbors. But this explains the extent of Ireland’s contribution: prayers.”
“Lost? This wasn’t your phone that was ‘lost & found’! This was a human being. A 9-year-old who was kidnapped and taken hostage into Gaza,” said International Human Rights attorney Arsen Ostrovsky. “Emily is an Irish-Israeli national. What an extraordinary tone deaf and heartless statement from the Ireland’s PM @LeoVaradkar!”
Former Trump administration official Ezra Cohen responded: “Are you ill? Since when is brutally kidnapped by a terrorist group described as ‘lost’? Why are you afraid to tell the truth about what happened to Emily and so many other children?”
Are you ill? Since when is brutally kidnapped by a terrorist group described as “lost”?
Why are you afraid to tell the truth about what happened to Emily and so many other children? https://t.co/tGAzwcFyJH
— Ezra A. Cohen (@EzraACohen) November 26, 2023
Middle East security analyst Seth Frantzman wrote: “She was kidnapped illegally by Hamas in a crime against humanity and they say ‘lost’. Disgusting. Vile. It shows how they dehumanize people. Never forget. Never forgive.”
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“This moral monster is the Prime Minister of Ireland,” wrote columnist John Podhoretz.
She wasn’t lost, you absolute schmuck. She was kidnapped by a terrorist group.
And you did less than nothing to help her get home. https://t.co/Oo5O4c1Bxp
— AG (@AGHamilton29) November 25, 2023
She wasn’t “lost.” She was kidnapped by terrorists. https://t.co/yIlOz47T1Q
— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) November 25, 2023
As a Jew of Irish descent, I am so horrified and disgusted. Lost and found like she went for a fucking hike in the woods. https://t.co/eNbgCCzHpk
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) November 25, 2023
Lost, found & returned? She’s not a pair of sunglasses accidentally left behind…she was kidnapped by the Islamist terrorists of Hamas, you quisling clown. https://t.co/tJAzwKpKgT
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) November 25, 2023
“Lost” and then “found”. Like maybe she wandered off at a shopping mall for a moment.
Trudeau and Varadkar are both pro-Hamas. https://t.co/LaRT9bk7oV
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) November 26, 2023
Emily Hand was not “lost.” She was abducted by Hamas, a terrorist organization, in violation of international law.
She is the victim of a war crime. https://t.co/qa7ab0FuUo
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) November 26, 2023