Member's statement: Gaza Protests
Member's statement by Ms Emma Sheerin on .
- MLA
- Ms Emma Sheerin
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 17 June 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Gaza Protests
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5013427
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I am almost in disbelief at the continued genocide of the people of Palestine in Gaza. Just as the Israeli apartheid regime prevails, so does the suppression of any voice that dares to stand against it. We watch on as Israel murders and literally starves women, men and children to death. As the international community complies with the narrative and agenda of a rogue state, we can see the colonial systems kick into gear to silence anyone who dares criticise what none of us should be able to bear. We in Sinn Féin stand in solidarity with all those who took part in the Global March to Gaza over the weekend, particularly the Irish contingent, and we bemoan the fact that the Egyptian authorities blocked their entry. Similarly, we congratulate and commend all those on board the Freedom Flotilla. We extend solidarity to and commend the bravery of those who took part in the Madleen's attempt to break the blockade, and we again criticise the piracy of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which illegally arrested those on board. As tomorrow dawns close, we commend the defiance of Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh and his bandmates, who took a stand for humanity despite massive personal risk to their careers and reputations. Whilst Israel commits war crimes and starves babies to death, there is a responsibility on anyone with a platform to stand up and speak out against it. When we are able to watch live-streamed genocide on our phone screens, we should be able to speak up and stand against it. We commend all who do so and encourage anyone who has not done so thus far to start.
277 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.20 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.67).
- Subject area: Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.37 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.11 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.14 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.21 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.10 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.20 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.67 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.08 |
| Adopts it | 0.25 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Immigration, asylum, race, ethnicity and Travellers | 0.45 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.21 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.18 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.05 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.04 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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