Dublin city councillor posts then deletes video calling for ‘final solution’ of Jews

Ireland’s Jewish community is up in arms after a Dublin city councillor posted a WhatsApp status that called for a “real final solution” against Jewish people and repeated antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Philip Sutcliffe, an independent councillor representing the Ballyfermot-Drimnagh area, posted a 76-second video on Monday with footage of Adolf Hitler, including a voice-over praising Hitler for allegedly warning about current events. It described Jewish people as “satanic,” blamed them for pornography and “white replacement,” and called for a “real final solution,” using Nazi terminology used for the Holocaust.

Sutcliffe later deleted the post and said yesterday that he “probably shared something I shouldn’t have.”

He claimed he did not watch the full video before posting it as his WhatsApp status, telling reporters he “probably just pushed the share button” after receiving the clip from someone else. He said he did not endorse its views.

“I don’t think I even looked at that one to tell you the truth,” he told The Irish Times. “If it’s on my page, I probably just shared something that I shouldn’t have. I’ll have a look at it now.”

Sutcliffe, a former Olympic boxer, said he did not endorse the video’s views. He declined further questions from The Irish Times, saying he had to leave to train MMA fighter Conor McGregor, with whom he works as a coach.

Sutcliffe previously apologized in November after sharing a photo of a spoiled election ballot containing racist and homophobic slurs, which he also said was posted accidentally. He resigned from the political party Independent Ireland last year following controversy surrounding his association with McGregor.

The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland tells local media outlets that the Jewish community is “weary” of such hatred.

“We are not seeking special treatment and we are not playing victims. We simply want to live openly and safely,” the council says in a statement. “If similar repeated prejudice were directed at almost any other minority, there would be immediate condemnation from all. Antisemitism deserves exactly the same moral clarity.”