Robert Briscoe

A tiny nation bursting from century-long religious conflict... Ireland, of course. We're talking about Ireland.

Now, putting aside the fact that the warring factions are just two sides of the same coin (please don't write to us, goyishe readers), where do the Jews fit in? After all, there were some Jews in Ireland... (Chaim Herzog, one-time President of Israel: born in Belfast!)

Let's just say that their loyalties were divided. (It's not like they had a horse in that race.) Take Robert Briscoe: during the Irish War of Independence, he had a choice of which side to join, and went with the IRA. He rose up the ranks, getting close to IRA leader Michael Collins, who referred to his friend as "my Jewman". (We've been called worse.) There is even a story of Briscoe disguising Collins as a Jew in Dublin's Little Jerusalem. (Dublin has a Little Jerusalem!)

Briscoe went to politics after Ireland achieved independence, becoming the Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1956, serving two non-consecutive terms. Previously to that, he spent some time advising Menachem Begin in the new state of Israel.

He did have experience in tiny nations bursting from century-long religious conflict...