A senior executive at insurer AIG who allegedly posted anti-Semitic comments on his X account is no longer working with the company.
John Gillick was head of consumer marketing and sponsorship at AIG Ireland for more than 20 years and was involved with Dublin GAA, the Golfing Union of Ireland and Hockey Ireland in many of their sponsorship campaigns.
He posts on X under the handle @JohnnyGpops. Posts on his account described Israel and Jews as “human scum” and Jewish people as “filthy dogs”.
Another post stated: “Jews in Ireland need to be thrown out. They are traitors and land thieves. Our children need to be educated more about how evil Israel and Jews are”. It also stated that “no one should associate with murdering jew war criminals”.
After Newstalk FM aired an interview with a member of the Jewish community who was concerned about how the community was perceived after October 7th, the account posted: “I’m pulling all advertising from this.”
Members of the Jewish community in Ireland screenshotted the posts, which are no longer visible on the account.
On September 2nd, the account posted: “I want to let people know that my account has been compromised by unauthorised person(s) and that recent posts containing anti-Semitic content were not written, published or endorsed by me.
“The fraudulent posts have been removed, and the matter has been reported to the appropriate law enforcement authorities and the platform provider.
“I unequivocally condemn the views expressed in those posts. They do not reflect my beliefs or values. I strongly oppose discrimination and hate in all forms”.
[ Anti-Semitism is serious enough without conflating it with legitimate criticismOpens in new window ]
When the matter was brought to the attention of AIG, the company opened an internal investigation and issued a statement saying Gillick was fully complying with it and had reported the alleged hacking to An Garda Síochána.
AIG stated that the social media posts in question were “fraudulently published following the unauthorised compromise of an employee’s personal social media account”.
However, in an email sent this week to the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland (JRCI), AIG’s president and chief executive Eric Anderson stated that Gillick is no longer working for the company.
He said AIG is continuing to co-operate fully with An Garda Síochána and “we continue to stand ready to support that investigation in whatever manner we can”.
Anderson thanked the council for bringing his attention to the matter, adding: “As I have said before, AIG stands with you and the JRCI in an unequivocal condemnation of discrimination and hate of any kind and hate speech, including anti-Semitism.”
JRCI chair Orli Degani said she did not know the circumstances surrounding Gillick’s departure, but welcomed AIG’s investigation.
[ Zionism is not racism, any more than Irish nationalism is sectarianismOpens in new window ]
“This case became important to the Jewish community far beyond the actions of one individual,” she said.
“When Jewish people are described as evil and human scum, and when there are calls for Jews to be thrown out of Ireland, people need to know that this is given due weight.
“The Jewish community in Ireland is relieved and grateful to see that AIG treated the complaint seriously and acted following its own review.
“We appreciate AIG’s engagement throughout this process, its unequivocal condemnation of anti-Semitism, and the personal attention given to the matter by its president and CEO, Eric Andersen.
“This is also an important reminder that reporting anti-Semitism matters.”
Gillick, who still lists himself as an employee of AIG on his LinkedIn profile, was contacted for comment.