Ireland’s government is taking a surprising step, opposing Dublin City Council’s intention to change the name of Herzog Park to 'Free Palestine Park'.
“The government has openly criticized the policies and actions of the Israeli government in Gaza and the West Bank, and rightly so,” Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said. “But renaming a park in Dublin in this way, removing the name of an Irish Jewish man, is not connected to that and has no place in our republic. In my opinion, this renaming should not proceed, and I call on members of Dublin City Council to vote against it.”
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'Hind Rajab Park.' A sign posted in Herzog Park in Dublin, and Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog
(Photo: GPO)
McEntee said the park is named for Chaim Herzog, who was born in Belfast and grew up in Dublin. He later became Israel’s president, and his son currently holds that post. Herzog’s father served for many years as Ireland’s chief rabbi. “He is an important figure for many people, especially members of Ireland’s Jewish community,” she said.
In Israel, officials have sharply criticized the Irish government following reports about the council’s plan. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said there was “no more accurate and justified decision” than his move to close Israel’s embassy in Ireland. The Foreign Ministry also assessed that this was a “lost battle” and that the situation in Ireland would not allow the decision to be reversed, but McEntee’s call could give the fight new backing.
Ireland has been among the most hawkish countries toward Israel throughout the war. Diplomatic relations are at an unprecedented low. There are no longer direct flights between the two countries, and Israel’s standing in Irish public opinion is bleak. Recently, Ireland’s anti-Israel President Michael Higgins was replaced by a president viewed as even more hostile to Israel, Catherine Connolly, who has called Israel a “terror state.”
Herzog Park is located near Ireland’s only Jewish elementary and high schools. It was dedicated in 1985 under the name Orwell Quarry Park. A decade later, during celebrations marking 3,000 years of Jerusalem, it was renamed Herzog Park in honor of the late president, who was born in Belfast and raised in Dublin, and in honor of his father, Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac Halevi Herzog, who served as Ireland’s chief rabbi and later became Israel’s first chief rabbi.
The President’s Residence said it is “following with concern the reports from Ireland regarding the intention to harm the legacy of Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog, and symbols expressing the historic connection between the Irish public and the Jewish people. “Beyond being an Israeli leader, the late Chaim Herzog was among the heroes of the campaign to liberate Europe from the Nazis and a figure who dedicated his life to promoting the values of freedom, tolerance and the pursuit of peace. His father, Rabbi Isaac Herzog, was the first chief rabbi of the Irish Free State and left a significant mark on the life of the Irish nation. Naming the park after him about three decades ago expressed appreciation for his legacy and for the deep friendship between the Irish and Jewish peoples, which has unfortunately deteriorated in recent years.”
The President’s Residence added that “erasing Herzog’s name, if it is indeed carried out, would be a sad and shameful step. We expect the legacy of a man who stood at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism and tyranny to be honored today as well.”
The World Jewish Congress expressed its solidarity with Ireland's Jewish community and labeled the move as "an attempt to remove a piece of Ireland’s own history."
“The World Jewish Congress stands with the Jewish community of Ireland as they face this painful moment in a long pattern of isolation," according to a statement. "The effort to erase the Herzog name from public space in Dublin is an attempt to remove a piece of Ireland’s own history.
"Chaim Herzog’s legacy was shaped by his deep Irish roots and by a family that contributed significantly to Ireland’s public life.”