The Dublin city council voted to remove the name of Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog, z’l, from the “Herzog Park” near the only Jewish elementary and high school in Ireland.

At a meeting held on November 24, the Dublin City Council’s naming committee decided to wipe out the memory of one of the most well-known figures to emerge from Ireland’s Jewish community. The move follows a months-long Palestinian campaign in the city calling on the council to rename the park as “Hind Rajab Park,” after a Palestinian girl killed in the Gaza war. Another name proposed for the park was “Free Palestine Park.”

One of the council members who voted for the removal of Herzog’s name from the park was Conor Reddy, who described the October 7 massacre of Jews as “beautiful.”

Chaim Herzog (1918–1997), born in Belfast and raised in Dublin, was the son of Rabbi Yitzhak Halevi Herzog,  who served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland and later as the first Chief Rabbi of Israel.

Former Irish Justice Minister and Jewish politician Alan Shatter wrote, “Some members of Dublin City Council want to erase Irish/Jewish history. Ireland’s politics, with SF, PBP & the Social Democrats taking the lead and other parties complicit or cowering in the background, has become systemically antisemitic. The council is now on course to erase the name Herzog from a park adjacent to Ireland’s only Jewish school. Some councillors want the park named ‘Free Palestine Park.'”

“Chaim Herzog’s father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was Chief Rabbi of Ireland and later Israel’s first Chief Rabbi. Chaim’s son Isaac is today President of Israel. [The council] also omits that the park is adjacent to Ireland’s only Jewish school, Stratford College, and within walking distance of the Dublin Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Terenure and the Dublin Jewish Progressive synagogue off the Rathgar Road.”

“Dublin City Council’s proposal to remove the name ‘Herzog’ from Herzog Park violates the Council’s own obligations under Chapter 12 of the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-28, its commitment to diversity and minorities and human rights obligations but it seems in relation to Dublin’s Jewish community none of that matters to members of the council. The political ecosystem has become so contaminated by antisemitism and denial of the connectivity between Judaism and Israel that they perceive their actions as politically beneficial virtue signalling.”

The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland stated that the move “sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries…we call on Dublin City Councillors to reject this motion. The removal of the Herzog name from this park would be widely understood as an attempt to erase our Irish Jewish history.”

Irish-Jewish social media influencer Rachel Moiselle posted a photo of a statue, writing, “Here is a statue of Seán Russell in Dublin. Seán was a senior figure in the IRA and a Nazi collaborator. He pursued the principle that ‘England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity’ and travelled to Nazi Germany in 1940 to meet with the Abwehr to receive instruction and support for IRA operations.

“Needless to say, there has been no motion by Dublin City Council to remove the statue. No, they are far more concerned with renaming a park named after a famous Irish Jew. But always remember, folks, there is no antisemitism in Ireland.”

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee spoke out against the move, saying that “renaming a Dublin park in this way—to remove the name of an Irish Jewish man—has nothing to do with [the war in Gaza] and has no place in our inclusive republic,” she says.

“In my view, this name change should not proceed, and I urge Dublin City Councillors to vote against it.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded, “There is no more accurate and justified decision than my own to shut down our embassy in Dublin shortly after I took office as Foreign Minister. Dublin has become the capital of global antisemitism. The Irish antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession is sickening. The Dublin municipality has decided to remove the name of Chaim Herzog—the sixth President of Israel, who grew up in Dublin and whose father was the Chief Rabbi of Ireland—from a park in the city. What cannot be removed is the disgrace of Ireland’s antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession.”

President Isaac Herzog’s office issued a statement “in response to Dublin City Council on the proposed removal of the name of Israel’s Sixth President Chaim Herzog from a park, and renaming it ‘Free Palestine.'”

“We are following with concern the reports from Ireland regarding the intention to harm the legacy of the sixth President of the State of Israel, the late Chaim Herzog, as well as harming the unique expression of the historical connection between the Irish and Jewish peoples,” the statement said.

“Beyond being an Israeli leader, Chaim Herzog was also a hero of the campaign to liberate Europe from the Nazis and a figure who dedicated his life to establishing the values of freedom, tolerance, the pursuit of peace, and the fight against antisemitism. His father, Rabbi Isaac HaLevi Herzog, served as the first Chief Rabbi of the Irish Free State and left a significant mark on the life of the Irish nation in those days. Naming the park after his son some three decades ago expressed appreciation for his legacy and the deep friendship between the Irish and Jewish peoples. Unfortunately, this relationship has deteriorated in recent years, yet we still hope for the recovery of these important ties.

“Removing the Herzog name, if it happens, would be a shameful and disgraceful move. We hope that the legacy of a figure at the forefront of establishing the relations between Israel and Ireland, and the fight against antisemitism and tyranny will still get the respect it deserves today.”

(YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)