A proposal to dename Herzog Park in Dublin to be voted on by councillors in the capital on Monday is “divisive and wrong” and should be withdrawn, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
His remarks come amid an expectation that Dublin city councillors will approve a change that would see the name of a former president of Israel removed from the public park in Rathgar.
Herzog Park was named in 1995 in honour of Belfast-born Chaim Herzog, Israel’s president from 1983 to 1993, who spent his early childhood in Dublin when his father was chief rabbi of Ireland.
The Taoiseach said on Sunday that proposal to rename Herzog Park “should be withdrawn in its entirety and not proceeded with”.
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Mr Martin added: “The proposal would erase the distinctive and rich contribution to Irish life of the Jewish communities over many decades, including actual participation in the Irish War of Independence and the emerging State.”
He said the move is “a denial of our history and will without any doubt be seen as anti-Semitic”, adding: “It is overtly divisive and wrong.”
Mr Martin continued: “Our Irish Jewish communities’ contribution to our country’s evolution in its many forms should always be cherished and generously acknowledged.
“This motion must be withdrawn, and I ask all on Dublin City Council to seriously reflect on the implications of this move.”
In June of last year, a motion was submitted by Sinn Féin councillor Kourtney Kenny to rename the park Hind Rajab Park “to commemorate a five-year-old girl, Hind, killed by the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) on January 29th, 2024, along with six of her relatives”.
The motion was not put to councillors. But last December councillors agreed the issue should be referred to the council’s commemorations committee. In January, People Before Profit councillor Conor Reddy sought clarification on the naming policy and noted a petition to rename Herzog Park ‘Hind Rajab Park’ had at the time secured more than 2,700 signatures.
In response, council officials referred to the naming policy, adopted in 2017, which stated nominees had to have died at least 20 years previously or have passed the centenary of their birth, whichever was earlier.
The commemorations committee, which meets privately, last July agreed, with one objection, to recommend to the full council the removal of the Herzog name from the park. It also agreed a consultation process be undertaken to determine an appropriate new name. The recommendations will be put to councillors on Monday night for approval.
The proposal to dename the park has drawn criticism, including suggestions of anti-Semitism on social media.
Mr Reddy said: “I don’t buy for a second this idea that this is anti-Semitic. It’s actually anti-Semitic to equate Zionism and Judaism.”
It was, he said, “completely legitimate after what’s happened in Gaza to dename a park that was named in honour of a man who was part of the foundation of a state that was built on ethnic cleansing”.
A number of suggestions had been put forward for a new name for the park, he said, including Palestine Park, Gaza Park and Max Levitas Park after the Jewish communist and anti-racist activist who was originally from Dublin.
One of Chaim Herzog’s sons, Michael Herzog, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States, posted on X: “It is sad to see how the fact that one of Ireland’s prominent Jewish figures became president of the State of Israel, turned from being a source of pride to Dublin to being a source of denial.”
He wrote: “Chaim Herzog, my late father, grew up in Dublin and fought the Nazis in WW2 as an officer in the British Army.
“His father, Rabbi Isaac Herzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland and a strong supporter of Irish nationalism.
He claimed Ireland has become a “scene of raging anti-Semitism” and said this was “painful to see”.
Mr Herzog also claimed that “Ireland is now one of the most virulent anti-Israel countries in Europe, blurring the line between criticising Israeli policies and questioning Israel’s right to exist.”
He said: “It is high time that Jewish organisations in the US and around the world sound a loud and clear voice in denouncing this shame and clarifying its consequences. Have we not learned anything from history?”
Current Chief Rabbi of Ireland Yoni Wieder said Herzog Park was “more than a name on a sign. For those who live nearby, and especially for the neighbouring Jewish families and schools, it’s a place filled with memory, and an important reminder that our community has deep roots in Dublin”.
Naming the park in honour of Chaim Herzog was “a recognition not just of one man, but a chapter of shared Irish-Jewish history. That history has not changed, and it cannot be undone by motions or votes. The Jewish story in Ireland deserves to be preserved, not whitewashed or erased.”
Another of Chaim Herzog’s sons, Yitzhak Herzog, who was born in Tel Aviv, is the current president of Israel.
A statement from the Office of the Israeli President said it was “following with concern” the reports of the move.
“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 anti-Semitism,” the statement on X said.
“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 anti-Semitism and tyranny, will still get the respect it deserves today.”
Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, shared the post from the Israeli president’s office on X and commented: “What an incredible insult to the Herzog family whose roots are deep in Ireland. Let’s hope decent Irish people stop this madness!”
In the US, Republican senator Lindsey Graham also shared the post and wrote: “When you think it couldn’t get any worse in Ireland regarding animosity toward Israel and the Jewish people, it just did.”
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, who represents the constituency where the park is, said renaming the park would be unfair to Chaim Herzog and Irish Jews.
He said Mr Herzog opened the Irish Jewish museum in Portobello in 1985.
“The Rathgar park was named after him 30 years ago to acknowledge his connection with Ireland and the important role played by Jewish people in Dublin’s history.
“Renaming the park because of the slaughter in Gaza is unfair to him and unfairly suggests Irish Jews are responsible for the appalling actions of the current Israeli government.”
