Ireland’s chief rabbi decries Dublin council’s motion to rename Herzog Park

Ireland’s chief rabbi speaks out against a plan to rename a park in Dublin named after Israel’s Irish-born sixth president, Chaim Herzog.

Following a campaign by anti-Israel groups amid a swell in anti-Israel sentiment in Ireland since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, Dublin’s city council approved on Monday a motion to vote to rename the park, which was named in Herzog’s honor in a 1995 ceremony.

It is not clear when the city council will vote on the motion or what the new name might be.

Removing the name “would be to erase a central piece of Irish-Jewish history, and send a painful message of isolation to our small community,” says Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder.

“Herzog Park is more than a name on a sign,” Wieder writes. “It’s a place filled with memory, and an important reminder that our community has deep roots in Dublin.”

Wieder continues, “When the park was named in honour of Chaim Herzog in 1995, it was a recognition not just of one man, but a chapter of shared history. That history has not changed, and it cannot be undone by motions or votes.”