Anti-Israel activists exploit Gaza war to erase Jewish history, dragging Ireland deeper into institutional antisemitism.
The Dublin City Council is preparing to vote on a motion to strip a public park of the name of Chaim Herzog, Israel’s Irish-born sixth president, following an aggressive campaign by anti-Israel groups. The move comes amid a surge in openly hostile, anti-Israel sentiment in Ireland since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre.
A council report released Monday confirms that Dublin’s 11-member Commemorations and Naming Committee voted—with only one objection—to remove the name “Herzog” from Herzog Park, referring the final decision to the wider 63-member council.
The report made no recommendation for a replacement name, but online campaigns by radical pro-Palestinian groups have already begun pushing to rename it after Hind Rajab, a child whose death in Gaza has been aggressively politicized despite contradictory information and ongoing investigations.
Sharing the document on X, Irish Jewish pro-Israel activist Rachel Moiselle condemned the move as an unmistakable act of antisemitism:
“Dublin’s decision to erase Herzog is a blatant attempt to erase Irish-Jewish history.”
She added:
“Ireland is an institutionally antisemitic country — denying it is pure folly.”
🇮🇪 Erasing Jewish Legacy to Appease Extremists
Herzog Park, home to a tennis club and 10 courts, was dedicated in 1995 to honor Chaim Herzog’s legacy and the tri-millennium of Jerusalem. Before that, it was known as Orwell Quarry Park.
At least one petition—backed by Irish Sport for Palestine, a fringe soccer club, and nationalist group 1916 Societies—has collected over 3,400 signatures demanding the park be renamed to honor Rajab. Their petition falsely accuses the Herzog family of “genocide” and “oppression,” parroting decades-old Arab propaganda.
The petition highlights Herzog’s service in the Haganah, his rank of major general, and his historic 1975 moment at the UN when he tore up the antisemitic “Zionism is Racism” resolution. It also attacks his son, President Isaac Herzog, for “supporting Israel’s defense of its civilians during wartime.”
The language of the petition mirrors the rhetoric of groups that openly support Hamas, reject Israel’s right to exist, and frame Zionism as racism—while ignoring the October 7 massacre that ignited the Gaza war.
🟦 The Herzogs: An Irish-Jewish Legacy
Chaim Herzog, Israel’s president from 1983 to 1993, was born in Belfast, raised in Dublin, and educated at Wesley College. His father, Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog, served as Ireland’s chief rabbi during the country’s formative years and was known as “the Sinn Féin rabbi” for supporting Irish independence.
Erasing the Herzog name is effectively erasing one of Ireland’s most distinguished Jewish families, who contributed both to Irish and Israeli nation-building.
🇮🇱 Ireland’s Anti-Israel Turn
Ireland’s political hostility toward Israel has escalated sharply. In May 2024, Dublin recognized a Palestinian state alongside Spain and Norway, prompting Israel to announce the closure of its Dublin embassy.
Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that Ireland’s rhetoric and policies cross the line from political criticism into outright antisemitism, with recent studies showing alarming levels of antisemitic beliefs among the Irish public.
The trend reached a disturbing milestone last month when Ireland elected far-left politician Catherine Connolly as president, a figure who has publicly labeled Israel a “terrorist state.”
What’s happening with Herzog Park is not about naming—it’s about signaling:
Ireland is increasingly siding with extremist anti-Israel elements and openly eroding its own Jewish heritage to appease radical activists.
