Dublin City Council will withdraw the plan to rename the Irish capital's Herzog Park due to "insufficient information contained in the report to allow councillors to make an 'informed decision,'" and other administrative issues, local media reported on Sunday.
The prime minister and the deputy prime minister of Ireland came out strongly against Dublin City Council’s plans to rename Herzog Park earlier on Sunday.
“The proposal should be withdrawn in its entirety and not proceeded with,” said Prime Minister Micheal Martin. He added that going ahead with it would erase the distinctive and rich contribution to Irish life of the Jewish community, and that such denial of history would “without any doubt, be seen as antisemitic.”
“It is overly divisive and wrong,” Martin added.
Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Simon Harris also said he “strongly opposes” the move. “It is wrong. We are an inclusive Republic. This proposal is offensive to that principle. I urge all Party Leaders to join me in opposition to this.
Motion to rename Dublin's Herzog park
Herzog Park in Dublin is named for Chaim Herzog, who was born in Belfast and grew up in Dublin. He later emigrated to Israel and went on to be president. His son, Isaac Herzog, is the current president. Chaim’s father – Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog – was chief rabbi of Ireland for many years.
The Dublin City Council will convene on Monday to discuss the proposal to rename the park. Two pro-Palestine groups are petitioning to either rename the park “Hind Rajab Park” or “Free Palestine Park.
On Saturday, Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said that Herzog “is an important figure for many people, particularly for members of Ireland’s Jewish community.”
While Ireland’s government has been “openly critical of the policies and actions of the government of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank,” the renaming of the park would “remove the name of an Irish Jewish man” who “has nothing to do with this,” McEntee added.
“It has no place in our inclusive republic. In my view, this name change should not proceed, and I urge Dublin City Councillors to vote against it.”
The office of President Herzog said it is following the situation “with concern,” adding that it would harm the legacy of the sixth president of the State of Israel, the late Chaim Herzog, as well as the unique expression of the historical connection between the Irish and Jewish peoples.
“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,” the statement added.
It also addressed the deterioration in Irish-Israeli relations over the last few years, not in small part due to the Irish government’s staunchly pro-Palestine stance.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar closed the Israeli embassy in Dublin in December 2024 due to the country’s hostile stance toward the Jewish state.
“Removing the Herzog name, if it happens, would be a shameful and disgraceful move,” the president’s statement continued. “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.”