The Dublin City Council is debating renaming the park “Hind Rajab Park” or “Free Palestine Park.”
Helen McEntee, Ireland’s Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, issued a statement on Nov. 29 against the proposed renaming of Herzog Park in Dublin.
The park was named for Chaim Herzog, who was born in Belfast and grew up in Dublin, McEntee noted. He became Israel’s sixth president and his son, Isaac Herzog, currently holds the same position. Chaim Herzog’s father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was chief rabbi of Ireland.
While McEntee said she supported her government’s criticism of Israeli policies in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, “to remove the name of an Irish Jewish man has nothing to do with this and 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 Dublin City Council will convene on Monday to deliberate on the proposal to rename the park.
Two separate petitions called on the committee to adopt the names “Hind Rajab Park,” after a girl allegedly killed by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza in 2024, and “Free Palestine Park.”
The decision has sparked international criticism.
“When you think it couldn’t get any worse in Ireland regarding animosity toward Israel and the Jewish people, it just did,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) posted to X on Sunday.
“I don’t know what the people of Dublin are trying to say, but this is what I hear: A complete turning upside down of history when it comes to the Jewish people and the state of Israel,” he continued.
“Modern Ireland is a beautiful country with great scenery, but unfortunately it has become a cesspool of antisemitism,” Graham concluded.
In announcing the decision, Sa’ar cited the “extreme anti-Israel policy of the Irish government.”
“The antisemitic actions and rhetoric that Ireland is taking against Israel are based on delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state and on double standards,” said Sa’ar.
“Ireland has crossed all red lines in its relationship with Israel. Israel will invest its resources in promoting bilateral relations with the countries of the world according to priorities that are also derived from the attitude of the various countries towards it,” the statement continued.