In a pointed exchange with Ireland’s envoy, Israel’s foreign minister said Dublin had failed to act on an “antisemitic” park-renaming bid until pressured.
The exchange unfolded during an event for honorary consuls at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
Ambassador Sonia McGuinness needled Sa’ar during a Q&A session that followed the minister’s speech, in which he mentioned the fight against the “scourge of antisemitism.”
“Minister, I’m glad to hear you mention the scourge of antisemitism and what must be done about it. But I would have thought that it must be carefully managed and not used for political gain. Antisemitism is a scourge and must be countered, and therefore don’t you think facts are important?” asked McGuinness.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Sunday criticized the proposal to rename the park, calling it “a denial of our history [that]will, without any doubt, be seen as antisemitic.” The previous day, Helen McEntee, Ireland’s minister of state at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, issued her own objections to the proposed name change.
On Monday, the City Council Executive asked the mayor to withdraw the document that had formed the basis for the renaming proposal, citing procedural issues.
Sa’ar on Friday had warned that, unlike the park name, “What cannot be removed is the disgrace of the Irish antisemitic and anti-Israeli obsession.”
Sa’ar and other Israeli officials have accused Irish officials of antisemitism before.
Sa’ar said in December 2024 that “the Irish government is made up of antisemites and obsessive anti-Israelis,” after then Irish president Michael D. Higgins accused Israel falsely of planning “settlements in Egypt.”