Israeli president: Move to rename Dublin’s Herzog Park is ‘disgraceful’
If Dublin renames Herzog Park, named after Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog, it would be “a shameful and disgraceful move,” Isaac Herzog, the Jewish state’s current head of state, said on Saturday night.
Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog (1918-97) was Isaac’s father.
“We are following with concern the reports from Ireland regarding the intention to harm the legacy of the sixth President of the State of Israel, the late Chaim Herzog, as well as harming the unique expression of the historical connection between the Irish and Jewish peoples,” Isaac Herzog said in a statement.
“Beyond being an Israeli leader, Chaim Herzog was also a hero of the campaign to liberate Europe from the Nazis [as an officer in the British Army] and a figure who dedicated his life to establishing the values of freedom, tolerance, the pursuit of peace, and the fight against antisemitism,” Isaac Herzog continued.
Rabbi Isaac HaLevi Herzog (1888-1959), Chaim’s father, served as the first chief rabbi of the Irish Free State—as well as the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the State of Israel—“and left a significant mark on the life of the Irish nation in those days,” the president went on to say.
Naming the park, located in the city’s suburb of Rathgar, in honor of Chaim Herzog in 1995 “expressed appreciation for his legacy and the deep friendship between the Irish and Jewish peoples,” the Israeli president noted.
He lamented the deterioration in relations between Ireland and the Jewish state in recent years, adding that he hopes for their “recovery.”
The Dublin City Council is convening on Monday to deliberate a proposal to remove the park’s existing name and to replace it.
According to Irish outlet The Journal, Labour Party councillor Fiona Connelly made a motion in December 2024 regarding the name of the park, which was adopted by the city council’s South East Area Committee.
Two separate petitions called on the committee to adopt the names “Hind Rajab Park,” after a girl allegedly killed by the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza during Israel’s war against Hamas in 2024, and “Free Palestine Park.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar posted on X a formal document of the Dublin City Council discussing the matter, saying that this incident demonstrates the “accurate and just” decision that he made in December 2024 to close the Israeli embassy in Ireland shortly after he assumed office.
“Dublin has become the capital of antisemitism in the world. The Irish antisemitic and anti-Israeli obsession is sickening,” Israel’s top diplomat wrote.
Unlike the park name, “What cannot be removed is the disgrace of the Irish antisemitic and anti-Israeli obsession,” he added.
Former Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter accused the council of going “full-on Nazi” with the proposal.
“A committee of the Council on 24th November 2025 determined to rename the Park which is adjacent to Ireland’s only Jewish Primary and Secondary School,” the prominent figure in Ireland’s Jewish community tweeted.
“It seems some members of the Council are determined to make Dublin an inhospitable and hostile place for Dublin’s Jewish Community and Jewish children attending their school in Rathgar. The full council should reject this egregious antisemitic committee decision,” he added.
Chaim Herzog was born in Belfast and spent his early childhood in Dublin. His father was “affectionately known as the ‘Sinn Féin Rabbi’” during his time as the chief rabbi of the country, current Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder told The Irish Times.
The “Jewish story in Ireland deserves to be preserved, not whitewashed or erased,” Wieder added.
The Sinn Féin party was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith. Many of its founding members took part in the Irish War of Independence in 1919-21.
In a statement, Wieder said: “Herzog Park is more than a name on a sign. For those who live nearby, and especially for the neighboring Jewish families and schools, it’s a place filled with memory, and an important reminder that our community has deep roots in Dublin.
“Chaim Herzog was shaped by this city, and he loved it in return. Dubliners loved him too—not only his childhood friend President Cearbhall O’Dálaigh, but all who saw in him a local boy who rose to become a head of state and yet never lost his connection to Ireland.”
Wieder’s statement continued: “When the park was named in honor 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. To remove this name would be to erase a central piece of Irish-Jewish history, and send a painful message of isolation to our small community.”
