The Lord Mayor of Dublin has apologised to the Jewish community for the "concern and upset caused" when plans by Dublin City Council to rename a park named after former Israeli president Chaim Herzog almost came into fruition last year.
Herzog Park, in the suburb of Rathgar, was named in 1995 for the Belfast-born and Dublin-raised Herzog, who served as the president of Israel from 1983 to 1993.
His father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was the first chief rabbi of Ireland, serving in that role from 1921 to 1937.
In December, councillors were due to vote on a motion to rename the park, proposed by multiple councillors within the city council’s naming and commemorations committee.
Despite significant concerns raised by the city’s Jewish community, the motion was expected to be carried to re-dedicate the space as the “Free Palestine Park”.
Prior to the motion being pulled, Maurice Cohen, chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland (JRC Ireland), said: “Herzog Park sits in the heart of the neighbourhood where much of Ireland’s small Jewish community has lived for generations. It stands beside the only Jewish school in the country. The name of the park is not an abstract tribute. It reflects a real and meaningful Irish story.
"To remove the name of Herzog Park is not a neutral administrative decision. It would single out a Jewish figure for erasure in a city where parks and public places honour people whose words, actions or political beliefs some may not share.”
He added: "It sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries. It risks turning a shared space into a symbol of exclusion at a time when Jewish communities throughout Europe are feeling increased anxiety.
“Those who support such a move will be seen by the community, and far beyond it, as acting in a manner that is openly hostile to Jews.”
Ireland’s Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder echoed Cohen’s sentiment at the time, saying: “Herzog Park is more than a name on a sign. For those who live nearby, and especially for the neighbouring 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 [who held office from 1974 to 1976], 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.”
Ultimately, the council decided to withdraw the motion, with just days to go before the vote, after Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin joined Jewish leaders in condemning the idea.
“The proposal to rename Herzog Park should be withdrawn in its entirety and not proceeded with,” he said. “The proposal would erase the distinctive and rich contribution to Irish life of the Jewish community over many decades, including actual participation in the Irish War of Independence and the emerging State.”
He went on: "The proposal is a denial of our history and will, without any doubt, be seen as antisemitic.
"It is overtly divisive and wrong. Our Irish Jewish community's contribution to our country’s evolution in its many forms should always be cherished and generously acknowledged.
"This motion must be withdrawn, and I will ask Dublin City Council to seriously reflect on the implications of this move.”
On Monday, during a full council meeting, Lord Mayor Ray McAdam, formally apologised for the incident, saying: “I wish to acknowledge the concern and upset caused to members of Dublin’s Jewish community, to local residents of Rathgar, and to the wider public arising from the flawed process and administrative failures surrounding the proposed renaming of Herzog Park.
“It is right that an apology is clearly extended here to the Jewish community of Dublin and to all those affected by this controversy.”
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