Plans to remove the name of Herzog Park in Dublin were halted this week but the debate has prompted strong reactions.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Oliver Sears, Founder of Holocaust Awareness Ireland, and City Councillor Conor Reddy shared their views on the issue.

 Councillor Conor Reddy rejected suggestions that the proposal was anti-Semitic, stating:

“There was absolutely nothing anti-Semitic about the initial campaign led by Irish for Palestine, actually endorsed by Jews for Palestine Ireland.”

Reddy argued his concern was with Herzog’s record in leadership:

“This is a man who joined the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary in the British Mandate of Palestine that was involved in ethnic cleansing.”

"If you look at his role as the military governor in the West Bank from 1967 - 69, these are some of the gravest crimes against humanity," he said.

Herzog Park

Oliver Sears expressed shock at Reddy’s remarks, calling them historically inaccurate:

“I am amazed that an elected representative is quite so ignorant of the history of the region.”

Mr Sears acknowledged the complexity of the political and historical background to Israel and neighbouring Arab states.

“Lots of bad things happened, terrible things happened. Lots of intergenerational suffering.

“But what [Mr Reddy] tries to do is lecture us on what anti-Semitism means," he said.

Sears described it as a 'single attack' on the Jewish community in Ireland, adding that the decision was made without consulting them.

“There are 3,000 of us; what are they thinking? They’re not thinking about us,” he said.

Since the events of October 7th, 2023, Sears says being Jewish in Ireland has become significantly more difficult.

“I have had the worst abuse of my life as a Jewish person on this planet.

“This is a serious deterioration in the relationship between the Irish society and its Jewish community.”

Written by Annemarie Roberts