Before we have a quick look at Herzog Park, here are a few relevant matters
Is a citizen of Israel the same thing as a Jew? No.
Are non-Israeli Jews supporters of Israel? Yes, in the main they are. But there are a considerable number of Jews worldwide who feel shamed by the bloody actions of Israel and condemn those actions loudly and clearly.
Has Herzog Park been re-named. No.
Why would anyone want to re-name it? Because it’s named after the father of the present President of Israel. Chaim Herzog was born on the Cliftonville Road in Belfast and when he moved to Dublinhe was a supporter of Irish independence and a friend of de Valera. He was the President of Israel from 1983-1993. His son, Isaac Herzog, is the present President of Israel. So both Herzogs were closely involved in Israel past and Israel present. Whether you feel the name of the park should be changed depends on whether you think their should be changes to monuments,statues, street names, etc, in the light of more recent thinking.For example,show me a British subject who isn’t in favour of re-naming Prince Andrew Way and all the other streets throughout the UK named in honour of the now dishonourable Andrew.
Should Israel have been included in the coming Eurovision Song Contest? There are those who believe in torture, and so they may be hoping that Israel participates. Others think that allowing their country to participate is to accept the standing of Israel in the world.Israel’s Prime Minister, remember,has been declared a war criminal. Do you feel countries led by war criminals should be allowed to participate in the ESC the same as everyone else?Or does withdrawing from the contest, as the South of Ireland has done, show the world you reject Israel’s slaughter of more than 70,000 Gazans?
Should Ireland continue with links to Israeli companies or services? For example, an Israeli company, Allianz, plus a key role in the operation of the GAA.
Should the governments of countries world-wide, including our own native land,organise a boycott of all Israeli products and services? Is the Pope a Yank?
Withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest was a good decision by the South of Ireland. That it should have made such a move long ago,along with the disciplined severing of all links with this rogue state without shame, is blindingly obvious.
To sum up:Eurovision is just a bloody song, which is quite different from air strikes and bombings of just about every town and village in Gaza. Refusing to sing isn’t wildly courageous,but it’s a start.
I have one bone of contention Jude. Israel has a pretty decent Eurovision record. I am old enough to remember their back to back wins, 1978 and 1979. Milk and Honey! I also remember them winning with Dana International but the less said about that the better. As for boycotts, I think Israel and particularly their crooked Prime Minister have behaved appallingly in Gaza. They quite rightly stand condemned by every right thinking person. But if they are banned from Eurovision then a whole lot of other states would have been kicked out over the years, including the UK for it’s illegal slaughter in Iraq.
In response to my call on the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland to cease trading with Allianz Insurance, a man named John Dolan, Company Secretary, Allianz p.l.c. has written a letter to The Irish Catholic this week denying that his company Allianz has any connection to Israel. He claims that the the Allianz plc is part of Allianz SE headquartered in Munich. He does not say who owns AllianzSE based in Munich.