Richard Boyd Barrett Challenges Taoiseach on Israel, Gaza and Park Name
Richard Boyd Barrett challenged the Taoiseach over discussions about Gaza and Palestine and accused the Israeli state of using accusations of anti‑Semitism to silence critics. He asked whether the Taoiseach was capitulating to pressure over a proposal to rename Herzog Park and described the renaming as justified given alleged actions.
Richard Boyd Barrett directly questioned the Taoiseach about discussions with Keir Starmer on Gaza and Palestine and referenced recent exchanges in which an Irish ambassador was publicly criticised by an Israeli minister. He asked if the government was yielding to pressure by intervening in the Herzog Park renaming proposal.
Barrett argued that a standard tactic of the Israeli state is to label anyone who criticises it for genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing or persecution of Palestinians as anti‑Semitic. He invoked Keir Starmer's record and the example of Jeremy Corbyn to illustrate his contention about how such accusations are used.
The deputy described the Herzog Park renaming proposal as "entirely justified," citing what he said was Herzog's involvement in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. He framed the renaming debate as part of a wider contest over historical memory and accountability.
The Taoiseach replied that there was no relationship between Israeli government strategy and his views on renaming Herzog Park, arguing that naming and renaming places is part of how history is taught and remembered. He cautioned against erasing history by continually removing names and affirmed that criticism of Israeli government policy is not the same as anti‑Semitism.
The exchange included interruptions and further contributions from other deputies; the Taoiseach noted there were "seven more deputies" to answer. Both the question and the reply focused on the limits of political criticism, the role of historical naming, and objections to the blanket use of anti‑Semitism allegations in public debate.
Question to the Taoiseach
Richard Boyd Barrett directly questioned the Taoiseach about discussions with Keir Starmer on Gaza and Palestine and referenced recent exchanges in which an Irish ambassador was publicly criticised by an Israeli minister. He asked if the government was yielding to pressure by intervening in the Herzog Park renaming proposal.
Accusations of anti‑Semitism as a tactic
Barrett argued that a standard tactic of the Israeli state is to label anyone who criticises it for genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing or persecution of Palestinians as anti‑Semitic. He invoked Keir Starmer's record and the example of Jeremy Corbyn to illustrate his contention about how such accusations are used.
Herzog Park renaming
The deputy described the Herzog Park renaming proposal as "entirely justified," citing what he said was Herzog's involvement in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. He framed the renaming debate as part of a wider contest over historical memory and accountability.
Taoiseach's response on naming and criticism
The Taoiseach replied that there was no relationship between Israeli government strategy and his views on renaming Herzog Park, arguing that naming and renaming places is part of how history is taught and remembered. He cautioned against erasing history by continually removing names and affirmed that criticism of Israeli government policy is not the same as anti‑Semitism.
Parliamentary exchange and tone
The exchange included interruptions and further contributions from other deputies; the Taoiseach noted there were "seven more deputies" to answer. Both the question and the reply focused on the limits of political criticism, the role of historical naming, and objections to the blanket use of anti‑Semitism allegations in public debate.
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Transcript
Taoiseach, you said you discussed Gaza and Palestine with Keir Starmer. A standard tactic of the Israeli state has been to say that anybody who criticises them for genocide, for apartheid, for ethnic cleansing, for the persecution of Palestinians, is somehow anti-Semitic. Keir Starmer also, of course, has a record of going along with that nonsense, attacking people like Jeremy Corbyn, for example, who, you know, is one of the most long-standing anti-racist, absolute opponent of anti-Semitism, outrageous, and we've seen now an instance of our own ambassador being dressed down by an Israeli minister, being accused, and the Irish people, the Irish government, being accused of anti-Semitism. Now, I'd just like to know what you think about that, and are you, in fact, capitulating to that bullying by the Israeli state by intervening around the Herzog Park renaming proposal, which is an entirely justified proposal, given his history of involvement in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Thank you, Deputy Barrett. Deputy Barrett. Deputy Barrett. Deputy Barrett. Deputy Barrett. Again, no, there's no relationship between the strategy and policy of the Israeli government, and my views in terms of renaming a Herzog Park. I have a very basic view, I think, throughout the history of the state, there's been namings and renaming and so on like that. History, by the way, when you go and see a park, the name of a park, and if you're a student of history, as I am, and I have been, I taught students, I always show them, it could be remnants of empire, it could be anything, but it's a window open to explain the history of a given subject, given personality. If we keep on shutting down everything that's named by somebody, there'll be no history left. Sorry, there won't be a history left. That's not the point. It is actually, because if you go back through his father and before that, if you go back to how Jewish communities came to Ireland in the first instance, huge history there, for God's sake. Huge history there. Anyway, as a historian, as someone who is interested in history, be very careful. Brendan O'Hare wrote about it about the 30s, and they were shutting down places left, right and centre. Seven more deputies. There's a lot more to it than that, but there's nothing to do with it. I can put you at ease. Seven more deputies to answer. By the way, I object like you do to Israel's consistent messaging that if you're not on-site, you're off-site, or you're anti-Semitic. That's wrong. You're entitled to be criticised of Israeli government policy, and not be labelled anti-Semitic. That's absolutely correct. I support that.