The Herbert Park Hotel in Dublin canceled a reservation for 70 rooms intended for delegates attending an international conference on combating antisemitism after learning the purpose of their visit, according to Maurice Cohen, chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland.
In his speech at the opening event at the Irish Foreign Ministry – sent to The Jerusalem Post – Cohen recalled meeting with hotel management after the booking was completed, and being questioned about whether the gathering was connected to the Israel Defense Forces.
Cohen also remembered the manager’s demeanor changing and becoming tense after he mentioned that the delegates would be Jewish leaders.
“There is an uncomfortable irony in organizing an international conference to discuss antisemitism and finding that, before the conference has even begun, you have already encountered something that forces you to ask exactly the questions the conference was created to address,” he said.
“How quickly does the word ‘Jewish’ change a conversation? How easily does a gathering about antisemitism become associated with the Israeli army?”
He noted that the question about the IDF was not an innocent misunderstanding, as it instead “revealed how quickly Jewish identity can be collapsed into Israel, how quickly Israel can be collapsed into suspicion, and how quickly suspicion can become discrimination because contemporary antisemitism does not always arrive wearing the language of the past.
“It does not always announce itself with a slur, a threat, or a placard. Increasingly, it can present itself as a question, a precaution, a policy, a request for clarification. It begins by treating Jewish identity as evidence of political allegiance,” he said.
Resetting the conversation between Jewish groups and governments
The European Jewish Congress called the incident “deeply disturbing.”
“That a hotel would cancel accommodation for participants in a conference dedicated to combating antisemitism, while raising questions about supposed links to the Israeli military, reflects precisely the kind of prejudice and suspicion that such gatherings seek to confront,” the EJC noted.
“It is profoundly troubling that those working to combat antisemitism should themselves encounter such treatment. Jewish organizations and those standing against hatred must never face exclusion or discrimination because of their work,”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said. “The Irish government cannot use the fight against antisemitism as a diplomatic PR exercise while failing to confront it at home.”
The conference in question was the 15th meeting of the Special Envoys and Coordinators Combating Antisemitism (SECCA) Forum, organized by the World Jewish Congress in partnership with the European Commission, and convened as an Associated Event under Ireland’s rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Jewish community leaders from across the world joined government envoys, representatives from international organizations, and technology company executives in Dublin from October 12 to 14.
Leaders representing the J7 Large Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism – connecting the Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas, Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Canada’s Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Board of Deputies of British Jews, alongside the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations from the United States – also joined the forum following a series of high-level meetings in London earlier in the week.
Statements, condemnations only go so far
The gathering included a meeting with Ireland’s Taoiseach or government leader, Micheál Martin; visits to the European headquarters of TikTok and Meta; and other discussions.
“Our meeting in Dublin is a much-needed opportunity to reset the conversation between Jewish organizations, governments, and technology companies,” Maram Stern, WJC executive vice president, said. “Statements and condemnation of antisemitism only go so far. Practical solutions must urgently be put in place to protect Jewish life globally.”
The delegates were officially welcomed by Irish ministers despite the current Ireland-Israel tensions.
At the start of Tuesday’s agenda, Colm Brophy, a member of the Irish parliament, said he was “very pleased to welcome Jewish community leaders” and was particularly happy to see that the event has a focus on AI and on the regulation of online platforms, given the “troubling increase in antisemitism and other forms of racism online in recent years.”
The incident comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Ireland and Israel, with Jerusalem accusing Dublin of fostering an increasingly hostile environment toward the Jewish state.
Tensions have escalated following Ireland’s recognition of a Palestinian state, its legal and diplomatic moves against Israel, and controversy over Dublin City Council’s proposal to remove the name of former Israeli president Chaim Herzog from Herzog Park in Rathgar and replace it with “Free Palestine Park.”
The attempt was eventually condemned by Irish officials, and the J7 representatives visited the park for a photo-op this week during the conference.