Dublin Hotel Cancels Reservations for Delegates Attending Antisemitism Conference

A Dublin hotel canceled reservations for delegates attending a conference on combatting antisemitism, organized at the Irish capital as rage toward the Jewish state grows particularly acute on the Emerald Isle. Delegates from the European Union’s 27-member states traveled to Dublin this week for the 15th meeting of the Special Envoys and Coordinators Combatting Antisemitism, which is organized by the World Jewish Congress. The organizers noted that the event at Dublin comes as Irish Jews are increasingly feeling “insecure.” The World Jewish Congress said it hoped the event would provide a “valuable opportunity for honest and constructive engagement with the Irish Government.” Ireland’s Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Colm Brophy, said he hoped the delegates would have an “enjoyable few days in our capital city.”However, dozens of delegates did not experience a warm welcome. The chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, Maurice Cohen, said at a reception at the Irish Foreign Ministry that 70 delegates had their reservations at the Herbert Park Hotel canceled after management asked if the civilian event was connected to the Israel Defense Forces.“How quickly does the word ‘Jewish’ change a conversation? How easily does a gathering about antisemitism become associated with the Israeli army?” Mr. Cohen asked, according to a transcript provided by the Ireland-based founder of the Iona Institute for Religion and Society, David Quinn. “This was the hotel that … had always represented warmth and welcome, and now a group of people traveling to Dublin for a conference on antisemitism had been told that they could not stay there.”Herbert Park Hotel said it will not comment. The European Jewish Congress said in a statement that the incident is “deeply disturbing” and “reflects precisely the kind of prejudice and suspicion that such gatherings seek to confront.”“We call on the hotel to provide a clear explanation for its decision and recognise the gravity of what has occurred,” the European Jewish Congress said in a statement. Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded to the cancellation, writing on X, “No legitimate reason given. Just people attending a conference against antisemitism.”“Is this Ireland’s idea of fighting antisemitism? Hosting international conferences while delegates face discrimination in Dublin?” the ministry asked. “The Irish government cannot use the fight against antisemitism as a diplomatic PR exercise while failing to confront it at home.”During the event, some delegates went to Herzog Park at Dublin to show support for Ireland’s Jewish community. Last year, Dublin’s City Council considered a proposal to rename the park, named after the Ireland-born Israeli president, Chaim Herzog. However, the council members withdrew the proposal, with some members accusing the IDF of pressuring the council to abandon the idea. The chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, who was part of the delegation that went to the park, posted a picture of the group at the park and noted that the effort to rename the park failed, but said, “Anti-Israel rhetoric continues to create an increasingly hostile environment for Ireland’s Jewish community, threatening their safety and daily lives.”“Ireland cannot wait for tragedy to strike. The government must act now with dedicated security funding for Jewish institutions, consistent enforcement of hate crime laws and accountability for antisemitic rhetoric,” he said.The conference and the cancellation of delegates’ hotel reservations come amid concerns about rising antisemitism in Ireland. The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland says it recorded 143 antisemitic incidents in Ireland between July 2025 and January 2026. “How deeply ironic that this should happen to delegates attending a conference dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism. What this does say about today’s Ireland? Nothing good,” Mr. Quinn said.A Dublin-based Aontú, or “Unity,” party member, Helen Duignan, noted that the Herbert Park Hotel hosted Saudi National Day last month. She called Saudi Arabia “a total autocracy ranked as the world’s most authoritarian regime.” “The same hotel that so warmly welcomed the world’s most abusive Islamic regime then refused to host delegates attending an international conference on combating antisemitism,” she wrote.Meanwhile, Irish officials have harshly criticized Israel’s response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, massacre. In 2024, Ireland’s government voted to prohibit the acquisition of military equipment produced by Israeli companies. An Irish outlet, the Journal, reported in August that decision meant that a new jet that is supposed to transport the prime minister and top officials is lacking equipment to help the plane land in fog because a crucial navigational system was produced by an Israeli company. In an interview with Fox News last month, Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, said that Ireland has “no toleration for antisemitism.” However, he reiterated his criticism of Israel’s war against Hamas, calling it “absolutely disproportionate” and said the Jewish state should “change strategy.”

Dublin Hotel Cancels Reservations for Delegates Attending Antisemitism Conference

Dublin Hotel Cancels Reservations for Delegates Attending Antisemitism Conference

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