Dublin Hotel Cancels Accommodations for European Antisemitism Conference Delegates

Maurice Cohen, president of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, arranged more than 70 rooms at the Herbert Park Hotel in Ballsbridge for delegates attending the Special Envoys and Coordinators Combating Antisemitism (SECCA) meeting. After a meeting with the hotel’s general manager in which Cohen explained that the event was linked to Ireland’s EU Council Presidency and would include government ministers, the manager asked, “Will the IDF be involved?” Cohen said the question shocked him because the conference was about antisemitism, not Israel or its army. The manager replied that the owners needed to be consulted, and the following day the bookings were cancelled without explanation. The hotel has not responded to requests for comment.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)The Irish Times

The SECCA gathering was organized by the World Jewish Congress and the European Commission and coincided with Ireland’s six-month EU Council Presidency. Ireland’s government has recently taken a strong stance toward Israel, recognizing Palestinian statehood, barring Israeli far-right ministers from entry, and, in July, passing a law banning imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. Prime Minister Micheál Martin has publicly described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, a charge Israel rejects. The country’s Jewish population is estimated at about 2,200 people.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)

Cohen described the cancellation as an illustration of “contemporary antisemitism,” noting how quickly a reference to “Jewish” can shift a conversation toward the Israeli army and lead to discrimination. He said the Jewish community will explore every possible avenue, including a complaint under the Equal Status Acts administered by the Workplace Relations Commission. Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder suggested the hotel may have acted to avoid potential protests or backlash, rather than opposing the conference itself.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)

• “It’s possible that whoever took the decision had no objection to the conference itself,” — Yoni Wieder

Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)

• “It 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.” — Maurice Cohen, of ireland chairman

The Irish Times

Cohen indicated that the group is considering lodging a formal complaint under Ireland’s Equal Status Acts, which prohibit discrimination in the provision of goods and services. He emphasized that, despite the community’s small size, it expects the same legal protections afforded to other groups. The hotel has declined to provide a response to media inquiries at the time of reporting.

The Irish Times