Dublin hotel cancels room bookings for combating-antisemitism conference

Bookings for 70 rooms for participants were canceled by hotel management, which suggested the event may have been tied to Israel’s military.

By World Israel News Staff

A Dublin hotel canceled reservations for 70 rooms booked for participants in an international conference on combating antisemitism after discovering the purpose of their visit, according to the head of Ireland’s Jewish representative body.

The Herbert Park Hotel, located in the Irish capital’s Ballsbridge neighborhood, initially accepted the group booking but subsequently withdrew it after learning that the guests were attending a gathering of officials responsible for combating antisemitism.

Maurice Cohen, chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, disclosed the incident during a reception at the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Ynet reported.

According to Cohen, hotel management also questioned whether the conference had any connection to the Israel Defense Forces, despite the event being an entirely civilian and diplomatic gathering with no military involvement.

The canceled reservations were intended for delegates attending the 15th meeting of the Special Envoys and Coordinators Combating Antisemitism (SECCA), an international network supported by the World Jewish Congress and the European Commission.

The three-day conference, held October 12–14, brought together representatives from European Union member states and other countries as part of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The gathering, titled “Tackling Antisemitism in the Digital Age,” focused on the growing threat posed by antisemitism to democratic societies, particularly through social media, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

Participants included government officials, Jewish community representatives, technology companies and civil society organizations. The program featured discussions on strengthening cooperation against antisemitic hatred and protecting Jewish communities.

Irish commentator David Quinn, who publicized Cohen’s account on social media, condemned the hotel’s actions.

“How deeply ironic that this should happen to delegates attending a conference dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism,” Quinn wrote.

The incident comes amid growing concerns about hostility toward Jews in Ireland, where Jewish community leaders have warned that increasingly aggressive anti-Israel rhetoric is contributing to an environment of intimidation.

On Tuesday, representatives of the world’s seven largest Jewish diaspora communities gathered at Dublin’s Herzog Park to express solidarity with Ireland’s approximately 2,200 Jews.

The delegation, known as the J7, included Jewish leaders from the US, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Argentina.

Addressing the gathering, Cohen said the Irish Jewish community had recorded 143 antisemitic incidents between July 2025 and January 2026.

He also criticized an earlier campaign to remove the name of former Israeli President Chaim Herzog, who grew up in Dublin, from the park.

“No Jew in Ireland should ever feel they must choose between being proudly Irish and proudly Jewish,” Cohen said.

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, speaking on behalf of the J7 delegation, warned that hostility toward Israel was increasingly affecting the lives and safety of Irish Jews.

Greenblatt called on the Irish government to provide dedicated security funding for Jewish institutions, enforce hate crime legislation and hold public officials accountable for rhetoric that crosses into antisemitism.

The Dublin conference also featured US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, who criticized European governments for applying different standards to Israel and countries accused of severe human rights abuses.

Arie Lipnick, chairman of the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s US advisory board, praised Kaploun’s remarks, accusing European governments of maintaining an “antisemitic double standard” by boycotting Israel while continuing commercial relations with Iran and other repressive states.

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