Jon Ihle

And I think it's important for us to speak up and say how we're being affected, especially when it's negative.

And I should say also, I'm not a spokesperson for the Jewish community.

There's a wide variety of opinions within the Jewish community, both pro and against what has happened in Gaza.

And I don't propose to represent all of them.

You know, I'm just speaking about my own personal experience, you know, which I think has some overlap with a lot of other Jewish people, but I'm sure there's disagreement there too.

When you're a journalist, you sometimes get asked to do things.

And this was my, I guess, my opportunity to say something maybe that I'd been thinking about or feeling for quite a long time.

I mean, I used to, as part of my professional work, I used to write for a

Jewish news agency from Ireland.

And, you know, I remember when I first pitched myself to the editor, you know, who was based in Philadelphia, and she said to me, well, but like, what are you going to be writing about from Ireland?

And I said, well, well, don't worry, they talk about Jews a lot here, you know, and

The fact that 2,000 Jews live in this country, but Jews are a frequent topic of conversation, whether Israeli Jews or otherwise, I think is noteworthy.

One of the things I mentioned in the piece was the fight over the naming of Herzog Park, which I think is maybe symbolic of the kind of thing I'm talking about.

It's one thing to say, look, the Netanyahu government, disgraceful.

They should be stopped.

I don't like what they're doing.

That's fine.

I think that's within the sort of realm of legitimate discourse around interstate actions and so forth.

But to say that we should rename this park, which is named in honor of a Dublin Jew, by the way, Isaac Herzog.

Sorry, Chaim Herzog, the son of Isaac Herzog, who was the first chief rabbi of independent Ireland.