Eurovision Israel boycott hits right note, but renaming Herzog Park feels tone deaf

Jack Horgan-Jones and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:

·       Ireland, along with Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands, will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in protest of Israel’s participation. RTÉ said in a statement on Thursday that it would be “unconscionable” for Ireland to partake in the event given the “appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there”.

·       Far more contentious was the proposal to rename Rathgar’s Herzog Park in south Dublin. Named in honour of Belfast-born Chaim Herzog, Israel’s president from 1983 to 1993, who spent his early childhood in Dublin. Perhaps including the Irish-Jewish community in the process might have dampened a lot of the controversy that has erupted this week.

·       Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was in Ireland this week, but it was drones more than diplomatic ties that made the headlines. It exposed the gaps in our national security, especially with Ireland holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from next July, when a lot of state leaders will be visiting these shores.

·       And will the Government’s new infrastructure plan to accelerate the delivery of vital projects bear fruit before the next general election?

Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:

·       Patrick Freyne’s continuing vendetta against Kevin the Carrot, a row over state pensions could destabilise Germany’s new coalition, and the sudden death of ‘low-key national treasure’ Hugh Wallace.

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