Petition For Hurricane Irma To Be Renamed Hurricane Ivanka Gains Thousands Of Signatures

Image by Getty Images
“In the eye of the hurricane there is quiet, for just a moment,” sings Lin Manuel Miranda’s titular character in the hit musical “Hamilton.” But in the “I” of the hurricane there is no quiet at all, just the deafening tapping of thousands of fingertips on keyboards signing an online petition to rename Hurricane Irma. Over 7,000 people so far have signed a Care2 petition to change the name of the hurricane currently ravaging the Atlantic from “Irma” to “Ivanka.”
A vindictive internet prank, or a clever push for policy change? The petition states that this hurricane, like the recent Hurricane Harvey, was made more dangerous by the affects of climate change. Affects, the writers say, first daughter Ivanka Trump had promised to bring to the attention of her father. “Ivanka Trump can say what she wants about climate change,” reads the petition, “but as long as she quietly stands back, she remains complicit in the destruction we all face at the hands of her father’s administration.” The petition writers hope that a changed name could “put pressure on members of Trump’s administration to take real a stand for the health and safety of our world.”
The World Meteorological Organization is responsible for naming hurricanes, alternating male and female (only since 1979) and running according to six alphabetical lists that are recycled every six years, with certain names (Katrina, Matthew) retired if the hurricane was sufficiently destructive. At the moment, the six “I” hurricane names are Irma, Isaac, Imelda, Isaias, Ida, and Ian (Irene and Ingrid were both retired in the last six years.)
Jenny Singer is a writer for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.