RECENT reports indicate that the White House may be facing pressure from some on the left to reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism (IHRA) from their national antisemitism strategy plan that will be released soon. The IHRA working definition of antisemitism is the most widely used mainstream definition of antisemitism.
In response, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), its staff and advisors, are issuing a reminder that more than 1,160 governing bodies and institutions worldwide have adopted or endorsed the IHRA’s definition, from nations, states, universities, political parties, non-profit organizations, religious bodies, sports franchises, to leaders across the political spectrum. The definition is already widely used throughout the federal government in the U.S, including by the Department of State and the Department of Education. A majority of U.S. states, 31, have also adopted the definition.
“Any national strategy to combat Jew-hatred that excludes the IHRA Working Definition — the most authoritative and widely-accepted delineation of all forms of contemporary antisemitism globally — would be severely compromised from the start,” said CAM CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa. “It is the world’s gold standard definition and a key pillar in government strategies to combat all forms of antisemitism.”
A January 2023 report from CAM and the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University covers the broad scope of the various 1,160 entities that have already adopted the definition.
The European Commission, which adopted the definition in 2018, cited it multiple times in its first-ever comprehensive “EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life” that was unveiled in October 2021, and has encouraged all member states to use the definition as part of national strategies to combat antisemitism and foster Jewish life.
The definition has been endorsed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who in 2018 said, “I wish to acknowledge the efforts of the member countries of the [IHRA] to agree on a common definition of antisemitism. Such a definition can serve as a basis for law enforcement, as well as preventive policies.”
Forty-one countries have adopted the definition, including most western democracies, representing hundreds of millions of people. Nations such as Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Argentina, and even Muslim-majority Albania have taken this step. The most recent national adoptions were by Latvia, Croatia, Australia, Estonia, Guatemala, Poland, South Korea, and Switzerland.
In its report, CAM has also compiled data demonstrating support for the definition across the political spectrum globally, including by left-wing parties who have adopted the definition, from the Labour Party in the UK, to SPD in Germany, as well as others in France, Canada, and elsewhere.
In this short video, CAM explains the importance of the definition and its 11 explanatory examples of contemporary antisemitism under the IHRA’s definition.
Members of both political parties in the U.S. have repeatedly endorsed the definition, recognizing its significance in identifying and addressing antisemitism effectively. Secretary of State Antony Blinken provided his “enthusiastic” support of the IHRA definition of antisemitism in 2021. President Trump codified that same definition in a 2019 executive order, and President Obama’s administration adopted the definition as guidance on antisemitism for the U.S. Department of State’s global efforts to combat antisemitism.
