Debating the Definition of Antisemitism

IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) Definition of Antisemitism

• Antisemitism is a perception of Jews that can develop into hatred, leading to discrimination or violence against Jewish people.
  
  

• Focuses on how people perceive Jews rather than only on actions.
  
  

• Example: perceiving Jews as engaged in a political takeover or global conspiracy.
  
  

• Directed toward Jewish people, not just Jewish beliefs or practices.

Examples of Antisemitic Behavior (according to IHRA)

• Denying or minimizing the atrocities of the Holocaust.
  
  

• Accusing Jews of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.
  
  

• Accusing Jewish people of being more loyal to Israel or to Jewish causes than to their home country (“dual-loyalty claim”).
  
  

• Claiming Jews are obligated to support the Jewish state over their own nation-state.
  
  

• Denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination (for example, claiming that the existence of Israel is a racist endeavor).
  
  

• Applying double standards to Israel by demanding behavior not expected of any other democratic nation.

Dual-Loyalty Claim

• The accusation that Jewish people are more loyal to Israel or Jewish interests than to their own country.
  
  

• Implies Jews cannot fully belong to their nation-state.
  
  

• Considered antisemitic under IHRA.

Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA)

• Emphasizes that something can be unreasonable or unfair without being antisemitic.
  
  

• Tries to separate criticism of Israel’s government or policies from hatred of Jews as a people.
  
  

• Uses the phrase “Jews have the right to exist and flourish” instead of “self-determination.”
  
  

• Avoids predetermining what a Jewish state must look like — allows multiple political possibilities.
  
  

• States that criticism of how Israel functions as a state is not automatically antisemitic, as long as it doesn’t:
  
  

  • Deny Jewish collective rights, or
    
    

    • Use antisemitic tropes.

States that criticism of how Israel functions as a state is not automatically antisemitic, as long as it doesn’t:

Deny Jewish collective rights, or

Use antisemitic tropes.

IHA differ

Suggests that anti-Zionism (denying the legitimacy of a Jewish state) can be antisemitic.

JDA difer

• Asserts that Jews have the right to flourish in Israel.
  
  

Criticism of Zionism or Israeli policies is not inherently antisemitic.

Nexus Document

• A framework to guide institutions (especially schools and universities) on identifying and addressing antisemitism.
  
  

• Focuses on creating clear rules and distinctions for when criticism of Israel crosses into antisemitism.
  
  

• Seeks to help academic and policy contexts handle these debates consistently.