NGO pushes for UN adoption of IHRA definition of antisemitism
The report argued that “recent statistics on instances of antisemitism are quite startling and should be cause for major international concern.”
By AARON REICHPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S.(photo credit: REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON)
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has submitted a report to the office of the UN's special rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, calling on the world body to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.The report was submitted after special rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed called for NGOs to submit reports on discrimination in law and practice against minority religious and belief communities, as well as on the effects of such discrimination and recommendations for solutions. This comes as Shaheed is preparing a report on the progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16) – the elimination of intolerance and discrimination on religion or belief – which he will submit to the 75th UN General Assembly.Shaheed has previously spoken out against antisemitism before, including in his 2019 report to the General Assembly titled “violence, discrimination and expressions of hostility motivated by antisemitism as a serious obstacle to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief.”“The purpose of our report is to urge the UN to adopt the IHRA's working definition of antisemitism,” the ACLJ said in a statement.In May 2016, the 31 member countries of the IHRA adopted the working definition of antisemitism, which states: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”The report discusses the historic precedence for antisemitism both in society, and official government policy throughout history, and argued that “recent statistics on instances of antisemitism are quite startling and should be cause for major international concern.”Since then, several other countries have adopted the definition, including for internal policy use. This reflects a major effort in recent years, as instances of antisemitism rise in countries all over the world, to convince more countries to adopt the definition.The report goes on to list examples of antisemitism on a governmental and institutional level in Europe, the United States and the Middle East, including the effective bans placed on Kosher slaughter of animals; European economic boycotts on Israeli goods; conversion of synagogues in Algeria into libraries; giving Jews in Yemen the ultimatum of convert to Islam or leave the country; and the killing and jailing of Jews by the Iranian government.“Such governmental measures fuel societal hatred for Jews and lead to discrimination and violence by individuals,” the ACLJ said, adding that “We hope that our report will reinforce the special rapporteur’s work against antisemitism and assist him in his effort to incorporate best practices at the UN in combating one of the world’s oldest forms of hate and will help achieve our collective goal of eliminating intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief.”
