Global Jewish call for UN to positively reference IHRA definition
AIJAC has joined 178 Jewish organisations across the globe in calling for the United Nations to favourably reference the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism at its upcoming in its upcoming “UN Action Plan on monitoring antisemitism and enhancing a system-wide response”.
Antonio Gutteres Photo: Twitter
The meeting to establish the plan is being convened on June 20-21 in Cordoba, Spain.
In a letter sent to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Under-Secretary-General Miguel Moratinos, AIJAC joined with the signatories in welcoming the UN’s “commitment to making the United Nations a more effective force for countering and combating Jew-hatred around the world.”
The signatories also expressed wholeheartedly their collective view that IHRA’s Working Definition of Antisemitism “is an indispensable tool to understand and fight antisemitism, and one that can be used entirely consistently with fundamental human rights standards.”
The Australian and New Zealand signatories are listed below.
The legally non-binding IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism has been endorsed by more than a thousand institutions globally, including the European Union and the Council of Europe, and more than 39 countries, and is the product of scholars and academics in the fields of Holocaust and genocide studies, as well as researchers and analysts monitoring modern manifestations of antisemitism.
Dr Colin Rubenstein, Executive Director of AIJAC, said that “It is imperative that organisations with the responsibility to protect society from the evils of antisemitism are equipped with the best, most effective tools to identify it. The IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism is just such a tool.
“While this latest appeal is to the United Nations, the identical principle should also apply to universities and other Australian institutions that may have to deal with manifestations of antisemitic behaviour,” Dr Rubenstein added.
Jeremy Jones, AIJAC Director of International and Community Affairs, noted, “the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism is the distillation of thinking of the major institutions and individuals at the front line of building community resilience to antisemitism. It has the strong support of Jewish communities and will be adopted by any institution that is serious about fighting contemporary antisemitism.”
The 179 organisational signatories of the letter come from around the globe and are led by the seven initiating organisations – the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, B’nai B’rith International, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, European Jewish Congress, Jewish Federations of North America and World Jewish Congress. In addition to the organisational signatories, 123 academics and practitioners from across the world have also endorsed the letter.
Other regional signatories:
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
B’nai B’rith Australia and New Zealand.
Australasian Union of Jewish Students in New Zealand
Beth Shalom Progressive Synagogue (NZ)
Council of Jewish Women Aotearoa NZ
Holocaust Centre of New Zealand
Nelson Jewish Community Inc
New Zealand Community Security Group Trust
Wellington Jewish Community Centre
Wellington Progressive Jewish Congregation
Zionist Federation of New Zealand
