More than 1,000 global entities adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism

As of December, a total of 1,116 global entities had adopted and endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism, according to a report by Combat Antisemitism Movement. 

The IHRA formulated and adopted its Working Definition of Antisemitism in 2016, and it has since become the most widely-supported standard to identify manifestations of anti-Semitism. Just last year, 18 U.S. states adopted the definition, bringing the total number of adopting states to 30. 

With anti-Semitism on the rise in the United States and increasingly being expressed in the mainstream by public figures like Kanye West and Kyrie Irving, institutions and organizations benefit from having a clear standard by which to identify and respond to expressions of anti-Semitism. 

Sacha Roytman Dratwa, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), said that support for the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism “transcends the political and ideological spectrum and unites entities and individuals of a broad swathe of religious, national and cultural backgrounds.” 

“This significant adoption phenomenon, which has gained momentum in recent years, pinpoints the Working Definition of Antisemitism as a major tool in the contemporary struggle against anti-Semitism,” said Professor Dina Porat, the chair for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University. 

A significant category in which adoptions proliferated during 2022 was in non-federal government entities, including states, provincial governments, counties and municipalities. A large number of those entities, around 55%, were located in the U.S. 

According to Dratwa, the business sector is an important area to apply this definition to in the future. 

While entities are educating themselves on how to identify or define anti-Semitism, there has been an increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S., up 12% in 2022 from the previous year, according to CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center. 

Last week, the Anti-Defamation League released the results of a survey showing a significant increase in the percentage of people in the U.S. who believe anti-Jewish tropes, as compared to 2019. A significant factor was the rise in anti-Israel beliefs and sentiments, with younger adults having higher levels of anti-Israel sentiment than older generations. 

The survey showed “a nearly 40 percent correlation between belief in anti-Jewish tropes and anti-Israel belief, meaning that a substantial number of people who believe anti-Jewish tropes also have negative attitudes toward Israel.”