The Challenges of Defining Antisemitism Today: An Analysis of the IHRA definition and Its Applications

Abstract

Taking shape in political, educational, and public discourse, is a movement seeking to redefine and curtail global conversations through the misappropriation and mobilization of legitimate concerns. The IHRA definition is fundamentally unsuitable for adoption because of its inability to reflect contemporary political realities over the discourse surrounding antisemitism. This policy team intends to recommend against the adoption of the IHRA definition for three key reasons. First, the definition does not reflect the historical phenomena of antisemitism fully; Second, the specific focus on the IHRA does not reflect the current realities of antisemitism; Third, the IHRA has been, and could continue to be, used to suppress freedom of speech.