In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, 60 organisations say the IHRA definition has been used to wrongly label criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic.
Published On 4 Apr 2023
Dozens of rights groups have urged United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres not to adopt the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, saying it has been used to suppress criticism of Israel.
In a letter published on Monday, 60 human and civil rights organisations said the UN should not use the definition in its action plan against anti-Semitism and subsequent activities.
It went on to ask the UN to ensure that its efforts to combat anti-Semitism do not “inadvertently embolden or endorse policies” that undermine fundamental human rights, including the right to speak and organise in support of Palestinian rights.
“The IHRA definition has often been used to wrongly label criticism of Israel as antisemitic, and thus chill and sometimes suppress, non-violent protest, activism and speech critical of Israel and/or Zionism, including in the US and Europe,” the letter said.
US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Israeli rights group B’Tselem, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) were among the signatories.
According to the IHRA’s working definition, “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”