Dozens of rights groups have urged United Nations Secretary-General Antonio
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.
The statement said the definition has been used to target professors, students and grassroots organisations that express support for Palestinian human rights.
Citing the example of the United Kingdom, where the definition was adopted nationally, the letter highlighted two instances where universities in 2017 banned several activities planned for “Israel Apartheid Week”, citing the IHRA definition.
The organisations noted that leading experts of anti-Semitism, and academics specialising in Holocaust and Jewish studies have also criticised the IHRA’s definition, “arguing that it restricts legitimate criticism of Israel and harms the fight against antisemitism”.
Instead, the groups said two definitions that have been put forward since 2021, the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism and the Nexus Document, were better alternatives.
“While acknowledging that criticism of Israel can be antisemitic, these alternative definitions set out more clearly what constitutes antisemitism and provide guidance surrounding the contours of legitimate speech and action around Israel and Palestine,” they said.
The letter warned that if the UN were to endorse the IHRA definition “in any shape or form”, UN officials working on issues concerning Israel and Palestine may find themselves “unjustly accused of antisemitism based on the IHRA definition”.
“The same goes for numerous UN agencies, departments, committees, panels and/or conferences, whose work touches on issues related to Israel and Palestine, as well as for civil society actors and human rights defenders engaging with the UN system,” it added.
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