• The Cambridge English Dictionary defines it as: ‘Hate or strong dislike of Jews, or actions that express hate or dislike of Jews.’
• In September 2016, the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, addressing the European Parliament, said: ‘Not liking Jews is not anti-Semitism. We all have people we don’t like. That’s OK; that’s human; it isn’t dangerous. Second, criticising Israel is not anti-Semitism. I was recently talking to some schoolchildren and they asked me: “Is criticising Israel anti-Semitism?” I said “No” and I explained the difference. I asked them: “Do you believe you have a right to criticise the British Government?” They all put up their hands. Then I asked: “Which of you believes that Britain has no right to exist?” No one put up their hand. “Now you know the difference”, I said, and they all did. Anti-Semitism means denying the right of Jews to exist collectively as Jews with the same rights as everyone else. It takes different forms in different ages. In the Middle Ages, Jews were hated because of their religion. In the 19th and early 20th century they were hated because of their race. Today they are hated because of their nation state, the state of Israel. It takes different forms, but it remains the same thing: the view that Jews have no right to exist as free and equal human beings.’
• The 2016 International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s definition of anti-Semitism reads: ‘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.’ Its full content can be read online here – www.holocaustremembrance.com
• Part of it says: ‘Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as anti-Semitic.’
• Professor David Feldman, director of the Pears Institute for the study of anti-Semitism, criticised the IHRA definition saying: ‘There is a danger that the overall effect will place the onus on Israel’s critics to demonstrate they are not anti-Semitic.’
Other criticism came from a letter signed by 243 British academics in 2017, claiming that the definition ‘seeks to conflate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism’, and in November 2020 from a group of 122 Palestinian and Arab academics, journalists and intellectuals.
• The UK Government adopted the IHRA definition in December 2016. The UK Labour Party adopted it in September 2018, the same month as the Church of England’s bishops did.
• This year, the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) issued a statement adopting the IHRA definition ‘without qualification or exemption’ (en, June 2022).
• Other definitions of anti-Semitism include the 2021 Jerusalem Declaration on anti-Semitism signed by 200 international scholars, and the Nexus Definition which originated from the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. An analysis of the varying definitions was published by the Jerusalem Post on 22 April, 2021.
