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A total of 10 entities across the world adopted or endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism in the first quarter of 2024, from January to March, according to data compiled by the Antisemitism Research Center by CAM.
These 10 new adoptions, in addition to 5 retroactive adoptions, brought the global total of IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism adoptions and endorsements to 1,231 as of March 31. This represented a 62.5% decrease from the first quarter of 2023, when 40 international institutions and organizations, national and local governments, NGOs, universities, athletic clubs, and corporations adopted or endorsed the definition.
The biggest development this year so far has been in the United States, where there has been a resurgence in state-level adoption and implementation of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism and its eleven examples.
Following the October 7th massacres in Israel perpetrated by Hamas and the conflict that followed, there has been a massive rise in antisemitic incidents worldwide, as noted in CAM’s 2023 Annual Report on Antisemitic Incidents. To show solidarity with Jews around the world as they face this surge, several U.S. state governments have taken decisive action to ensure that the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, the most widely-adopted and supported definition of antisemitism, is embraced and utilized to protect their Jewish communities.
In the first three months of 2024, two new U.S. states, Georgia and Indiana, adopted the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, an increase from last year when one state, Arkansas, did so in the first quarter.
Thank you, @GovHolcomb, for your allyship in the fight against Jew-hatred and your insistence on highlighting the IHRA definition’s important 11 examples. https://t.co/26cL91aJdl
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) March 18, 2024
These new adoptions bring the total to 36 U.S. states that have adopted or endorsed the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. South Dakota, which previously took action via executive proclamation, passed legislation adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism last month, shortly after Florida, which had previously adopted the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism for K-20 investigations of antisemitic incidents, passed new legislation applying the definition for law enforcement to utilize when investigating hate crimes.
Thank you, @GovKristiNoem and the South Dakota State Legislature, for fighting against the hatred of Jews by ensuring that the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism be employed when investigating unfair and discriminatory practices.https://t.co/rVOOpbqKWa
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) March 7, 2024
Legislation for the adoption of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism is currently being considered in the states of New Jersey and North Carolina, a productive step forward that would lead to over three-fourths of all U.S. states having adopted or endorsed the definition
One of the key findings of the 2023 IHRA Report by CAM and Tel Aviv University was that U.S. colleges and universities failed to protect their students from the dramatic increase in incidents of antisemitism on campus, with only one university adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism last year. Individual institutions have not stepped up to the challenge, but the first quarter of 2024 has shown that elected officials are ensuring that universities meet the current crisis head-on.
In March, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order No. GA-44, which ordered all universities in the state to include the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism in their free speech policies. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued a similar executive order in 2022, and as a result Ohio universities, including The Ohio State University, adopted the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism.
CAM commended this step taken by Governor Abbott. If U.S. colleges and universities continue to fail to ensure the safety and security of their Jewish students, other state and local leaders should follow the example set by Governors Abbott and DeWine and mandate the adoption and implementation of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism.
Our research has shown @TheIHRA definition of antisemitism to be one of the most effective tools for identifying and countering on-campus antisemitism. We thank @GovAbbott for his leadership in ensuring a safe learning environment for Jewish students.https://t.co/TKFHb0OM3v
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) March 28, 2024
Outside of the United States, the positive worldwide trends noted in last year’s report largely continued. In 2023, the Brazilian cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro became pioneer cities as they were the first Brazilian adoptions of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. In February 2024, the Brazilian Province of Goiás became the third Brazilian adoption and the first province to take this decisive action. In March, the Province of São Paulo followed suit, endorsing the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, becoming the second Brazilian province and fourth Brazilian adoption overall, leading to a 100% increase in Brazilian adoptions in just the first three months of 2024 when compared with the entirety of 2023.
These actions have become all the more important in light of the antisemitic rhetoric used by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has repeatedly distorted the memory of the Holocaust, falsely accusing Israel of perpetrating a “genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and comparing Israel to Nazi Germany.
In Europe, major cities have continued to embrace the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. In January, the second-largest city in Spain, Barcelona, and the regional capital for the Italian province of Brescia, the city of Brescia, adopted the working definition.
Last year, the Polish capital city of Warsaw and the city of Płock adopted the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism after 28 Polish Jewish organizations and schools undertook a joint initiative to embrace the definition and highlight the broad support it had. Progress in Poland has continued into 2024, with the city of Wroclaw adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism in February. Furthermore two additional Polish cities were retroactively added, increasing the total number of Polish municipal adoptions from 2 to 5, representing a 150% increase.
The city of Wroclaw, Poland, which participated in the European Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, adopted the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism today! 👏
The adoption follows those of Warsaw and Plosk, which showed their support in the fight against anti-Jewish hate by… https://t.co/SyvzgOdi7Q
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) February 14, 2024
The first quarter of 2024 has brought promising trends in the fight against antisemitism, with U.S. states leading the charge in adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism and ensuring that colleges and universities do more to combat the surge of antisemitic incidents happening on their campuses. Adoptions have also continued in Europe and in Brazil, emphasizing the global importance and far-reaching impact of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism in the fight against antisemitism.
The Antisemitism Research Center by CAM monthly reports in January, February, and March have continued to show that the tide has not yet stemmed from the post-October 7th worldwide increase in antisemitic incidents. As we continue to push back against this uptick in hate, it is all the more important that international institutions and organizations, national and local governments, NGOs, universities, athletic clubs, and corporations adopt and implement the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism.
The IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism says, “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The non-legally binding definition includes 11 explanatory examples detailing specific discriminatory behaviors targeting Jews.
For more information on past data, please see the “The IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism 2023 Adoptions & Endorsements Report,” published in January by CAM and Tel Aviv University’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry, here.
CAM’s full dataset on IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism adoptions and endorsements can be accessed here.
Watch a CAM video on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism:
