In recent webinar lectures with Indiana University and the United Kingdom Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) Charitable Trust, Irwin Cotler, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada – and current LDB Academic Advisory Board member – discussed his beliefs of the importance of International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of anti-Semitism. “The IHRA Working Definition, which has emerged as the most authoritative, comprehensive, and international consensus definition that we have,” Cotler said, “is also the most represented. It was a resolution that was adopted over a 15-year decision-making process.” IHRA protects free speech and creates equality before the law for Jewish people that have been marginalized by anti-Semitic behavior. It serves as a non-binding framework for preventing and combatting anti-Semitism. The IHRA definition explains what constitutes an anti-Semitic offense and why – including examples that cross the line into delegitimization, demonization or double standards of Israel. A definition for anti-Semitism that includes its more modern forms is an improvement that aids in the prevention of more Jew-hatred. Cotler said, “If you cannot define and see anti-Semitism, you cannot defend against it.” IHRA’s definition has become the most widely accepted and adopted tool for understanding anti-Semitism. It has been adopted by 32 countries and hundreds of university administrations, student governments and other institutions – from Duke University to the Global Imams Council. “Given the sheer prevalence of anti-Semitism, globally and across-campus in the United States, we feel that it is necessary for the Duke Student Government to take a timely stand,” said one of the student senators who introduced the resolution to define and condemn anti-Semitism. On Holocaust Remembrance Day this year, 10 more U.S. states announced that they would adopt IHRA. The definition’s sustained success has spurned a predictable backlash by anti-Israel forces. Last year, members of Florida State University’s student government submitted a series of resolutions opposing IHRA and supporting the anti-Israel boycott movement. Ultimately, FSU’s student government rejected these measures. At the University of Texas at Austin, a Brandeis Center alum and JIGSAW Fellow named Jordan Cope authored a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and approving the IHRA definition. It was unanimously passed in March 2021. However, the UT Palestine Solidarity Committee presented a counter-resolution to Cope’s, condemning IHRA. Its authors claimed the IHRA definition is harmful to the rights of pro-Palestine groups because it conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism – despite the fact that the IHRA definition makes clear that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as anti-Semitic.” Cope called the anti-IHRA resolution “outrageous in that it seeks to deprive the mainstream Jewish community of its right to define and defend against anti-Semitism.” Ultimately, UT Austin’s anti-IHRA resolution was withdrawn last month after more than 3,000 people signed a petition, authored by UT Jewish students and allies, to oppose the resolution. Signatories argued that the anti-IHRA resolution belittles Jews’ lived experiences with anti-Semitism by claiming that those incidents were not about the Jewish people, and instead that the Jewish efforts to educate others about anti-Semitism was harmful to others. In addressing the resolution at UT Austin, Cotler said that many people opposed to the IHRA definition do not truly understand what it does. He said it is important to educate about IHRA and anti-Semitism, and that a good-faith approach to opposition should be taken so students can learn about and better understand the importance of IHRA. While it is concerning that students at FSU and UT Austin proposed anti-IHRA resolutions, the IHRA definition retains great momentum. Pushback is minor compared to the greater push for supporting the definition nationally and globally. As seen at UT Austin, Duke, and FSU, IHRA has a strong base of support with the Jewish community and its allies that allows it to withstand these uncommon instances of criticism. Watch the Indiana University webinar here. Watch the UKLFI webinar here.