Kenneth L. Marcus Address in Combat Antisemitism Movement’s ‘A Winning Tool: How the IHRA Definition Has Transformed the Fight Against Antisemitism’

Brandeis Center Founder and Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus was a featured speaker during the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s May 2, 2023 online symposium: “A Winning Tool: How the IHRA Definition Has Transformed the Fight Against Antisemitism.”

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The event highlighted the vital importance of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism — and promoted its continued growth and implementation. Along with Chairman Marcus, the forum featured representatives of entities that have adopted the definition — from the U.S. (Representative Josh Gottheimer from New Jersey; Tennessee Governor Bill Lee) to Australia (Glen Eira City Councilmember Margaret Esakoff) to Europe (Vice President of the European Parliament Nicola Beer; Mayor of Tirana, Albania Erion Veliaj). These officials shared why they chose to adopt the IHRA Definition and how this positively impacted their work and society as a whole.

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Chairman Marcus spoke about how all U.S. colleges and universities are, in fact, bound by the IHRA Definition, whether or not they have chosen to formally adopt it. That is because higher education institutions that accept federal funding (which includes almost all U.S. colleges and universities) sign assurances that they will comply with applicable federal legislation, regulations, and executive orders. These include not only Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but also Executive Order 13899, which since 2019 has included the IHRA Definition (including its examples) and directs campus administrators to consider the definition when evaluating claims of anti-Semitic bias.

View Chairman Marcus’s address below.