The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism is a tool to identify, confront and raise awareness about antisemitism as it manifests in countries around the world today. It includes a preamble, definition, and a set of 15 guidelines that provide detailed guidance for those seeking to recognize antisemitism in order to craft responses. It was developed by a group of scholars in the fields of Holocaust history, Jewish studies, and Middle East studies to meet what has become a growing challenge: providing clear guidance to identify and fight antisemitism while protecting free expression. Initially signed by 210 scholars, it has now around 370 signatories.
Preamble
We, the undersigned, present the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, the product of an initiative that originated in Jerusalem. We include in our number international scholars working in Antisemitism Studies and related fields, including Jewish, Holocaust, Israel, Palestine, and Middle East Studies. The text of the Declaration has benefited from consultation with legal scholars and members of civil society.
Inspired by the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the 1969 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, the 2000 Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, and the 2005 United Nations Resolution on Holocaust Remembrance, we hold that while antisemitism has certain distinctive features, the fight against it is inseparable from the overall fight against all forms of racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, and gender discrimination.
Conscious of the historical persecution of Jews throughout history and of the universal lessons of the Holocaust, and viewing with alarm the reassertion of antisemitism by groups that mobilize hatred and violence in politics, society, and on the internet, we seek to provide a usable, concise, and historically-informed core definition of antisemitism with a set of guidelines.
The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism responds to “the IHRA Definition,” the document that was adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016. Because the IHRA Definition is unclear in key respects and widely open to different interpretations, it has caused confusion and generated controversy, hence weakening the fight against antisemitism. Noting that it calls itself “a working definition,” we have sought to improve on it by offering (a) a clearer core definition and (b) a coherent set of guidelines. We hope this will be helpful for monitoring and combating antisemitism, as well as for educational purposes. We propose our non-legally binding Declaration as an alternative to the IHRA Definition. Institutions that have already adopted the IHRA Definition can use our text as a tool for interpreting it.
The IHRA Definition includes 11 “examples” of antisemitism, 7 of which focus on the State of Israel. While this puts undue emphasis on one arena, there is a widely-felt need for clarity on the limits of legitimate political speech and action concerning Zionism, Israel, and Palestine. Our aim is twofold: (1) to strengthen the fight against antisemitism by clarifying what it is and how it is manifested, (2) to protect a space for an open debate about the vexed question of the future of Israel/Palestine. We do not all share the same political views and we are not seeking to promote a partisan political agenda. Determining that a controversial view or action is not antisemitic implies neither that we endorse it nor that we do not.
The guidelines that focus on Israel-Palestine (numbers 6 to 15) should be taken together. In general, when applying the guidelines each should be read in the light of the others and always with a view to context. Context can include the intention behind an utterance, or a pattern of speech over time, or even the identity of the speaker, especially when the subject is Israel or Zionism. So, for example, hostility to Israel could be an expression of an antisemitic animus, or it could be a reaction to a human rights violation, or it could be the emotion that a Palestinian person feels on account of their experience at the hands of the State. In short, judgement and sensitivity are needed in applying these guidelines to concrete situations.
Guidelines
A. General
- It is racist to essentialize (treat a character trait as inherent) or to make sweeping negative generalizations about a given population. What is true of racism in general is true of antisemitism in particular.
- What is particular in classic antisemitism is the idea that Jews are linked to the forces of evil. This stands at the core of many anti-Jewish fantasies, such as the idea of a Jewish conspiracy in which “the Jews” possess hidden power that they use to promote their own collective agenda at the expense of other people. This linkage between Jews and evil continues in the present: in the fantasy that “the Jews” control governments with a “hidden hand,” that they own the banks, control the media, act as “a state within a state,” and are responsible for spreading disease (such as Covid-19). All these features can be instrumentalized by different (and even antagonistic) political causes.
- Antisemitism can be manifested in words, visual images, and deeds. Examples of antisemitic words include utterances that all Jews are wealthy, inherently stingy, or unpatriotic. In antisemitic caricatures, Jews are often depicted as grotesque, with big noses and associated with wealth. Examples of antisemitic deeds are: assaulting someone because she or he is Jewish, attacking a synagogue, daubing swastikas on Jewish graves, or refusing to hire or promote people because they are Jewish.
- Antisemitism can be direct or indirect, explicit or coded. For example, “The Rothschilds control the world” is a coded statement about the alleged power of “the Jews” over banks and international finance. Similarly, portraying Israel as the ultimate evil or grossly exaggerating its actual influence can be a coded way of racializing and stigmatizing Jews. In many cases, identifying coded speech is a matter of context and judgement, taking account of these guidelines.
- Denying or minimizing the Holocaust by claiming that the deliberate Nazi genocide of the Jews did not take place, or that there were no extermination camps or gas chambers, or that the number of victims was a fraction of the actual total, is antisemitic.
B. Israel and Palestine: examples that, on the face of it, are antisemitic
- Applying the symbols, images and negative stereotypes of classical antisemitism (see guidelines 2 and 3) to the State of Israel.
- Holding Jews collectively responsible for Israel’s conduct or treating Jews, simply because they are Jewish, as agents of Israel.
- Requiring people, because they are Jewish, publicly to condemn Israel or Zionism (for example, at a political meeting).
- Assuming that non-Israeli Jews, simply because they are Jews, are necessarily more loyal to Israel than to their own countries.
- Denying the right of Jews in the State of Israel to exist and flourish, collectively and individually, as Jews, in accordance with the principle of equality.
C. Israel and Palestine: examples that, on the face of it, are not antisemitic
- (whether or not one approves of the view or action)
- Supporting the Palestinian demand for justice and the full grant of their political, national, civil and human rights, as encapsulated in international law.
- Criticizing or opposing Zionism as a form of nationalism, or arguing for a variety of constitutional arrangements for Jews and Palestinians in the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. It is not antisemitic to support arrangements that accord full equality to all inhabitants “between the river and the sea,” whether in two states, a binational state, unitary democratic state, federal state, or in whatever form.
- Evidence-based criticism of Israel as a state. This includes its institutions and founding principles. It also includes its policies and practices, domestic and abroad, such as the conduct of Israel in the West Bank and Gaza, the role Israel plays in the region, or any other way in which, as a state, it influences events in the world. It is not antisemitic to point out systematic racial discrimination. In general, the same norms of debate that apply to other states and to other conflicts over national self-determination apply in the case of Israel and Palestine. Thus, even if contentious, it is not antisemitic, in and of itself, to compare Israel with other historical cases, including settler-colonialism or apartheid.
- Boycott, divestment and sanctions are commonplace, non-violent forms of political protest against states. In the Israeli case they are not, in and of themselves, antisemitic.
- Political speech does not have to be measured, proportional, tempered, or reasonable to be protected under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and other human rights instruments. Criticism that some may see as excessive or contentious, or as reflecting a “double standard,” is not, in and of itself, antisemitic. In general, the line between antisemitic and non-antisemitic speech is different from the line between unreasonable and reasonable speech.
Ludo Abicht, Professor Dr., Political Science Department, University of Antwerp
Taner Akçam, Professor, Kaloosdian/Mugar Chair Armenian History and Genocide, Clark University
Gadi Algazi, Professor, Department of History and Minerva Institute for German History, Tel Aviv University
Seth Anziska, Mohamed S. Farsi-Polonsky Associate Professor of Jewish-Muslim Relations, University College London
Aleida Assmann, Professor Dr., Literary Studies, Holocaust, Trauma and Memory Studies, Konstanz University
Jean-Christophe Attias, Professor, Medieval Jewish Thought, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Université PSL Paris
Leora Auslander, Arthur and Joann Rasmussen Professor of Western Civilization in the College and Professor of European Social History, Department of History, University of Chicago
Bernard Avishai, Visiting Professor of Government, Department of Government, Dartmouth College
Angelika Bammer, Professor, Comparative Literature, Affiliate Faculty of Jewish Studies, Emory University
Omer Bartov, John P. Birkelund Distinguished Professor of European History, Brown University
Almog Behar, Dr., Department of Literature and the Judeo-Arabic Cultural Studies Program, Tel Aviv University
Moshe Behar, Associate Professor, Israel/Palestine and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Manchester
Peter Beinart, Professor of Journalism and Political Science, The City University of New York (CUNY); Editor at large, Jewish Currents
Elissa Bemporad, Jerry and William Ungar Chair in East European Jewish History and the Holocaust; Professor of History, Queens College and The City University of New York (CUNY)
Sarah Bunin Benor, Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Wolfgang Benz, Professor Dr., fmr. Director Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin
Doris Bergen, Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies, Department of History and Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Toronto
Werner Bergmann, Professor Emeritus, Sociologist, Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin
Michael Berkowitz, Professor, Modern Jewish History, University College London
Lila Corwin Berman, Murray Friedman Chair of American Jewish History, Temple University
Louise Bethlehem, Associate Professor and Chair of the Program in Cultural Studies, English and Cultural Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
David Biale, Emanuel Ringelblum Distinguished Professor, University of California, Davis
Leora Bilsky, Professor, The Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Monica Black, Professor, Department of History, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Daniel Blatman, Professor, Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Omri Boehm, Associate Professor of Philosophy, The New School for Social Research, New York
Daniel Boyarin, Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture, UC Berkeley
Christina von Braun, Professor Dr., Selma Stern Center for Jewish Studies, Humboldt University, Berlin
Micha Brumlik, Professor Dr., fmr. Director of Fritz Bauer Institut-Geschichte und Wirkung des Holocaust, Frankfurt am Main
Jose Brunner, Professor Emeritus, Buchmann Faculty of Law and Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science, Tel Aviv University
Darcy Buerkle, Professor and Chair of History, Smith College
John Bunzl, Professor Dr., The Austrian Institute for International Politics
Michelle U. Campos, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and History Pennsylvania State University
Francesco Cassata, Professor, Contemporary History Department of Ancient Studies, Philosophy and History, University of Genoa
Naomi Chazan, Professor Emerita of Political Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Bryan Cheyette, Professor and Chair in Modern Literature and Culture, University of Reading
Stephen Clingman, Distinguished University Professor, Department of English, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Raya Cohen, Dr., fmr. Department of Jewish History, Tel Aviv University; fmr. Department of Sociology, University of Naples Federico II
Alon Confino, Pen Tishkach Chair of Holocaust Studies, Professor of History and Jewish Studies, Director Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Sebastian Conrad, Professor of Global and Postcolonial History, Freie Universität Berlin
Deborah Dash Moore, Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of History and Professor of Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
Natalie Zemon Davis, Professor Emerita, Princeton University and University of Toronto
Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi, Professor Emerita, Comparative Literature, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hasia R. Diner, Professor, New York University
Arie M. Dubnov, Max Ticktin Chair of Israel Studies and Director Judaic Studies Program, The George Washington University
Debórah Dwork, Director Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY)
Yulia Egorova, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Director Centre for the Study of Jewish Culture, Society and Politics
Helga Embacher, Professor Dr., Department of History, Paris Lodron University Salzburg
Vincent Engel, Professor, University of Louvain, UCLouvain
David Enoch, Professor, Philosophy Department and Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Yuval Evri, Dr., Leverhulme Early Career Fellow SPLAS, King’s College London
Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University; Chair of Global Law, School of Law, Queen Mary University, London
David Feldman, Professor, Director of the Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, Birkbeck, University of London
Yochi Fischer, Dr., Deputy Director Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and Head of the Sacredness, Religion and Secularization Cluster
Ulrike Freitag, Professor Dr., History of the Middle East, Director Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin
Ute Frevert, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin nt,
Katharina Galor, Professor Dr., Hirschfeld Visiting Associate Professor, Program in Judaic Studies, Program un Urban Studies, Brown University
Chaim Gans, Professor Emeritus, The Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Alexandra Garbarini, Professor, Department of History and Program in Jewish Studies, Williams College
Sander Gilman, Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences; Professor of Psychiatry, Emory University
Shai Ginsburg, Associate Professor, Chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and Faculty Member of the Center for Jewish Studies, Duke University
Victor Ginsburgh, Professor Emeritus, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels
Carlo Ginzburg, Professor Emeritus, UCLA and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa
Snait Gissis, Dr., Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University
Glowacka Dorota, Professor, Humanities, University of King’s College, Halifax
Amos Goldberg, Professor, The Jonah M. Machover Chair in Holocaust Studies, Head of the Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Harvey Goldberg, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Sylvie-Anne Goldberg, Professor, Jewish Culture and History, Head of Jewish Studies at the Advanced School of Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris
Svenja Goltermann, Professor Dr., Historisches Seminar, University of Zurich
Neve Gordon, Professor of International Law, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London
Emily Gottreich, Adjunct Professor, Global Studies and Department of History, UC Berkeley, Director MENA-J Program
Leonard Grob, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Jeffrey Grossman, Associate Professor, German and Jewish Studies, Chair of the German Department, University of Virginia
Atina Grossmann, Professor of History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The Cooper Union, New York
Wolf Gruner, Shapell-Guerin Chair in Jewish Studies and Founding Director of the USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research, University of Southern California
François Guesnet, Professor of Modern Jewish History, Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University College London
Ruth HaCohen, Artur Rubinstein Professor of Musicology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Aaron J. Hahn Tapper, Professor, Mae and Benjamin Swig Chair in Jewish Studies, University of San Francisco
Liora R. Halperin, Associate Professor of International Studies, History and Jewish Studies; Jack and Rebecca Benaroya Endowed Chair in Israel Studies, University of Washington
Rachel Havrelock, Professor of English and Jewish Studies, University of Illinois, Chicago
Sonja Hegasy, Professor Dr., Scholar of Islamic Studies and Professor of Postcolonial Studies, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin
Elizabeth Heineman, Professor of History and of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies, University of Iowa
Didi Herman, Professor of Law and Social Change, University of Kent
Deborah Hertz, Wouk Chair in Modern Jewish Studies, University of California, San Diego
Dagmar Herzog, Distinguished Professor of History and Daniel Rose Faculty Scholar Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY)
Susannah Heschel, Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies, Chair, Jewish Studies Program, Dartmouth College
Dafna Hirsch, Dr., Open University of Israel
Marianne Hirsch, William Peterfield Trent Professor of Comparative Literature and Gender Studies, Columbia University
Christhard Hoffmann, Professor of Modern European History, University of Bergen
Dr. habil. Klaus Holz, General Secretary of the Protestant Academies of Germany, Berlin
Eva Illouz, Directrice d’etudes, EHESS Paris and Van Leer Institute, Fellow
Jill Jacobs, Rabbi, Executive Director, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, New York
Uffa Jensen, Professor Dr., Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität, Berlin
Jonathan Judaken, Professor, Spence L. Wilson Chair in the Humanities, Rhodes College
Robin E. Judd, Associate Professor, Department of History, The Ohio State University
Irene Kacandes, The Dartmouth Professor of German Studies and Comparative Literature, Dartmouth University
Marion Kaplan, Skirball Professor of Modern Jewish History, New York University
Eli Karetny, Deputy Director Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies; Lecturer Baruch College, The City University of New York (CUNY)
Nahum Karlinsky, The Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Menachem Klein, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Studies, Bar Ilan University
Brian Klug, Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy, St. Benet’s Hall, Oxford; Member of the Philosophy Faculty, Oxford University
Francesca Klug, Visiting Professor at LSE Human Rights and at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice, Sheffield Hallam University
Thomas A. Kohut, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Professor of History, Williams College
Teresa Koloma Beck, Professor of Sociology, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg
Rebecca Kook, Dr., Department of Politics and Government, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Claudia Koonz, Professor Emeritus of History, Duke University
Hagar Kotef, Dr., Senior Lecturer in Political Theory and Comparative Political Thought, Department of Politics and International Studies, SOAS, University of London
Gudrun Kraemer, Professor Dr., Senior Professor of Islamic Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
Cilly Kugelman, Historian, fmr. Program Director of the Jewish Museum, Berlin
Tony Kushner, Professor, Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton
Dominick LaCapra, Bowmar Professor Emeritus of History and of Comparative Literature, Cornell University
Daniel Langton, Professor of Jewish History, University of Manchester
Shai Lavi, Professor, The Buchmann Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University; The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Claire Le Foll, Associate Professor of East European Jewish History and Culture, Parkes Institute, University of Southampton; Director Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations
Nitzan Lebovic, Professor, Department of History, Chair of Holocaust Studies and Ethical Values, Lehigh University
Mark Levene, Dr., Emeritus Fellow, University of Southampton and Parkes Centre for Jewish/non-Jewish Relations
Simon Levis Sullam, Associate Professor in Contemporary History, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, University Ca’ Foscari Venice
Lital Levy, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Princeton University
Lior Libman, Assistant Professor of Israel Studies, Associate Director Center for Israel Studies, Judaic Studies Department, Binghamton University, SUNY
Caroline Light, Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Harvard University
Kerstin von Lingen, Professor for Contemporary History, Chair for Studies of Genocide, Violence and Dictatorship, Vienna University
James Loeffler, Jay Berkowitz Professor of Jewish History, Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of Jewish Studies, University of Virginia
Hanno Loewy, Director of the Jewish Museum Hohenems, Austria
Ian S. Lustick, Bess W. Heyman Chair, Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Sergio Luzzatto, Emiliana Pasca Noether Chair in Modern Italian History, University of Connecticut
Shaul Magid, Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College
Avishai Margalit, Professor Emeritus in Philosophy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jessica Marglin, Associate Professor of Religion, Law and History, Ruth Ziegler Early Career Chair in Jewish Studies, University of Southern California
Arturo Marzano, Associate Professor of History of the Middle East, Department of Civilizations and Forms of Knowledge, University of Pisa
Anat Matar, Dr., Department of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University
Manuel Reyes Mate Rupérez, Instituto de Filosofía del CSIC, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid
Menachem Mautner, Daniel Rubinstein Professor of Comparative Civil Law and Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Brendan McGeever, Dr., Lecturer in the Sociology of Racialization and Antisemitism, Department of Psychosocial Studies, Birkbeck, University of London
David Mednicoff, Chair Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies and Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Eva Menasse, Novelist, Berlin
Adam Mendelsohn, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Cape Town
Leslie Morris, Beverly and Richard Fink Professor in Liberal Arts, Professor and Chair Department of German, Nordic, Slavic & Dutch, University of Minnesota
Dirk Moses, Frank Porter Graham Distinguished Professor of Global Human Rights History, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Samuel Moyn, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of History, Yale University
Susan Neiman, Professor Dr., Philosopher, Director of the Einstein Forum, Potsdam
Anita Norich, Professor Emeritus, English and Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
Xosé Manoel Núñez Seixas, Professor of Modern European History, University of Santiago de Compostela
Esra Ozyurek, Sultan Qaboos Professor of Abrahamic Faiths and Shared Values Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge
Ilaria Pavan, Associate Professor in Modern History, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa
Derek Penslar, William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History, Harvard University
Andrea Pető, Professor, Central European University (CEU), Vienna; CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest
Valentina Pisanty, Associate Professor, Semiotics, University of Bergamo
Renée Poznanski, Professor Emeritus, Department of Politics and Government, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
David Rechter, Professor of Modern Jewish History, University of Oxford
James Renton, Professor of History, Director of International Centre on Racism, Edge Hill Universit
Shlomith Rimmon Kenan, Professor Emerita, Departments of English and Comparative Literature, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Member of the Israel Academy of Science
Shira Robinson, Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, George Washington University
Bryan K. Roby, Assistant Professor of Jewish and Middle East History, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Na’ama Rokem, Associate Professor, Director Joyce Z. And Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies, University of Chicago
Mark Roseman, Distinguished Professor in History, Pat M. Glazer Chair in Jewish Studies, Indiana University
Göran Rosenberg, Writer and Journalist, Sweden
Michael Rothberg, 1939 Society Samuel Goetz Chair in Holocaust Studies, UCLA
Sara Roy, Senior Research Scholar, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University
Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Modern History, Queen Mary University of London
Dirk Rupnow, Professor Dr., Department of Contemporary History, University of Innsbruck, Austria
Philippe Sands, Professor of Public Understanding of Law, University College London; Barrister; Writer
Victoria Sanford, Professor of Anthropology, Lehman College Doctoral Faculty, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY)
Gisèle Sapiro, Professor of Sociology at EHESS and Research Director at the CNRS (Centre européen de sociologie et de science politique), Paris
Peter Schäfer, Professor of Jewish Studies, Princeton University, fmr. Director of the Jewish Museum Berlin
Andrea Schatz, Dr., Reader in Jewish Studies, King’s College London
Jean-Philippe Schreiber, Professor, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels
Stefanie Schüler-Springorum, Professor Dr., Director of the Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin
Guri Schwarz, Associate Professor of Contemporary History, Dipartimento di Antichità, Filosofia e Storia, Università di Genova
Raz Segal, Associate Professor, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Stockton University
Joshua Shanes, Associate Professor and Director of the Arnold Center for Israel Studies, College of Charleston
David Shulman, Professor Emeritus, Department of Asian Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dmitry Shumsky, Professor, Israel Goldstein Chair in the History of Zionism and the New Yishuv, Director of the Bernard Cherrick Center for the Study of Zionism, the Yishuv and the State of Israel, Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Marcella Simoni, Professor of History, Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice
Santiago Slabodsky, The Robert and Florence Kaufman Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of Religion, Hofstra University, New York
David Slucki, Associate Professor of Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture, Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, Monash University, Australia
Tamir Sorek, Liberal Arts Professor of Middle East History and Jewish Studies, Penn State University
Levi Spectre, Dr., Senior Lecturer at the Department of History, Philosophy and Judaic Studies, The Open University of Israel; Researcher at the Department of Philosophy, Stockholm University, Sweden
Michael P. Steinberg, Professor, Barnaby Conrad and Mary Critchfield Keeney Professor of History and Music, Professor of German Studies, Brown University
Lior Sternfeld, Assistant Professor of History and Jewish Studies, Penn State Univeristy
Michael Stolleis, Professor of History of Law, Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, Frankfurt am Main
Mira Sucharov, Professor of Political Science and University Chair of Teaching Innovation, Carleton University Ottawa
Adam Sutcliffe, Professor of European History, King’s College London
Anya Topolski, Associate Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy, Radboud University, Nijmegen
Barry Trachtenberg, Associate Professor, Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History, Wake Forest University
Emanuela Trevisan Semi, Senior Researcher in Modern Jewish Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Heidemarie Uhl, PhD, Historian, Senior Researcher, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna
Peter Ullrich, Dr. Dr., Senior Researcher, Fellow at the Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin
Uğur Ümit Üngör, Professor and Chair of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam; Senior Researcher NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam
Nadia Valman, Professor of Urban Literature, Queen Mary, University of London
Dominique Vidal, Journalist, Historian and Essayist
Alana M. Vincent, Associate Professor of Jewish Philosophy, Religion and Imagination, University of Chester
Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi, Head of The Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Anika Walke, Associate Professor of History, Washington University, St. Louis
Yair Wallach, Dr., Senior Lecturer in Israeli Studies School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, SOAS, University of London
Michael Walzer, Professor Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, School of Social Science, Princeton
Dov Waxman, Professor, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair in Israel Studies, University of California (UCLA)
Ilana Webster-Kogen, Joe Loss Senior Lecturer in Jewish Music, SOAS, University of London
Bernd Weisbrod, Professor Emeritus of Modern History, University of Göttingen
Eric D. Weitz, Distinguished Professor of History, City College and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY)
Michael Wildt, Professor Dr., Department of History, Humboldt University, Berlin
Abraham B. Yehoshua, Novelist, Essayist and Playwright
Noam Zadoff, Assistant Professor in Israel Studies, Department of Contemporary History, University of Innsbruck
Tara Zahra, Homer J. Livingston Professor of East European History; Member Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies, University of Chicago
José A. Zamora Zaragoza, Senior Researcher, Instituto de Filosofía del CSIC, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid
Lothar Zechlin, Professor Emeritus of Public Law, fmr. Rector Institute of Political Science, University of Duisburg
Yael Zerubavel, Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies and History, fmr. Founding Director Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life, Rutgers University
Moshe Zimmermann, Professor Emeritus, The Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Steven J. Zipperstein, Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History, Stanford University
Moshe Zuckermann, Professor Emeritus of History and Philosophy, Tel Aviv University
Jeffrey Alexander, Professor of Sociology, Co-Director of the Center for Cultural Sociology, Yale University
Philip Alexander, Professor Emeritus of Postbiblical Jewish Literature, University of Manchester; fmr. Director Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester; President of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies; Fellow of the British Academy
Meir Amor, Dr., Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University, Montreal
Yaakov Ariel, Professor, Department of Religious Studies, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ofer Ashkenazi, Associate Professor, Director The Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jan Assmann, Professor of Ancient History, University of Heidelberg
Eugene M. Avrutin, Tobor Family Endowed Professor of Modern European Jewish History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Cynthia M. Baker, Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine
Miriam Bankovsky, Associate Professor in Political Theory, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University, Melbourne
Walter Barberis, fmr. Professor of Modern History, University of Turin; President of Giulio Einaudi Publishing House
Eli Barnavi, Professor Emeritus of European Early Modern History, Tel Aviv University; fmr. Ambassador of Israel to France
Michele Battini, Professor of Contemporary History and of Intellectual and Political History of Contemporary Europe, University of Pisa
Annette Becker, Professor of Modern History at the University of Paris Ouest Nanterre; Senior Fellow, Institut Universitaire de France
Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus, Stanford University
Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, Yale University; Senior Research Associate, Columbia Law School
Nathaniel A. Berman, Rahel Varnhagen Professor of International Affairs, Law, Modern Culture and Religious Studies, Brown University
Frank Biess, Professor of Modern European History, University of California-San Diego
Khalid Blankinship, Chair and Professor, Department of Religion, Temple University, Philadelphia
Andrea Caligiuri, Associate Professor of International Law, University of Macerata
Donald Bloxham, Richard Pares Professor of History, University of Edinburgh
Michal Bodemann, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Toronto
Zachary Braiterman, Professor, Department of Religion, Jewish Studies Program, Syracuse University
Marina Caffiero, fmr. Professor of Modern History, Sapienza University of Rome
Kateřina Čapková, Associate Professor, Department of Middle East Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague
Marc Caplan, Brownstone Visiting Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College
Carlo Spartaco Capogreco, Professor of Contemporary History, University of Calabria
Jesús Casquete, Professor of History of Political Theory and of Social Movements, University of the Basque Country
Valerio De Cesaris, Professor of Contemporary History, Rector of the University for Foreigners of Perugia
Jules Chametzky, Professor Emeritus of English and editor of the Norton Anthology of Jewish American Literature
Geoffrey Claussen, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Lori and Eric Sklut Scholar in Jewish Studies and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, Elon University
Frank Dabba Smith, Rabbi Dr., Leo Baeck College
Eric David, Professor Emeritus of International Public Law, President Centre de droit international, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Irit Dekel, Assistant Professor, Germanic Studies and Borns Jewish Studies Program, Indiana University
Gregor Dobler, Professor in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Freiburg
Ger Duijzings, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Regensburg, and former researcher for the Srebrenica Research Team of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam
Monique Eckmann, Professor Emerita, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Western Switzerland (HES-SO), Geneva; fmr. member Swiss delegation to the IHRA (2004-2018)
Jennifer Evans, Professor of Modern European History, Carleton University, Ottawa
Cristiana Facchini, Professor of History of Christianity & Religious Studies, University of Bologna
Carlotta Ferrara degli Uberti, Assistant Professor of Modern History, University of Pisa; Honorary Associate Professor, University College London
Federico Finchelstein, Professor of History, The New School for Social Research, New York
Talya Fishman, Associate Professor, Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, Jewish Studies Program, University of Pennsylvania
Anna Foa, fmr. Associate Professor, Department of History, Cultures, Religions, Sapienza University of Rome
John Foot, Professor of Modern Italian History, University of Bristol
Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Director Taube Center for Jewish Studies, Stanford University
Daniel Frank, Professor of Philosophy and Director, Jewish Studies Program, Purdue University
Patrick Franke, Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Bamberg
Gideon Freudenthal, Professor Emeritus, Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University
Sylvia Fuks Fried, Executive Director The Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry, Brandeis University
Efrat Gal-Ed, Professor Dr., Institute of Jewish Studies, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
William Gallois, Professor, Chair of the History of the Mediterranean Islamicate World, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter
Siobhán Garrigan, Professor, Head of the School of Religion at Trinity College Dublin, Loyola Chair of Theology
Roni Gechtman, Dr., Associate Professor, Department of History, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax
Jonathan Glasser, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, William & Mary, Williamsburg
Tal Golan, Professor of History, UC San Diego
Adi Gordon, Associate Professor of History, Amherst College
Robert S. C. Gordon, Serena Professor of Italian, Cambridge University
Gabriele Guerra, Associate Professor of German Literature, Sapienza University of Rome
Piero Graglia, Professor of History of International Relations, University of Milan
Jonathan Graubart, Professor of Political Science, San Diego State University
Diana Barbara Greenwald, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, The City College of New York, City University of New York (CUNY)
Anna Hajkova, Associate Professor of Modern Continental European History, Warwick University
Peter Hayes, Professor Emeritus of History and Theodore Zev Weiss Holocaust Educational Foundation Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University
Alma Rachel Heckman, Assistant Professor and Neufeld-Levin Chair of Holocaust Studies, History Department, University of California, Santa Cruz
Marianne Hirschberg, Professor, Department of Human Sciences, University of Kassel
Heinz Hurwitz, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Co-Director of the Study Institute of Judaïsm, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Jack Jacobs, Professor of Political Science, John Jay College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
Abigail Jacobson, Dr., Senior Lecturer, Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Emmanuel Kahan, Professor of Argentine Social History, Department of History, National University of La Plata
Brett Ashley Kaplan, Director, Initiative in Holocaust, Genocide, Memory Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Martin Kavka, Professor, Department of Religion, Florida State University
Shira Klein, Associate Professor of History, Fellow, Ferrucci Institute for Italian Experience and Research, Chapman University
Rebecca Kobrin, Columbia University
Alexander Korb, Dr., Associate Professor in Modern European History, University of Leicester
Douwe Korff, Emeritus Professor of International Law, London Metropolitan University Associate, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
Ferenc Laczó, Assistant Professor in European History, Maastricht University
Ben Lapp, Associate Professor of History, Montclair State University, New Jersey
Claudia Lenz, Professor of Social Science, Chair for prevention of racism and antisemitism, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Oslo
Per Leo, Dr., historian and writer, Berlin
Jacek Leociak, Professor, The Polish Centre of Holocaust Research and Institute of Literary Researches, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw
Giovanni Levi, Professor Emeritus of Modern History, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Stefano Levi Della Torre, Writer and Jewish Studies scholar, fmr. Professor, School of Architecture, Politechnic University of Milan
Laura Levitt, Professor, Department of Religion, Program in Jewish Studies, Program in Gender Studies, Temple University
René Levy, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Lausanne
Nikola Radić Lucati, Center for Holocaust Research and Education, Belgrade
Steven Lukes, Professor of Sociology, New York University
Daniel Lvovich, Professor of History, Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento, Buenos Aires; National Council of Scientific Research, Argentina
Andrea Mammone, Lecturer in Modern European History, Royal Holloway, University of London
Ruth Mandel, Professor, UCL Anthropology, University College London
Laurie Marhoefer, Professor of History and Affiliated Faculty, Stroum Center for Jewish Studies, University of Washington
Paul Mendes-Flohr, Professor Emeritus of History and Religious Thought, University of Chicago; Professor Emeritus at the Divinity School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ralf Michaels, Professor Dr., Director Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law; Chair in Global Law, Queen Mary University London; Professor of Law, Hamburg University
Avraham Milgram, Dr., fmr. Historian, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem
Kenneth B. Moss, Meyer Professor of Modern Jewish History, University of Chicago; Posen Professor of Modern Jewish History, Johns Hopkins University
Eva Mroczek, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Director, Jewish Studies Program, University of California, Davis
Harriet L. Murav, Professor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures; Member, Executive Committee, Program in Jewish Culture and Society, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Issam Nassar, Professor of Middle East History, Illinois State University
Isaac (Yanni) Nevo, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Philipp Nielsen, Assistant Professor of Modern European History, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville
Ephraim Nimni, Professor Emeritus, Center for the Study of Ethnic Conflict, Queens University Belfast
Pól Ó Dochartaigh, Professor, MRIA, Deputy President and Registrar, National University of Ireland Galway
Alexandra Oeser, Professor of Sociology, Institut des Sciences Sociales du Politique, University Paris Nanterre
Atalia Omer, Professor, The Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame; Senior Fellow at the Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative at Harvard University
Paul Pasch, Dr., Director Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Israel
Thomas Pegelow Kaplan, Leon Levine Distinguished Professor of Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies; Director Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies; Professor of History, Appalachian State University
Robert Jan van Pelt, University Professor, School of Architecture, University of Waterloo
Tomer Persico, Koret Visiting Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies; Senior Research Scholar, UC Berkeley Center for Middle Eastern Studies; Shalom Hartman Institute’s Bay Area Scholar in Residence
Michael Polgar, Professor of Sociology, Social Sciences and Education, Penn State Hazleton
Alessandro Portelli, fmr. Professor of Anglo-American Literature, Sapienza University of Rome; Faculty Member, Oral History Summer Institute, Columbia University
Riv-Ellen Prell, Professor Emerita of American Studies; fmr. Director Center for Jewish Studies, University of Minnesota
David Ranan, Dr., Political Scientist and Writer, London/Berlin
Henry Reichman, Professor Emeritus of History, California State University, East Bay; Chair, American Association of University Professors Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure (2012-21)
Sven-Erik Rose, Associate Professor of German and of Comparative Literature, Director of the Program in Jewish Studies, University of California, Davis
Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Professor of Talmud and Jewish Philosophy, Tel Aviv University
John K. Roth, Edward J. Sexton Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna College
Laurence Roth, Charles B. Degenstein Professor of English and Director of Jewish & Israel Studies, Susquehanna University
Brent E. Sasley, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Texas at Arlington
Roberto Saviano, Writer, essayist and freedom of speech activist
Wolfgang Schieder, Dr. Dr. h.c., Professor Emeritus of Modern and Contemporary History, University of Cologne
Paula Schrode, Professor of the Study of Religion, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Bayreuth
Kenneth Seeskin, Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Emeritus Professor of Jewish Civilization, Northwestern University
Naomi Seidman, Jackman Humanities Professor, Centre for Diaspora & Transnational Studies, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto
Marco Sgarbi, Associate Professor of the History of Philosophy, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Galili Shahar, Professor of Comparative Literature and German Studies, Tel Aviv University; Chairman Leo Baeck Institute, Jerusalem
Susan Shapiro, Associate Professor, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, Director of Religious Studies Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Adam Shatz, Visiting Professor, Bard College
Eugene R. Sheppard, Associate Professor of Modern Jewish History and Thought, Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University
Lincoln Z. Shlensky, Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Victoria, British Columbia
Alan Singer, Professor of Education, Hofstra University, New York
Franca Sinopoli, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Sapienza University of Rome
Shana Sippy, Associate Professor of Religion, Chair of Asian Studies, Centre College
David Sorkin, Lucy G. Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History, Department of History, Yale University
Alberto Spektorowski, Professor Political Science, Tel Aviv University
Annabelle Sreberny, Emeritus Professor, Centre for Global Media and Communications, SOAS, University of London
Michael Stanislawski, Nathan J. Miller Professor of Jewish History, Department of History, Columbia University
Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy, Yale University
Ilan Stavans, Lewis Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin American and Latino Culture, Amherst College
Richard Steigmann-Gall, Associate Professor, Department of History, Kent State University
Sarah Abrevaya Stein, Viterbi Family Chair in Mediterranean Jewish Studies, UCLA
Gerald J. Steinacher, Professor Dr., James A. Rawley Professor of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Yael Sternhell, Dr., Senior Lecturer, History and American Studies, Tel Aviv University
Elettra Stimilli, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome
Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History, Department of History, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London
Sherman Teichman, Professor of the Practice of International Relations and Global Affairs, Sai University in Chennai, India; Emeritus Founding Director of the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University (1984-2016); Senior Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights at the Kennedy School, Harvard University; Non-Resident Research Associate at the Center for International Studies, University of Oxford
Kylie Thomas, Dr., Research Fellow, Netherlands Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam
Ann Thomson, Professor Emerita of Intellectual History, European University Institute, Florence
Marc Trabsky, Associate Professor, La Trobe Law School, La Trobe University, Melbourne
Enzo Traverso, Susan and Barton Winokur Professor in the Humanities, Department of History, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Nadia Urbinati, Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Professor of Political Theory, Department of Political Science, Columbia University
Angelo Ventrone, Professor of Contemporary History, University of Macerata
Massimiliano De Villa, Assistant Professor of German Literature, University of Trento
Nerina Visacovsky, PhD, Assistant Professor of Educational Policy, School of Politics and Government, National University of San Martín
Dorothee Wierling, Professor for Contemporary History at University of Hamburg (ret.), former deputy director of the Research Institute for Contemporary History, Hamburg
Jay Winter, Charles J. Stille Professor Emeritus of History, Yale University
Sebastian Wogenstein, Associate Professor of German, Hebrew and Judaic Studies, University of Connecticut
Diane L. Wolf, Professor Emerita of Sociology, University of California, Davis
Ulrich Wyrwa, Professor of Modern History, University of Potsdam
Oren Yiftachel, Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Development, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Benjamin Zachariah, Dr., Historian, Senior Research Fellow, Forschungszentrum Europa (FZE), University of Trier
Olaf Zenker, Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Department for Anthropology and Philosophy, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
FAQ
What is the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA)?
The JDA is a resource for strengthening the fight against antisemitism. It comprises a preamble, definition, and a set of 15 guidelines.
Who are the authors?
International scholars in antisemitism studies and related fields, who, from June 2020, met in a series of online workshops, with different participants at different times. The JDA is endorsed by a diverse range of distinguished scholars and heads of institutes in Europe, the United States, Canada and Israel.
Why “Jerusalem”?
Originally, the JDA was convened in Jerusalem by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute.
Why now?
The JDA responds to the Working Definition of Antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016. “The IHRA Definition” (including its “examples”) is neither clear nor coherent. Whatever the intentions of its proponents, it blurs the difference between antisemitic speech and legitimate criticism of Israel and Zionism. This causes confusion, while delegitimizing the voices of Palestinians and others, including Jews, who hold views that are sharply critical of Israel and Zionism. None of this helps combat antisemitism. The JDA responds to this situation.
So, is the JDA intended to be an alternative to the IHRA Working Definition?
Yes, it is. People of goodwill seek guidance about the key question: When does political speech about Israel or Zionism cross the line into antisemitism and when should it be protected? The JDA is intended to provide this guidance, and so should be seen as a substitute for the IHRA Definition. But if an organization has formally adopted the IHRA Definition it can use the JDA as a corrective to overcome the shortcomings of the IHRA Definition.
Who does the definition cover?
The definition applies whether Jewish identity is understood as ethnic, biological, religious, cultural, etc. It also applies in cases where a non-Jewish person or institution is either mistaken for being Jewish (“discrimination by perception”) or targeted on account of a connection to Jews (“discrimination by association”).
Should the JDA be officially adopted by, say, governments, political parties or universities?
The JDA can be used as a resource for various purposes. These include education and raising awareness about when speech or conduct is antisemitic (and when it is not), developing policy for fighting antisemitism, and so on. It can be used to support implementation of anti-discrimination legislation within parameters set by laws and norms protecting free expression.
Should the JDA be used as part of a “hate speech code”?
No, it should not. The JDA is not designed to be a legal or quasi-legal instrument of any kind. Nor should it be codified into law, nor used to restrict the legitimate exercise of academic freedom, whether in teaching or research, nor to suppress free and open public debate that is within the limits laid down by laws governing hate crime.
Will the JDA settle all the current arguments over what is and what is not antisemitic?
The JDA reflects the clear and authoritative voice of scholarly experts in relevant fields. But it cannot settle all arguments. No document on antisemitism can be exhaustive or anticipate all the ways in which antisemitism will manifest in the future. Some guidelines (such as #5), give just a few examples in order to illustrate a general point. The JDA is intended as an aid to thinking and to thoughtful discussion. As such, it is a valuable resource for consultations with stakeholders about identifying antisemitism and ensuring the most effective response.
Why are 10 of the 15 guidelines about Israel and Palestine?
This responds to the emphasis in the IHRA Definition, in which 7 out of 11 “examples” focus on the debate about Israel. Moreover, it responds to a public debate, both among Jews and in the wider population, that demonstrates a need for guidance concerning political speech about Israel or Zionism: when should it be protected and when does it cross the line into antisemitism?
What about contexts other than Israel and Palestine?
The general guidelines (1-5) apply in all contexts, including the far right, where antisemitism is increasing. They apply, for instance, to conspiracy theories about “the Jews” being behind the Covid-19 pandemic, or George Soros funding BLM and Antifa protests to promote a “hidden Jewish agenda.”
Does the JDA distinguish between anti-Zionism and antisemitism?
The two concepts are categorically different. Nationalism, Jewish or otherwise, can take many forms, but it is always open to debate. Bigotry and discrimination, whether against Jews or anyone else, is never acceptable. This is an axiom of the JDA.
Then does the JDA suggest that anti-Zionism is never antisemitic?
No. The JDA seeks to clarify when criticism of (or hostility to) Israel or Zionism crosses the line into antisemitism and when it does not. A feature of the JDA in this connection is that (unlike the IHRA Definition) it also specifies what is not, on the face of it, antisemitic.
What is the underlying political agenda of the JDA as regards Israel and Palestine?
There isn’t one. That’s the point. The signatories have diverse views about Zionism and about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including political solutions, such as one-state versus two-states. What they share is a twofold commitment: fighting antisemitism and protecting freedom of expression on the basis of universal principles.
But doesn’t guideline 14 support BDS as a strategy or tactic aimed against Israel?
No. The JDA’s signatories have different views on BDS. Guideline 14 says only that boycotts, divestments and sanctions aimed at Israel, however contentious, are not, in and of themselves, antisemitic.
So, how can someone know when BDS (or any other measure) is antisemitic?
That’s what the general guidelines (1 to 5) are for. In some cases it is obvious how they apply, in others it is not. As has always been true when making judgments about any form of bigotry or discrimination, context can make a huge difference. Moreover, each guideline should be read in the light of the others. Sometimes you have to make a judgement call. The 15 guidelines are intended to help people make those calls.
Guideline 10 says it is antisemitic to deny the right of Jews in the State of Israel “to exist and flourish, collectively and individually, as Jews”. Isn’t this contradicted by guidelines 12 and 13?
There is no contradiction. The rights mentioned in guideline 10 attach to Jewish inhabitants of the state, whatever its constitution or name. Guidelines 12 and 13 clarify that it is not antisemitic, on the face of it, to propose a different set of political or constitutional arrangements.
What, in short, are the advantages of the JDA over the IHRA Definition?
There are several, including the following: The JDA benefits from several years of reflection on, and critical assessment of, the IHRA Definition. As a result, it is clearer, more coherent and more nuanced. The JDA articulates not only what antisemitism is but also, in the context of Israel and Palestine, what, on the face of it, it is not. This is guidance that is widely needed. The JDA invokes universal principles and, unlike the IHRA Definition, clearly links the fight against antisemitism with the fight against other forms of bigotry and discrimination. The JDA helps create a space for frank and respectful discussion of difficult issues, including the vexed question of the political future for all inhabitants of Israel and Palestine. For all these reasons, the JDA is more cogent, and, instead of generating division, it aims at uniting all forces in the broadest possible fight against antisemitism.
About
In 2020, a group of scholars in Antisemitism Studies and related fields, including Jewish, Holocaust, Israel, Palestine and Middle East Studies, came together under the auspices of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute to address key challenges in identifying and confronting antisemitism. During a year of deliberations, they reflected on the use of existing tools, including the working definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and its implications for academic freedom and freedom of expression.
The JDA organizers and signatories represent a wide range of academic disciplines and regional perspectives and they have diverse views on questions related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But they agreed on the need for a more precise interpretive tool to help clarify conditions that are antisemitic as well as conditions that are not definitive proof of antisemitism.
The JDA has been coordinated by:
Seth Anziska, Mohamed S. Farsi-Polonsky Associate Professor of Jewish-Muslim Relations, University College London
Aleida Assmann, Professor Dr., Literary Studies, Holocaust, Trauma and Memory Studies, Konstanz University
Alon Confino Z"L, Pen Tishkach Chair of Holocaust Studies, Professor of History and Jewish Studies, Director Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Emily Dische-Becker, Journalist
David Feldman, Professor, Director of the Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, Birkbeck, University of London
Amos Goldberg, Professor, The Jonah M. Machover Chair in Holocaust Studies, Head of the Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Brian Klug, Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy, St. Benet’s Hall, Oxford; Member of the Philosophy Faculty, Oxford University
Stefanie Schüler Springorum, Professor Dr., Director of the Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin