Understanding definitions of antisemitism

September 29, 2025

Strictly speaking, Marty Hirst’s statement, “The IHRA statement explicitly condemns any political criticism of Israel as antisemitism and protects Zionists from any accountability for the genocide in Gaza”, is incorrect. The relevant sentence is less clear and more open to interpretation: “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.”

As I see it, the IHRA definition is dangerous because it is so vague that it can be used by the powerful to impose almost any meaning they wish. This danger is demonstrated by the alleged examples that follow it: they are not logical consequences of the IHRA definition unless several implicit debatable assumptions are made.

On the other hand, the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism is much clearer, less open to misuse, and valuable for identifying genuine antisemitism: “Antisemitism is discrimination, prejudice, hostility or violence against Jews as Jews (or Jewish institutions as Jewish).”