These bills are necessary because while Jews make up only 2 percent of the US population, they account as victims for 60 percent of all hate crimes directed at a specific religious group, and 13 percent of hate crimes overall. Unfortunately, those numbers are rising, and yet despite the demonstrable prevalence of anti-Semitic incidents, a recent study found that nearly half of all Americans say they have either never even heard the word “anti-Semitism,” or at the very least do not know what it means.
You cannot fight a problem if you cannot recognize and define it, and laws like these do two things: First, they remove any ambiguity as to the state’s definition of problematic discrimination, and put everyone on notice by demarcating the limits of acceptable behavior. Second, they also serve as a way of educating others about what anti-Semitism is, and how Jews today experience it.
As more states move to pass these “anti-Semitism laws” with wide bipartisan support, it is important for the public to be clear about what the IHRA definition is, and how these laws make use of it to better protect our community.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is an intergovernmental organization focused on Holocaust education, research, and remembrance. In the early 2000s, IHRA’s experts resolved to take a leading role in fighting anti-Semitism, and developed a working definition. It was formally accepted by the then 31 countries in the IHRA in 2016, and since that time, 865 separate governments, NGOs, and other key institutions have adopted it as well. The definition has been endorsed by a growing number of world leaders, including the UN secretary-general, and is used by several departments within the US federal government.
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