Latest news with #IHRA
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Why being truly Jewish means standing with Palestinians in Gaza – and not their Israeli oppressors
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Nightly on the news, in front of our eyes, an atrocity is unfolding. The pictures of children starved in Gaza are almost unwatchable. The daily statistics of death and destruction are numbing. Even an ex-Israeli Prime Minister claims Israel is planning to build a giant concentration camp in Gaza. Even Israeli human rights organisations now acknowledge what those on the receiving end have been saying all along: what is happening is a genocide. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The aim of the war, they explain, is not just to defeat Hamas but to make Gaza into an uninhabitable wasteland so that the Palestinians walk out and the Israelis can then walk in. So why is so little being done about it? Why are we still talking and trading and even arming Israel? Why do Palestinians feel utterly abandoned by the world? Why, as so many times before, do we simply shrug and turn aside? READ MORE: Why Palestinians in Gaza are protesting with photos of Israeli children killed by Hamas Yazan, a malnourished two-year-old Palestinian boy, pictured in the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, earlier this month (Picture: Omar Al-Qattaa) | AFP via Getty Images Suppression of pro-Palestinian speech There are many answers. But in this case, there is one distinctive factor. There is a systematic attempt to outlaw criticism of Israeli actions. This is enshrined in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad More specifically, two of its illustrations suggest that criticism of the Israeli state could be a form of hatred of Jewish people. This has been weaponised in order to suggest that any criticism of the Israeli state is antisemitic. Universities in particular have used it to suppress critical voices and it has had a chilling effect on scholarship and research. Even the original author of the declaration, Kenneth Stern, wrote bemoaning the fact that the IHRA definition 'has been primarily used (and I argue, grossly abused) to suppress and chill pro-Palestinian speech'. That is why he recently urged Columbia University not to adopt it. One defence of the IHRA definition is to say that Jewish people support it and feel threatened by attacks on Israel. Some certainly do. But many don't. Indeed, one of the important consequences of Israeli action in Gaza is that they have led many Jews to come together and speak out against the genocide. That includes Jewish staff at Edinburgh University and across Scottish universities. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Not in our name There have always been multiple Jewish traditions, some rooted in nationalism and self-defence, others rooted in internationalism and solidarity, and many variants of each. We in the Scottish Universities Jewish Staff Network (SUJSN) don't agree on everything. But we broadly side with Marek Edelman, the great leader of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, who declared: 'To be a Jew means always being with the oppressed, never with the oppressors.' We feel as outraged by the suffering of a Palestinian child as by that of our own child. Marek Edelman, who lived until 2009, lays flowers on the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto in 1945 (Picture: Laski Diffusion) | Getty Images Particularly because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the audacity to claim he acts in the name of all Jews, we in SUJSN are compelled to speak out against Israeli atrocities – and to contest the IHRA definition which seeks to silence us. We declare for the world to hear that we, and an ever-growing number of Jews, stand with the Palestinians being oppressed in Gaza, never with their IDF oppressors. For if we stay silent, we are complicit and we besmirch what it truly means to be Jewish.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Many Jewish staff in Scottish universities reject IHRA definition of antisemitism
Sir Peter Mathieson, the principal of Edinburgh University, notes the controversy over the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism (Edinburgh University could unadopt antisemitism definition after report into its colonial links, 27 July). But he contrasts 'some Jewish people' who support the definition with 'some people' who dispute it. In fact, many Jewish staff at the university and across Scotland reject the IHRA definition, and we have come together as the Scottish Universities Jewish Staff Network. We oppose the genocide committed by Israel against Palestine and wish to do so without – as the IHRA would imply – being labelled antisemites. Not in our Philip WadlerOn behalf of the Scottish Universities Jewish Staff Network
Roya News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Roya News
'Israel' furious after Brazil exits Holocaust remembrance alliance
Brazil has withdrawn from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an intergovernmental body dedicated to Holocaust education and combating antisemitism. The decision is seen as a direct consequence of Brazil's increasingly critical stance on 'Israel's' aggression on the Gaza Strip. Brazilian officials cited "legal limitations" and a "recommendation from United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Francesca Albanese" as reasons for their inability to pay membership dues, implicitly linking Holocaust remembrance to the current conflict. Unofficial reports also mentioned financial resources. Under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil has become a vocal critic of 'Israel's' campaign on Gaza. Lula previously compared 'Israel's' actions to the Holocaust , leading to a diplomatic rift. Brazil recalled its ambassador to 'Israel' and is formally intervening in South Africa's "genocide" case against 'Israel' at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The IHRA's non-legally binding Working Definition of Antisemitism, adopted by over 45 countries, has faced criticism from human rights groups who argue it can be "weaponized" to stifle legitimate criticism of 'Israel'. The 'Israeli' Foreign Ministry slammed the move, saying on X, 'Brazil's decision to join the legal offensive against Israel at the ICJ while withdrawing from the IHRA, is a demonstration of a profound moral failure.' Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem and current president of the IHRA, called it "unprecedented" and a "serious crossing of a red line," stating it's the first time a Western country has subordinated Holocaust remembrance to political considerations. Major Jewish organizations, including the World Jewish Congress, expressed deep concern, asserting that Brazil is "turning its back on the international community's efforts" and "abandons" its significant Jewish community. Conversely, pro-Palestinian groups like the Palestine Arab Federation of Brazil (FEPAL) celebrated the move, characterizing the IHRA as "an arm of Zionism" used to "shield Israel from criticism" and "aid the extermination of Palestinians".
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Jewish leaders urge Edinburgh University to uphold antisemitism definition
Jewish leaders have urged the University of Edinburgh to uphold a controversial definition of antisemitism after the institution revealed it was reviewing its support for it. The university said on Sunday it could unadopt the internationally recognised definition written by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which its critics argue restricts freedom of speech on Israel and Palestine. The issue came into sharp focus after a review of Edinburgh's links to transatlantic slavery and empire called on the university to unadopt it and to divest from companies allegedly complicit in Israel's military action in Gaza and the West Bank. The Union of Jewish Students and the IHRA said on Monday the definition, described by the IHRA as a 'non-legally binding practical tool' to help identify and address antisemitism, was widely supported by British Jews and Jewish students. Louis Danker, the president of the UJS and a recent Edinburgh graduate, said the proposal was upsetting. The IHRA definition had been consistently and unanimously supported at UJS conferences, he added. 'We remind the academics who authored this review the principle of self-definition applies to all minorities, including Jewish students,' he said. Edinburgh 'must ensure that the IHRA definition is protected, and that antisemitism is treated with the same severity as all forms of discrimination'. The IHRA said more than 40 countries had adopted its definition. 'We hope any review is informed by a full understanding of the working definition's purpose and value in protecting Jewish communities,' a spokesperson said. Peter Mathieson, the university's principal, told the Guardian it had begun reviewing its investments in Israel and its stance on the definition before the race review made its recommendations but had not made a final decision on what action to take. The university's discussions with Jewish students, staff and national bodies had made clear there 'is not a unanimity of view' among British Jews, he said. 'It's not straightforward to say that we should adopt or not adopt that definition, or indeed other definitions, not just of antisemitism but of Islamophobia and [so on].' Vincent Fean, a trustee of the Britain Palestine Project, and a former consul general to Jerusalem, said the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, published in 2021 by academics specialising in the Holocaust, Jewish and Middle East studies, was a much more useful text than the IHRA's. The Jerusalem text distinguished 'between legitimate criticism of Israel and hatred of Jews', he said, and he welcomed proposals by the Edinburgh review for it to set up a new Palestinian research centre to address thehistorical exclusion of Palestinian scholarship. Activists with the University of Edinburgh's Justice for Palestine Society and the university's branch of Kehillah, a group of anti-Zionist Jewish students, also urged Edinburgh to abandon the IHRA definition. It 'stifles criticism of Israel by designating such criticism as antisemitism. As stated by Kehillah, this definition silences the plurality of Jewish opinion on Zionism,' they said. Meanwhile, Fiona McClement, the university's head of lead for equality, diversity and inclusion, said it would intensify efforts to decolonise its teaching and create a 'healthier racial climate on campus', after the review into its historical links to slavery and racism. The report found that previous attempts to address longstanding biases and omissions in its curriculum had been patchy, while Edinburgh's recruitment of staff and students had failed to achieve greater diversity. The report recommended Edinburgh establish a dedicated centre 'for the study of racisms, colonialism and black anti-violence', with funding to support senior researchers and which should be accessible to the wider community. Mathieson said the university was helping to find funding for the centre. Other recommendations include a new undergraduate course focused on decolonisation, starting next year, and centralising the overhaul of its curriculum 'to generate a more unified and cohesive strategy for implementing change and helping [departments] address their colonial and racial legacies'. McClement said that although Scotland was less diverse than other parts of the UK 'there is no reason why we shouldn't be working extremely hard to be a place where Black scholars and Black students really want to come and study'. Figures from 2022-23 show that fewer than 1% of staff and about 2% of students identify as Black, well below the average for the UK's elite Russell Group universities. Admitting that changing Edinburgh's profile 'is not happening overnight', McClement said students 'seeing themselves represented in the curriculum' would have a big impact, alongside steps to recruit more black academic staff. After the review's publication on Sunday, senior academics at Edinburgh are also pressing for more funding to investigate new evidence it received millions of pounds in funds from transatlantic slavery and the empire that have not yet been traced. They believe Edinburgh was given far more than the £30m in present day value gifted by former students and donors linked to enslavement and colonisation since the 1790s. They have identified potential links with the East India Company, the mercantile organisation that first colonised India on behalf of the British monarchy, and with apartheid South Africa and the Middle East in the early 20th century. They said there was documentary evidence of substantial bequests and gifts from donors known to be involved in enslavement in the university's accounts that needed detailed investigation. Dr Simon Buck, one of the lead researchers in Edinburgh's inquiry, believes the sums he unearthed are a small fraction of the sums 'swishing around' in the university's accounts. 'This report should be a starting point; it should be a living project and not something stamped 'there's nothing else to see here',' he said. Dr Daryl Green, a co-director of Edinburgh's Centre for Research Collections, who helped the researchers unearth new evidence in its archives, said he would like to hire up to eight archivists to help properly catalogue the documents. 'There's a huge amount of information in the archive that could be unlocked,' Green said. 'We've done a good job of being custodians of the documents, but we've never had the resources to release it in a meaningful and useful way.' The university's decolonisation review identified numerous gaps in its financial records which the researchers did not have enough time to investigate. Three of its four colleges were unable to provide up-to-date valuations for bequests linked to the review, while 12 bequests from Robert Halliday Gunning, a benefactor whose wealth came largely from Brazilian goldmines using enslaved labour, were now absorbed into combined funds held by the school of medicine. 'You can't really understand the history of Scotland without understanding the history of imperialism and increasingly the history of Atlantic slavery,' Buck said.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Columbia genocide scholar may leave over new definition of antisemitism. She's not alone
NEW YORK — For years, Marianne Hirsch, a prominent genocide scholar at Columbia University, has used Hannah Arendt's book about the trial of a Nazi war criminal, 'Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil,' to spark discussion among her students about the Holocaust and its lingering traumas. But after Columbia's recent adoption of a new definition of antisemitism, which casts certain criticism of Israel as hate speech, Hirsch fears she may face official sanction for even mentioning the landmark text by Arendt, a philosopher who criticized Israel's founding. For the first time since she started teaching five decades ago, Hirsch, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, is now thinking of leaving the classroom altogether. 'A university that treats criticism of Israel as antisemitic and threatens sanctions for those who disobey is no longer a place of open inquiry,' she told the Associated Press. 'I just don't see how I can teach about genocide in that environment.' Hirsch is not alone. At universities across the country, academics have raised alarm about growing efforts to define antisemitism on terms pushed by the Trump administration, often under the threat of federal funding cuts. Promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the definition lists 11 examples of antisemitic conduct, including applying 'double standards' to Israel, comparing the country's policies to Nazism or describing its existence as 'a racist endeavor.' Ahead of a $220-million settlement with the Trump administration announced Wednesday, Columbia agreed to incorporate the IHRA definition and its examples into its disciplinary process. It has been endorsed in some form by Harvard, Yale and dozens of other universities. While supporters say the semantic shift is necessary to combat evolving forms of Jewish hate, civil liberties groups warn it will further suppress pro-Palestinian speech already under attack by President Trump and his administration. For Hirsch, the restrictions on drawing comparisons to the Holocaust and questioning Israel's founding amount to 'clear censorship,' which she fears will chill discussions in the classroom and open her and other faculty up to spurious lawsuits. 'We learn by making analogies,' Hirsch said. 'Now the university is saying that's off limits. How can you have a university course where ideas are not up for discussion or interpretation?' A spokesperson for Columbia didn't respond to an emailed request for comment. When he first drafted the IHRA definition of antisemitism two decades ago, Kenneth Stern said he 'never imagined it would one day serve as a hate speech code.' At the time, Stern was working as the lead antisemitism expert at the American Jewish Committee. The definition and its examples were meant to serve as a broad framework to help European countries track bias against Jews, he said. In recent years, Stern has spoken forcefully against what he sees as its 'weaponization' against pro-Palestinian activists, including anti-Zionist Jews. 'People who believe they're combating hate are seduced by simple solutions to complicated issues,' he said. 'But when used in this context, it's really actually harming our ability to think about antisemitism.' Stern said he delivered that warning to Columbia's leaders last fall after being invited to address them by Claire Shipman, then a co-chair of the board of trustees and the university's current interim president. The conversation seemed productive, Stern said. But in March, shortly after the Trump administration said it would withhold $400 million in federal funding to Columbia over concerns about antisemitism, the university announced it would adopt the IHRA definition for 'training and educational' purposes. Then this month, days before announcing a deal with the Trump administration to restore that funding, Shipman said the university would extend the IHRA definition for disciplinary purposes, deploying its examples when assessing 'discriminatory intent.' 'The formal incorporation of this definition will strengthen our response to and our community's understanding of modern antisemitism,' Shipman wrote. Stern, who now serves as director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate, called the move 'appalling,' predicting it would spur a new wave of litigation against the university while further curtailing pro-Palestinian speech. Already, the university's disciplinary body has faced backlash for investigating students who criticized Israel in op-eds and other venues, often at the behest of pro-Israel groups. 'With this new edict on IHRA, you're going to have more outside groups looking at what professors are teaching, what's in the syllabus, filing complaints and applying public pressure to get people fired,' he said. 'That will undoubtedly harm the university.' Beyond adopting the IHRA definition, Columbia has also agreed to place its Middle East studies department under new supervision, overhaul its rules for protests and coordinate antisemitism training with groups such as the Anti-Defamation League. Last week, the university suspended or expelled nearly 80 students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Kenneth Marcus, chair of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, said Columbia's actions were an overdue step to protect Jewish students from harassment. He dismissed faculty concerns about the IHRA definition, which he said would 'provide clarity, transparency and standardization' to the university's effort to root out antisemitism. 'There are undoubtedly some Columbia professors who will feel they cannot continue teaching under the new regime,' Marcus said. 'To the extent that they self-terminate, it may be sad for them personally, but it may not be so bad for the students at Columbia University.' But Hirsch, the Columbia professor, said she was committed to continuing her long-standing study of genocides and their aftermath. Part of that work, she said, will involve talking to students about Israel's 'ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide' in the Gaza Strip, where nearly 60,000 Palestinians have died in 21 months of war — most of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry — and where experts are warning of rising famine. 'With this capitulation to Trump, it may now be impossible to do that inside Columbia,' Hirsch said. 'If that's the case, I'll continue my work outside the university's gates.' Offenhartz writes for the Associated Press.
