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Alaska Becomes 25th US State to Adopt Leading Definition of Antisemitism
by Dion J. Pierre
Part of an exhibit on the Holocaust supported by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association. Photo: courtesy of IHRA.
A proclamation by Governor Mike Dunleavy of Alaska made the state the 25th in the US to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, Jewish leaders announced Thursday.
“Almost eight decades have passed since the concentration camps were liberated, but the scourge of antisemitism remains with us,” the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said, as the Jewish world commemorated Yom HaShoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Half of all US states and the District of Columbia have now embraced the IHRA standard, the Conference noted, reflecting “the widespread view that it is critically important to recognize antisemitism in order to combat it successfully.”
“Yom HaShoah contains within it a balance — we memorialize the history of the past evil in order to secure a better future. Our work in fighting antisemitism continues and we are grateful that the majority of states, representing the entire political spectrum, adopted the IHRA definition as an important standard in the battle against antisemitism and Jew hatred.”
On Thursday, Governor Dunleavy told The Algemeiner, “the Holocaust must never be forgotten.”
“Antisemitism is an evil that threatens all of us as it challenges the core values that bind us as Americans,” he continued. “I issued a proclamation today that seeks to remind us of tolerance and to commemorate Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.”
At least two hundred institutions endorsed the IHRA definition in 2021, according to a study released in March.
First adopted in 2005 by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the definition describes antisemitism as a “certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” and lists several illustrative examples of it, ranging from Holocaust denial to the rejection of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.
In 2021, Australia, Estonia, Guatemala, Poland, South Korea and Switzerland adopted the definition, while the Philippines followed in Feb. 2022. At least 60 colleges and universities did the same in 2021, as well 39 non-federal governments and 96 NGOs and other groups.
