Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has said that he will write to councils demanding that they adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism ‘as a matter of urgency’.
In a speech at a Board of Deputies of British Jews event this weekend, Mr Jenrick also pledged to give the Antisemitism Policy Trust £100,000 to support their work tackling the spread of racist tropes online.
‘Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society and I am committed to tackling it at its root,’ he said.
‘Online hatred can be a pernicious force that not only causes immediate harm to its victims but can embolden its perpetrators.
‘By funding innovative programmes that educate future generations and stem the spread of harmful ideologies we will stamp out this scourge, wherever it appears.’
The Community Security Trust (CST), the leading Jewish organisation monitoring and supporting victims of antisemitism, recorded 1,652 reported antisemitic incidents in 2018 – their highest annual total on record for the third year running.
The IHRA working definition of antisemitism states: ‘Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. 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.’
It also provides 11 examples of antisemitism, including statements that make ‘mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective’.
