{"id":2719,"date":"2023-04-04T10:08:47","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T08:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.elsc.support\/?p=2719"},"modified":"2023-04-25T17:34:02","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T15:34:02","slug":"un-protect-human-rights-in-action-on-antisemitism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/un-protect-human-rights-in-action-on-antisemitism\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights and other Civil Society Groups Urge United Nations to Respect Human Rights in the Fight Against Antisemitism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>The United Nations should respect human rights in its efforts to combat antisemitism, more than 100 human rights and civil rights organisations, including the ELSC, said in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2023\/04\/04\/human-rights-and-other-civil-society-groups-urge-united-nations-respect-human\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">open letter<\/a> to Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations Miguel \u00c1ngel Moratinos initiated by <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2023\/04\/04\/un-protect-human-rights-action-antisemitism\" target=\"_blank\">Human Rights Watch<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Note:&nbsp;Since its release on April 3, this letter has been updated to reflect additional signatories now totaling 104 organizations. The updated list of organizations is appended.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Joint Letter to UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and Under Secretary-General Miguel \u00c1ngel Moratinos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>20 April 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and Under Secretary-General Miguel \u00c1ngel Moratinos:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our coalition of 104 civil society organizations is writing to you to voice our strong support for the United Nations\u2019 commitment to combatting antisemitism in line with international human rights standards. Antisemitism is a pernicious ideology that poses real harm to Jewish communities around the world and requires meaningful action to combat it. Our organizations call on world leaders to condemn antisemitism and to take steps to protect Jewish communities, including holding perpetrators of hate crimes accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the UN develops its own action plan towards a coordinated and enhanced response to antisemitism rooted in human rights, we are aware that a number of Member State governments and organizations aligned with some of those governments, as well as the former Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed, have been advocating that the UN adopt and use the \u201cworking definition of antisemitism\u201d of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). We urge the UN not to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.holocaustremembrance.com\/resources\/working-definitions-charters\/working-definition-antisemitism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IHRA definition<\/a> was originally developed to guide research and law enforcement data validation before being used by the IHRA in its work, which includes education about the Holocaust and antisemitism. Adoption of the definition by governments and institutions is often framed as an essential step in efforts to combat antisemitism. In practice, however, the IHRA definition has often been used to wrongly label criticism of Israel as antisemitic, and thus chill and sometimes suppress, non-violent protest, activism and speech critical of Israel and\/or Zionism, including in the US and Europe. Such misuse has also been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/documents\/thematic-reports\/a77512-combating-glorification-nazism-neo-nazism-and-other-practices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criticized<\/a> by the former Special Rapporteur on Racism E. Tendayi Achiume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ken Stern, the main drafter of the IHRA definition, recently reiterated his concerns about the institutional adoption of the definition in light of its proposed inclusion in an American Bar Association (ABA) draft resolution on antisemitism. Stern\u2019s concern stems from the IHRA definition\u2019s repeated use as \u201ca blunt instrument to label anyone an antisemite.\u201d In the end, ABA members adopted a resolution on antisemitism that did not reference the IHRA definition. Stern\u2019s message to ABA applies equally to the UN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who use the IHRA definition in this way tend to rely on a set of eleven \u201ccontemporary examples of antisemitism\u201d attached to the definition by the IHRA in 2016. Seven of those examples refer to the state of Israel. These examples, which are presented as possible illustrations and indicators to \u201cguide the IHRA in its work\u201d, include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cdenying the Jewish people their right to self-determination; e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour\u201d and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201capplying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The wording of the first example above on \u201cracist endeavour\u201d opens the door to labeling as antisemitic criticisms that Israeli government policies and practices violate the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the findings of major Israeli, Palestinian and global human rights organizations that Israeli authorities are committing the crime against humanity of apartheid against Palestinians. This example could also be used to label as antisemitic documentation showing that Israel\u2019s founding involved dispossessing many Palestinians; or arguments, also made by some Members of the Israeli Knesset, to transform Israel from a Jewish state into a multiethnic state that equally belongs to all of its citizens \u2013 that is, a state based on civic identity, rather than ethnic identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The example on \u201capplying double standards\u201d opens the door to labeling as antisemitic anyone who focuses on Israeli abuses as long as worse abuses are deemed to be occurring elsewhere. By that logic, a person dedicated to defending the rights of Tibetans could be accused of anti-Chinese racism, or a group dedicated to promoting democracy and minority rights in Saudi Arabia could be accused of Islamophobia. This example suggests also that it is antisemitic to evaluate Israel as anything but a democracy, also when assessing its actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where it has for more than half a century governed millions of Palestinians who have no say on the most consequential issues affecting their lives and who are deprived of their basic civil rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The IHRA qualifies the examples by noting that \u201ccriticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic\u201d and that any finding of antisemitism must \u201c[take] into account the overall context.\u201d However, in practice, these disclaimers have failed to prevent the politically motivated instrumentalization of the IHRA definition in efforts to muzzle legitimate speech and activism by critics of Israel\u2019s human rights record and advocates for Palestinian rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The targets of accusations of antisemitism based on the IHRA definition have included university students and professors, grassroots organizers, human rights and civil rights organizations, humanitarian groups and members of the US Congress, who either document or criticize Israeli policies and who speak in favor of Palestinian human rights. If the UN endorses the IHRA definition in any shape or form, UN officials working on issues related to Israel and Palestine may find themselves unjustly accused of antisemitism based on the IHRA definition. The same goes for numerous UN agencies, departments, committees, panels and\/or conferences, whose work touches on issues related to Israel and Palestine, as well as for civil society actors and human rights defenders engaging with the UN system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the United Kingdom\u2019s government adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism at the national level, at least two UK universities in 2017 banned certain activities planned for \u201cIsrael Apartheid Week.\u201d One of them, the University of Central Lancashire, banned a panel planned by Friends of Palestine on boycotts of Israel. A university spokesperson stated, \u201cWe believe the proposed talk contravenes the [IHRA] definition\u201d of antisemitism \u201cformally adopted\u201d by the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In February 2020, Israel advocacy groups in the US challenged Pitzer and Pomona College\u2019s support for a film screening about Palestinian protests in Gaza against Israeli repression and a panel on \u201cPerspectives on Colleges and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,\u201d featuring the prominent Jewish commentator Peter Beinart and Palestinian-American Yousef Munayyer, hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The Israel advocacy groups claimed that SJP\u2019s positions, such as its support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, are \u201cclear indicators of anti-Semitism under the examples listed by the IHRA.\u201d In January 2020, Israel advocacy groups called for the University of Michigan to review the agenda for a \u201cYouth for Palestine\u201d conference focused on student activism and community organizing on Palestine, and to \u201ccompare it to the IHRA definition,\u201d and consider canceling it over concerns that it will feed antisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some advocates of the IHRA working definition have presented it as a non-controversial \u201cconsensus definition\u201d. However, many leading antisemitism experts, scholars of Jewish studies and the Holocaust, as well as free speech and anti-racism experts, have challenged the definition, arguing that it restricts legitimate criticism of Israel and harms the fight against antisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2021, at least two alternative definitions have been put forward: the <a href=\"https:\/\/jerusalemdeclaration.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism<\/a> by hundreds of scholars of antisemitism, Holocaust studies, Jewish studies and Middle East studies, as well as the <a href=\"https:\/\/israelandantisemitism.com\/the-nexus-document\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nexus Document<\/a> by a task force affiliated with Bard College and the University of Southern California. While acknowledging that criticism of Israel can be antisemitic, these alternative definitions set out more clearly what constitutes antisemitism and provide guidance surrounding the contours of legitimate speech and action around Israel and Palestine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an international organization committed to the universal promotion of the rule of law and human rights, the UN should ensure that its vital efforts to combat antisemitism do not inadvertently embolden or endorse policies and laws that undermine fundamental human rights, including the right to speak and organize in support of Palestinian rights and to criticize Israeli government policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For these reasons, we strongly urge the UN not to endorse the IHRA definition of antisemitism.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We look forward to assisting the UN\u2019s efforts to combat antisemitism in a way that respects, protects and promotes human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Al Mezan Center for Human Rights<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Mankind<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amnesty International*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B\u2019Tselem<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gisha &#8211; Legal Center for Freedom of Movement<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Human Rights Watch<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ligue des droits de l&#8217;Homme (LDH)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Physicians for Human Rights-Israel<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Joined by:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>11.11.11<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>7amleh &#8211; The Arab Center for Social Media Advancement<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Different Jewish Voice (Netherlands)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Academia for Equality*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Africa4Palestine (AFP)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>American Friends Service Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>American Humanist Association*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Americans for Peace Now*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arab Canadian Lawyers Association*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Association &#8220;Pour J\u00e9rusalem&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (AUDRIP)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Association France Palestine Solidarit\u00e9 (AFPS)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BDS Netherlands<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belgian Academics &amp; Artists for Palestine (BAA4P)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bisan Center for Research and Development*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Breaking the Silence*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Broederlijk Delen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land (CJPHL)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CCFD-Terre Solidaire<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Charity &amp; Security Network*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CIDSE<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CNCD-11.11.11<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Collectif Jud\u00e9o Arabe et Citoyen pour la Palestine (CJACP)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Combatants for Peace<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Comhlamh Justice for Palestine<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Defending Rights &amp; Dissent*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Defense for Children International &#8211; Palestine<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>EuroMed Rights*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>European Jews for a Just Peace<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>European Legal Support Center (ELSC)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>European Middle East Project (EuMEP)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finnish-Arab Friendship Society<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>gate48 &#8211; critical Israelis in the Netherlands*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Human Rights Defenders Fund (HRDF)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>IfNotNow*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Independent Australian Jewish Voices (IAJV)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Independent Jewish Voices Canada<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (Finland)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (UK)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jahalin Solidarity*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jewish Network for Palestine (UK)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East (Germany)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jewish Voice for Peace &#8211; Twin Cities*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jews against the Occupation Australia*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jews for Palestine-Ireland<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just Peace Advocates\/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kairos Ireland<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>La Cimade (France)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Law for Palestine*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Le Comit\u00e9 de Vigilance pour une Paix R\u00e9elle au Proche-Orient (CVPR PO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Medico international<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mennonite Church Canada Palestine-Israel Network*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Middle East Peace Now*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Minnesota BDS Community*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mouvement de la paix France<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nederlands Palestina Komitee<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One Justice<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parents Against Child Detention (PACD)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pax Christi USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plateforme des ONG fran\u00e7aises pour la Palestine<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Presbyterian Church (USA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Project South*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Promise Institute for Human Rights*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sadaka &#8211; The Ireland-Palestine Alliance*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Rights Forum<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trinity College Dublin BDS*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tzedek Collective*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Une Autre Voix Juive (France)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Union Juive Fran\u00e7aise pour la Paix (UJFP)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>United Jewish People&#8217;s Order of Canada<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel (UNJPPI)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>University Network for Human Rights<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Women in Black (Vienna)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>* Post-launch signers that joined this letter after its initial release on 3 April 2023<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Picture: CC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/un_photo\/32388281854\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UN Photo\/Rick Bajornas Flickr<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United Nations should respect human rights in its efforts to combat antisemitism, 60 human rights and civil rights organizations, including the ELSC, said in an open letter to Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations Miguel \u00c1ngel Moratinos initiated by Human Rights Watch.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":2720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[48,111,74],"test-2":[],"country":[],"blog_categories":[],"class_list":["post-2719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-urgent-call","tag-freedom-of-expression","tag-freedom-of-assembly","tag-ihra"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":130,"label":"Calls 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