Against the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism
In December 2023 the Massachusetts State Legislature considered adopting the flawed IHRA definition of antisemitism. I wrote to members of my state government to implore them not to do so. I was reminded of it again last week when I heard that Harvard University, down the road from me, had adopted the IHRA definition. I was reminded again today when I heard reporting that the Trump administration was planning an executive order to expand his previous IHRA-based EO in order to specifically target Palestinian-solidarity activists on college campuses. I thought I’d share the letter I wrote now.
To Chairman James Eldridge, Chairman Michael Day, and members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary,
I am writing you as a Jewish resident of Somerville MA asking your to reject H. 1558. I was raised in Berkeley CA, attended Hebrew school on weekday evenings and weekends; I was fortunate to be part of a progressive Jewish community that encouraged serious engagement with political issues. I was taught to take a second look at everything, that we should be critical and thoughtful in our quest to repair the world.
It is in that spirit that I ask you reject this bill which adopts the IHRA definition of antisemitism into our anti-discrimination law.
Antisemitism is a serious and urgent issue in the United States and I strongly support efforts to combat it in our legislature. But the IHRA definition is inconsistent and overly broad. It’s open to a wide range of interpretations that are counter productive to the fight against antisemitism because it muddies the waters with its broad brush. It has been used to paint as antisemites the many people – including many Jewish activists – who are working for a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians. At its best it is vague and challenging to apply. At worst it is used to suppress pro-peace political speech under the pretense of protecting Jews. Adopting it into law will hurt many Jews in our state, including me.
Thank you for your consideration,
Harris Lapiroff
This wasn’t included in my letter at the time, but if you are looking for a working definition of antisemitism that is thoughtful and concrete – relatively, considering the amount of nuance required for defining complex phenomena such as racism and antisemitism – and doesn’t broadly classify criticism of nationalism and state as antisemitism, the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism is far and away a better example.