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VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
-----On the eve of Passover 2023, you assured the Jewish community that you stand with them and that you are committed to the safety of the Jewish people. You recognized that the expression of Jew-hatred is “a stain on the soul of our nation” and you committed our nation to condemning antisemitism “at every turn.” It is therefore imperative that your forthcoming action plan to combat antisemitism recognize the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism as the one and only official definition of antisemitism that will be used by the federal government.
-----The IHRA definition is accepted around the world. Approximately 40 countries have adopted it and, as of December 2022, a total of 1,116 global entities have endorsed it. More than half of the states in the U.S. have also adopted the definition, as have numerous cities, towns and counties across our nation. In October 2020, the Global Imams Council, comprised of Muslim religious leaders from all denominations, adopted the IHRA definition. Even the sports world has begun adopting the definition.
-----The IHRA definition has been used in its current or similar form by the past several administrations, including yours. Shortly after your inauguration, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that your administration “enthusiastically embraces” the IHRA definition, including the examples of antisemitism related to Israel.
-----Most significantly, the IHRA definition is embraced by the American Jewish community. Last Friday, more than 550 rabbis from all three major Jewish denominations urged your administration to adopt the IHRA definition as “the official and only definition used by the United States government,” and to use the definition “as a training and educational tool,” similar to its use by the European Union countries. These rabbis emphasized that “IHRA is critically important for helping to educate and protect our congregants in the face of this rising hate.”
-----Furthermore, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations – the umbrella group for more than 50 American Jewish organizations across the political and religious spectrums and of which the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is a proud charter member – unanimously approved the adoption of the IHRA definition. Not a single organization voted against it.
-----For years, the ZOA has been helping students in schools and on college campuses who have been harassed and discriminated against because they are Jewish and support their ancestral homeland, Israel. We know firsthand that the IHRA definition is vital to our efforts to protect the rights of these and all Jewish students to a learning environment that is physically and psychologically safe.
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