Please join us for an enlightening conversation about defining antisemitism in the current political environment. How to define antisemitism has been a hot topic prompting statements from a myriad of Jewish organizations, including Reconstructing Judaism, and others such as many American and global cities and the Biden administration. Links providing background information can be found below. This is a great chance to both learn and share your thoughts on this important topic. This event is sponsored by the Shir Hadash Israel Committee. If you have any questions, please call Burton Kopulsky at (847) 323-3690.

Please scroll down to register to receive the Zoom link. There is no charge to attend.

This is the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. It is a definition that has been adopted by a wide range of political and other entities globally including by the United States. It is currently the most widely used definition of antisemitism:
https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/working-definition-antisemitism

Here is a statement from a group, the "Progressive Israel Network" expressing concerns about misuse of the IHRA definition and rejecting two of the included examples pertaining to Israel. Reconstructing Judaism is a member of the "Progressive Israel Network" and a signatory of the statement:
https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/news/progressive-israel-network-groups-oppose-codification-ihra-working-definition-antisemitism

Here is a statement from the Reform Movement accepting the definition, but including some cautions:
https://urj.org/press-room/reform-jewish-institutions-affirm-ihra-working-definition-antisemitism

Here is an article about a recent speech give by the Biden administration's Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Kara McDonald that embraced the definition. The article also includes a discussion of some of the controversy surrounding adoption of the definition:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-admin-embraces-ihra-anti-semitism-definition-shunned-by-progressives/

Here are some links to statements written by the experts who worked on the definition. They have varying views about both the development and the current use of the definition:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/13/antisemitism-executive-order-trump-chilling-effect

https://engageonline.wordpress.com/2021/01/20/ken-stern-isnt-the-only-author-the-ihra-working-definition-of-antisemitism/?fbclid=IwAR0rH9g4sP7x5Qqtzwr853VCxfMWEggVJm0nRypmTgdlGi057WjvYdOSuw4

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/we-disagree-about-the-working-definition-thats-ok-heres-whats-not/