Uphold IHRA definition of antisemitism, Jewish groups urge university

Jewish leaders have urged the University of Edinburgh to uphold a controversial definition of antisemitism after the institution revealed it was reviewing its support for it.

- Severin Carrell Harriet Sherwood Richard Adams

The university said on Sunday it could unadopt the internationally recognised definition written by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which its critics argue restricts freedom of speech on Israel and Palestine.

The issue came into sharp focus after a review of Edinburgh's links to transatlantic slavery and empire called on the university to unadopt it and to divest from companies allegedly complicit in Israel's military action in Gaza and the West Bank.

The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and the IHRA said yesterday the definition, described by the alliance as a "non-legally binding practical tool" to help identify and address antisemitism, was widely supported by British Jews and Jewish students.

Louis Danker, the president of the UJS and a recent Edinburgh graduate, said the proposal was upsetting. The IHRA definition had been consistently and unanimously supported at UJS conferences, he added.

"We remind the academics who authored this review the principle of self-definition applies to all minorities, including Jewish students," he said. Edinburgh "must ensure that the IHRA definition is protected, and that antisemitism is treated with the same severity as all forms of discrimination".

The IHRA said more than 40 countries had adopted its definition. "We hope any review is informed by a full understanding of the working definition's purpose and value in protecting Jewish communities," a spokesperson said.