The White House rolled out a 60-page strategy to counter anti-Semitism in the United States that some Jewish and anti-hate groups say definitely misses the mark.
The Biden administration cites an alarming rise in hate crimes that disproportionately impact American Jews as part of the impetus for the government-led effort to combat anti-Semitism.
As part of the strategy’s four-pillar approach, the White House seeks to increase awareness and understanding of antisemitism, including how it threatens America, and broaden appreciation of Jewish American heritage.
The administration would also like to improve safety and security for Jewish communities; reverse the normalization of antisemitism and counter antisemitic discrimination; and build “cross-community” solidarity and collective action to counter hate.
However, Biden’s plan has rubbed some groups wrong and down right left them offended to what the White House says it considers anti-Semitism, and argue that President Biden has chosen a diluted definition of the term that doesn’t say it’s anti-Semitic to oppose Israel’s creation or hold the Jewish state to different standards than other countries.
Instead of solely using the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which is favored by numerous mainstream Jewish organizations, the White House strategy calls several definitions of anti-Semitism “valuable.”
“The most prominent is the non-legally binding ‘working definition’ of antisemitism adopted in 2016 by the 31-member states of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which the United States has embraced,” the White House strategy acknowledges.
The document continues, “In addition, the Administration welcomes and appreciates the Nexus Document and notes other such efforts.”
The Zionist Organization of America argued in a statement, “The Nexus Document states that opposition to Zionism i.e., the right of the Jewish people to self-determination and to live as a nation-state in their religious and ancestral homeland is not necessarily antisemitic. The Nexus Document fails to appreciate that for many if not most Jews, their connection to their religious and ancestral homeland is an essential part of their Jewish identity.”
Liora Rez, executive director of watchdog group StopAntisemitism argues, “The Biden administration’s acceptance of many definitions flies in the face of the plan’s assertion that if we can’t name, identify, and admit a problem; we can’t begin to solve it.”
“Against the advice of major antisemitism advocacy organizations, the plan does not use the IHRA definition to delineate what counts as antisemitism, instead relegating it to a brief paragraph that also includes the inferior, competing Nexus definition,” Rez adds. “Not using IHRA as a foundational guide creates a gaping hole; while the plan acknowledges that Jews have been targeted because of their connection to Israel, it fails to name anti-Zionism as a primary form of antisemitism.”
On a similar note, Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement that “Joe Biden had a chance to take a strong stand against antisemitism and he blew it.”
“The IHRA definition of antisemitism is the definition endorsed by every mainstream Jewish organization. Biden’s own Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism has urged other countries to ‘embrace’ it as an ‘integral’ tool against the rising tide of Jew-hatred. The IHRA definition is indispensable because it recognizes that criticism of Israel is antisemitic when it delegitimizes, demonizes, or applies double standards to Israel,” Brooks adds.
StopAntisemitism also criticized Biden for allowing the plan to veer into strategy for combating other hate crimes and not solely focusing on anti-Semitism.
“The plan will not even allow antisemitism to stand alone, repeatedly mentioning planned executive actions to fight ‘antisemitism, Islamophobia, and related forms of bias and discrimination.’ Fighting Islamophobia and other bigotries is an excellent goal, but it does not belong in this particular antisemitism strategy,” said Rez.
“The Administration grossly missed its chance to make a clear statement on what constitutes antisemitism, and America’s Jews will suffer as a result,” she added.
