Michael Arria
Mondoweiss / June 1, 2023
The ADL and other pro-Israel groups praised the Biden administration’s highly-anticipated National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, but it’s unlikely they’re completely satisfied as the White House declined to endorse the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
The Biden administration’s highly-anticipated National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism was released. It calls for strengthening antisemitism education, making Jewish communities safer, and building “cross-community solidarity” among other things.
In the weeks leading up to its release Biden faced pressure from pro-Israel groups calling on The White House to adopt the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism and calls from progressive groups to oppose it.
In the end, Biden didn’t adopt the definition. The document makes reference to it, but it also mentions the Nexus Document definition, which is preferred by many progressives. “As a general rule, criticism of Zionism and Israel, opposition to Israel’s policies, or nonviolent political action directed at the State of Israel and/or its policies should not, as such, be deemed antisemitic,” reads one section of the Nexus Document. “Even contentious, strident, or harsh criticism of Israel for its policies and actions, including those that led to the creation of Israel, is not per se illegitimate or antisemitic,” declares another.
“There are several definitions of antisemitism, which serve as valuable tools to raise awareness and increase understanding of antisemitism,” reads the strategy. “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. In addition, the Administration welcomes and appreciates the Nexus Document and notes other such efforts.”
Zionism isn’t mentioned, but Israel is referenced 10 times in the 60-page document. “The Biden-Harris Administration will ensure the strategy’s effective implementation and leverage it to advance our fight against other forms of hate,” reads a fact sheet connected to the plan. “In addition, the strategy reaffirms the United States’ unshakable commitment to the State of Israel’s right to exist, its legitimacy, and its security—and makes clear that when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism.”
There’s a small distinction worth noting here. The Biden administration says that singling out Israel is antisemitism if it’s motivated by anti-Jewish hatred. That’s not exactly the same thing we hear from from people like Anti-Defamation CEO Jonathan Greenblatt–who has consistently asserted that anti-Zionism is antisemitism. However, in the eyes of these pro-Israel groups any criticism of Israel is probably motivated by anti-Jewish hatred so the difference is destined to work itself out.
The ADL and other pro-Israel groups have praised the plan publicly, but it’s difficult to believe they’re completely satisfied. Sure, there’s section that relies on an ADL survey to claim that “on college campuses, Jewish students, educators and administrators have been derided, ostracized and sometimes discriminated against because of their actual or perceived views on Israel,” but they’ve been pushing Biden to formally adopt the IHRA definition since he took office and this document doesn’t seem to get them any closer to that goal. The administration has voiced support for it several times, but still nothing. Recently they even announced they won’t be reexamining the issue until the end of this year. In January the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released a a fact sheet detailing protections for students and (to the chagrin of the anti-Zionist crowd) it also omitted the IHRA working definition.
You have to dig a little deeper than press releases to gauge the level of anxiety. Right-wing journalist Daniel Greenfield says that the plan amounts to a “betrayal” of Jewish people because it doesn’t condemn the BDS movement and gives the IHRA working definition short thrift. “The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism fails to address Muslim and leftist antisemitism,” he writes in the Jewish News Syndicate. “It briefly delves into campus antisemitism but does not address its source, has a single throwaway line about the attacks on Orthodox Jews in New York City and gives the pro-Israel IHRA definition of antisemitism nearly equal billing with the Nexus anti-Israel one.”
An Anti-Defamation League spokesperson tells Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch that the group didn’t agree with Biden’s decision to reference the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on the fact sheet. Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks says, “Joe Biden had a chance to take a strong stand against antisemitism and he blew it.” Nikki Haley says, “Joe Biden is pandering to the radical Left and siding with Israel’s enemies.”
We’ll be keeping a close eye on how the strategy gets implemented and how pro-Israel groups react.
Michael Arria is the U.S. correspondent for Mondoweiss
