Statement Against the Adoption of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism at Health Faculties and Institutions

Statement Against the Adoption of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism at Health Faculties and Institutions

March 26, 2024

In recent months, healthcare workers, learners, and educators have experienced an unprecedented campaign of silencing and intimidation related to their advocacy for Palestinian freedoms and lives, resulting from the use of the now widely–criticized IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) working definition of antisemitism. Their advocacy includes condemning Israel’s destruction of hospitals and the healthcare system in Gaza, and Israel’s killing of over 31,000 people in Gaza, including over 13,000 children and hundreds of healthcare workers

Complainants, who are commonly anonymous, have targeted healthcare workers for using words such as “genocide,” “apartheid,” “occupation,” and “settler-colonialism” to describe the actions of the State of Israel, based on a conflation of criticism of the State of Israel with antisemitism driven by the IHRA working definition. Multiple scholars including leading experts of antisemitism, Holocaust and Jewish studies, and civil rights groups have criticized the IHRA working definition. Academic institutions, including the University of Toronto, have rejected the adoption of the IHRA definition. Yet, suppressing advocacy for Palestine amounts to an indirect adoption and weaponization of the IHRA definition of antisemitism to achieve its intended goal: silencing criticism of the State of Israel and enabling anti-Palestinian racism.

The criticism of the actions of the State of Israel can be discussed or debated but must not be silenced by weaponizing the accusation of antisemitism. Many have accused the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of various crimes without being silenced under the banner of Anti-Muslim Racism. China has been accused of crimes against the Uygurs, and Russia of crimes in Ukraine without critics being silenced or accused of anti-Asian racism or Russophobia. Perspectives may differ on the substance of these accusations, but individuals are free to level criticisms at state actions. There must not be an “Israel exception,” and legitimate political debates cannot be silenced through accusations of antisemitism.We are alarmed at the extent of the politically-driven intimidation and at the complicity of academic and health care institutions which are engaging in actions ranging from calling physicians, trainees and educators to the office to discuss baseless “anonymous” complaints, all the way to suspension without due process and interference in the CaRMS process.

We call on healthcare institutions and faculties of health sciences to:

Clearly and unequivocally reject the adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.
Urgently put an end to the use of IHRA, whether formally adopted or not, to accuse individuals of antisemitism for criticizing the actions of the State of Israel. This flawed process has become a harassment tool to disproportionately target advocates for Palestinian rights. There must be a transparent process to first determine if the person facing allegations has in fact violated any explicit rules or regulations, before being called to the office.
Acknowledge anti-Palestinian racism, which includes denying Palestinians and their allies the right to speak up against actions of the State of Israel. Palestinians and their allies cannot be denied the right to use terms such as genocide, apartheid, occupation, and settler colonialism as well as to advocate for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions.

Endorsing Organizations