SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The San Diego City Council passed a resolution Tuesday night adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, following hours of debate and public comment over what has become a controversial issue.
The final vote was 8-1, with only Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera voting no.
The IHRA defines antisemitism as "a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
It also lists 11 specific examples of antisemitism, some of which include specific criticisms of Israel.
That's where the controversy begins.
"I'm glad to see municipalities being concerned about antisemitism, as am I. I just think this is the wrong approach," says Professor Kenneth Stern, the director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate.
Professor Stern was the lead author of the definition. He says it was intended to create a baseline for collecting data about antisemitism around the world. But in a conversation with ABC 10News anchor Jared Aarons, he says the way it has been implemented over the last few years has deviated from its initial intent.
"I understand people sincerely want to fight antisemitism. I do too. This is being seen as a symbol and as a shortcut," he says.
"If you look at how it's being, and has been used, it's been used only to suppress pro-Palestinian speech."
That was the argument from dozens of people at the City Council meeting on Tuesday afternoon. More than 200 people signed up to give public comment on the issue, both for and against the definition. That part of the meeting lasted more than 4 hours.
The Council also debated the issue for another hour and a half, ultimately passing the resolution. They also added an amendment calling for the city's Human Relations Commission to define more forms of racial discrimination to engage other communities and perspectives.
Dozens of other cities, schools, and organizations have adopted the definition. But it has also led to lawsuits across the country accusing people of being antisemitic. Professor Stern says that can unfairly label people, even within the Jewish community.
"You would never take a definition that looks at a community and basically decides somebody is really not a true representative of that community," he says. "There would be Jews who are criticizing Israel in ways that may be vile of the text of the definition. Why would you want to have the City Council on record saying those folks aren't really Jews, those folks aren't, you know, expressing what it means to be Jews? You want to have that as an internal debate. You don't want to have the government deciding it...
"What I'd rather have them do is talk about things that are really critical to the Jewish community, Jewish security and funding for institutions, how to teach about anti-Semitism, how to teach about hate, how to on colleges, in particular, how do you have students who have strongly divergent views about Israel and about anti-Semitism, about Zionism have respectful and important discussions and teach about it."
