On Jan. 5, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares called for all kindergarten through 12th-grade public schools in the commonwealth to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition for antisemitism.
Miyares cited the fact that in 2024, 14% of American hate crimes targeted Jews, who make up just 2% of the nation’s population.
Adopting this definition as part of school codes of conduct and discrimination policies would make it easier for administrations to identify and target antisemitism in schools. The definition was formalized into state law in 2023.
“No law can diminish or infringe on Constitutional free speech rights … but the law empowers you to act when such protected speech is paired with conduct,” Miyares wrote in a letter to superintendents and school boards in Virginia.
The IHRA states that antisemitism is “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,” according to its website.
The IHRA identifies several examples of antisemitism according to the definition, which include drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis, holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the state of Israel, denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination by claiming the existence of Israel is racist and accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel or the alleged priorities of worldwide Judaism than to the interests of their own nations.
Guila Franklin Siegel is the chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, and she said that Attorney General Miyares’ recommendation is a great one.
“Antisemitism is one of the most poorly understood forms of hatred, and people really don’t have a fulsome sense, not only of what antisemitism is, but of what Jewish identity is, and of the fulsome nature of Jewish identity and its entire scope,” she said. “The IHRA definition is the one that I believe most responds [to and] does the best job of responding to the realities on the ground at this really difficult moment.”
Franklin Siegel considers this definition “the gold standard” when it comes to spelling out what antisemitism means and the forms it takes.
“It’s a definition used by the State Department. It’s used by dozens and dozens of countries all over the world,” she said.
Tali Cohen is the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League for Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. She applauded Miyares’ letter and said that it is a logical next step for Virginia in the fight against antisemitism.
“We welcome Virginia Attorney General Miyares’ call for K-12 schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, in line with the Virginia Human Rights Act and Chapter 471 of the Acts of Assembly of 2023, which formalized the IHRA Working Definition into Virginia law,” she said in a written statement to Washington Jewish Week. “As Jewish students face increasing hostility in schools across the commonwealth, adopting the IHRA Working Definition will help Virginia educators identify antisemitism in all of its forms.”
Cohen added that adoption by schools in the commonwealth would create a standardized way to attack antisemitism, whether it’s based on ancient misconceptions about Jews or modern-day misunderstandings about Israel.
“What’s most important is that we in Virginia have a shared, operational way to recognize antisemitism when it shows up in modern forms – including denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination or applying double standards for Israel,” she said.
Franklin Siegel said that the IHRA did a good job at clearly distinguishing between valid anti-Israel critiques and those that verge into antisemitism.
“What [the definition] does do very helpfully, I think, is delineate distinction between criticism [of the] Israeli government and actions taken to deprive Jews of the right to self-determination that other people enjoy without question,” she said.
Miyares said that antisemitism “often masks itself as anti-Zionism and targets the majority of Jews whose identity includes connection to the modern Jewish state of Israel.”
This comes after Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order last spring that directed public schools to create and develop resources to combat and track antisemitism.
Following Executive Order 48, the Virginia secretary of education issued a model resolution that aimed to help school boards implement the IHRA definition into their policies.
Franklin Siegel emphasized that Miyares’ letter is a positive step, but even if the ideas outlined in it are implemented, the fight will need to continue.
“Our definition, by itself, is not going to stamp out antisemitism. There’s so much that needs to be done,” she said.
Zoe Bell contributed reporting to this article.
aguckes@midatlanticmedia.com
