This definition is intended to be a resource to aid in learning and understanding. It is not a policy definition. For policy definitions, please visit the Policies, Procedures, and Practices section of the website.
Working definition of antisemitism
Every definition of antisemitism identifies and condemns hatred of Jews as well as the prejudice, discrimination, and violence that targets them. Even so, there is no single, agreed upon definition of antisemitism, with various stakeholders offering divergent ways of thinking through the specifics.
In recent years there have been several attempts to clarify the meaning of antisemitism and provide scholars, students, administrators, and others with useful working definitions.
- In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance adopted the following working definition of antisemitism: “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.” The US Department of State and the US Commission on Civil Rights use the IHRA definition as a non-legally binding statement about antisemitism. However, it has been challenged by some leading civil and human rights organizations as unduly restrictive of legitimate political speech.
- The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism is another tool to identify, confront, and raise awareness about antisemitism as it manifests in countries around the world today. It was developed as a response to the IHRA definition in 2020 in an attempt to better distinguish between hatred of Jews and criticism of the state of Israel. The Jerusalem Declaration was initially signed by 210 scholars in the fields of Holocaust history, Jewish studies, and Middle East studies. It defines antisemitism as “discrimination, prejudice, hostility or violence against Jews as Jews (or Jewish institutions as Jewish).“
- The Nexus Document was produced by The Nexus Task Force, initially hosted by the Knight Program on Media and Religion at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC and now affiliated with the Center for the Study of Hate at Bard College. The Task Force published a White Paper in December 2020 followed by the Nexus Document in February 2021. It offers an approach to understanding antisemitism in relation to Israel and Zionism, specifying that “all claims of antisemitism made by Jews, like all claims of discrimination and oppression in general, should be given serious attention.” It offers this definition: “Antisemitism consists of anti-Jewish beliefs, attitudes, actions or systemic conditions. It includes negative beliefs and feelings about Jews, hostile behavior directed against Jews (because they are Jews), and conditions that discriminate against Jews and significantly impede their ability to participate as equals in political, religious, cultural, economic, or social life.” In 2024, the Nexus Task Force also released a “Campus Guide to Identifying Antisemitism in a Time of Perplexity.”
Additional Resources:
- This video, created by the Antisemitism Education Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley, is an engaging introduction to the histories of antisemitism with ideas on how to combat it in the present.
- In “When is Criticism of Israel Antisemitic? A Scholar of Modern Jewish History Explains,” Joshua Shanes offers a scholarly but accessible overview of antisemitic myths and tropes.
- In “Arguing about Antisemitism: Why we Disagree about Antisemitism, and What We can do about It,” Dov Waxman, David Schraub, and Adam Hosein offer guidance on how to productively navigate competing approaches to understanding and defining antisemitism.