Jewish leaders have urged the University of Edinburgh to uphold a controversial definition of antisemitism after the institution revealed it was reviewing its support for it. The university said on Sunday it could unadopt the internationally recognised definition written by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which its critics argue restricts freedom of speech on Israel and Palestine.
The issue came into sharp focus after a review of Edinburgh’s links to transatlantic slavery and empire called on the university to unadopt it and to divest from companies allegedly complicit in Israel’s military action in Gaza and the West Bank. The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and the IHRA said on Monday the definition, described by the IHRA as a “non-legally binding practical tool” to help identify and address antisemitism, was widely supported by British Jews and Jewish students.
Louis Danker, the president of the UJS and a recent Edinburgh graduate, said the proposal was upsetting. The IHRA definition had been consistently and unanimously supported at UJS conferences. “We remind the academics who authored this review the principle of self-definition applies to all minorities, including Jewish students,” he said. Edinburgh “must ensure that the IHRA definition is protected, and that antisemitism is treated with the same severity as all forms of discrimination”.
The IHRA said more than 40 countries had adopted its definition. A spokesperson said: “We hope any review is informed by a full understanding of the working definition’s purpose and value in protecting Jewish communities.” Peter Mathieson, the university’s principal, told the Guardian it had begun reviewing its investments in Israel and its stance on the definition before the race review made its recommendations but had not made a final decision. He noted that discussions with Jewish students, staff and national bodies had made clear there “is not a unanimity of view” among British Jews.
Vincent Fean, a trustee of the Britain Palestine Project, said the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism was a much more useful text than the IHRA’s, as it distinguished “between legitimate criticism of Israel and hatred of Jews”. Activists with the University of Edinburgh’s Justice for Palestine Society and its branch of Kehillah, a group of anti-Zionist Jewish students, also urged Edinburgh to abandon the IHRA definition, arguing it “stifles criticism of Israel”. Meanwhile, the university said it would intensify efforts to decolonise its teaching, following the review into its historical links to slavery and racism. Recommendations included a new dedicated centre for the study of racisms and colonialism, and a new undergraduate course focused on decolonisation.
