43 Fall 2021 the fact that their legal status as comprising a“race”as well as a “religion” is not widely known, not even by university administrators. The IHRA Definition of Antisemitism Following government intervention in October 2020 to address rising campus antisemitism, more than 100 universities in the UK have now adopted the IHRA definition. However, there has been no significant change in the hostile environment for Jewish students on campus. This is because the definition, while technically adopted, is not being used either as an educational tool or as a guide to campus activity. The definition remains highly controversial and is thought to restrict free speech on Israel, despite its clearly stated protection of criticism of Israel. Academics who are hostile to Israel promote the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) as an alternative to the IHRA definition. The JDA protects expressions of hostility to Israel. Another factor is that university administrators have had no antisemitism training, and do not understand the IHRA definition, or how to use it. Indeed, they have little knowledge of antisemitism in general, other than in relation to the Holocaust. In summary, there needs to be greater clarity regarding what constitutes free speech and antisemitism at UK universities. In addition, universities need to take more responsibility towards ensuring that the laws that protect against antisemitism on campus are upheld and that student complaints are adequately addressed. This, in turn, requires a greater willingness on the part of universities to use the IHRA definition as both an educational tool and a guide to conduct. n Lesley Klaff is a senior lecturer in law at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice, Sheffield Hallam University, Professor [Affiliate] at the University of Haifa, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism. She serves on the advisory board of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law and does pro bono work for UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), a charitable organization that uses the law to oppose attempts to delegitimize and attack Israel and its supporters. In 2018 she was named by The Algemeiner as one of the top 100 people “positively influencing Jewish life.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgzNzA=