28 No. 72 JUSTICE various sources on the ideological spectrum. An antisemitic stabbing in Boston, a hostage crisis in Colleyville, Texas, and the celebrity mainstreaming of the problem by Kanye West8 also contributed to very high levels of concern in the American Jewish community. Data collected by the American Jewish Committee in October and November 2022 revealed that 9 in 10 American Jews said antisemitism was a problem in the U.S.; 8 in 10 said it had increased in the last five years; and 41% said they felt the status of Jews in America was less secure than in the previous year.9 The U.S. is again, tragically, in a period of rising and sustained antisemitism. Yet the difference now compared to the 1930s and 1940s, is not only the huge body of laws on the books protecting Jews and the collective and continuous calls for action from civil society (including, but not limited to, the American Jewish community) and the U.S. Government’s receptivity and response, but also the availability of new tools to counter the problem. These critical tools were developed over the last two decades to initially meet the urgent need of rising antisemitism in Europe. The first tool is a globally recognized working definition of antisemitism to help streamline data collection and to be used as an educational resource for law enforcement, government, and civil society.10 A second tool is the individual government coordinator appointed to combat antisemitism and foster Jewish life. The European Commission first appointed a coordinator tasked with this responsibility for the entire European Union in late 2015.11 Several European countries have appointed their own national coordinators to coordinate government response and action. In Germany, for instance, in addition to a federal-level coordinator, there are antisemitism coordinators for each of the country’s 16 states. Globally, approximately 30 countries have appointed coordinators, many of whom are working with their governments to develop national action plans, or “whole-of-government” approaches, to fight antisemitism within their countries. A third tool is the country-specific national action plan or strategy to combat antisemitism. In 2016, Norway was the first country to publish a specific plan for countering antisemitism. In December 2018, the Council of the European Union published a pivotal mandate, calling on EU member states to adopt and implement a holistic strategy to prevent and fight all forms of antisemitism, endorse the non-legally binding IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, and reinforce and finance the security and protection of Jewish communities, amongst other clear directives.12 Multiple European countries responded and published national strategies in subsequent years, with the European Commission announcing its own impressive ten-year plan in October 2021.13 To date, 14 EU countries have published strategies.14 8. “5 of Kanye West’s Antisemitic Remarks, Explained,” AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE (Sept. 27, 2023), available at https://www.ajc.org/news/5-of-kanye-wests-antisemiticremarks-explained 9. “The State of Antisemitism in America 2022: AJC's Survey of American Jews,” AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE, available at https://www.ajc.org/ AntisemitismReport2022/AmericanJews 10. For more information on the history of the Working Definition of Antisemitism, which originated in the early 2000s with the European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), see IJL website: https://bit. ly/Huffnagle; see also the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, “Working Definition of Antisemitism,” INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE ALLIANCE (IHRA), available at https:// holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definitionantisemitism. While the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism itself says it is “non-legally binding,” there have been efforts – and some which have been successful – to enshrine it in law in the United States. 11. The U.S. was the first country to have a “Special Envoy” tasked to globally monitor and combat antisemitism. However, this position is internationally focused and housed in the U.S. Department of State. Therefore, the first appointments to look inward were in Europe. See 2004 Global Antisemitism Review Act, 118 Stat. § 1282. 12. Outcome of Proceedings 15213/18 (Dec. 6, 2018), available at https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/ document/ST-15213-2018-INIT/en/pdf 13. “Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions,” EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Oct. 5, 2021), available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/ PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0615 14. “National strategies on combating antisemitism,” EUROPEAN COMMISSION, available at https://commission. europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-andfundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/ racism-and-xenophobia/combating-antisemitism /eu-strategy-combating-antisemitism-and-fosteringjewish-life-2021-2030/national-strategies-combatingantisemitism_en
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgzNzA=