11 Summer 2025 integral to the identity of the majority of Jews and many non-Jews who believe in Israel's right to exist. And as I don't tell them how to self-define, they don't get to tell me how to self-define. And your responsibility, Mr. President, is to ensure that all of us are afforded the same opportunities. So therefore, I thank you for the opportunity to clarify. I recommend everybody read the IHRA working definition. The number one question I always get is, oh, criticism of the State of Israel. The number one line in IHRA is, criticism of the State of Israel, of its policies, whatever politicians, that's not antisemitism. Of course it's not. It's how democracies thrive, criticism. What is antisemitism is delegitimization, the denial of Israel's very right to exist. And if October 7 and the responses to it exposed anything, it is the removal of many masks. It is that it's not about where the borders are. It's not about 1967. It's about Israel's very existence. On October 7, those who were attacked on that day were even the most committed peace activists in this country. The understanding that it is delegitimization, the denial of Israel's right to exist, where no country's right to exist is called into question: not Cuba, not Iran, not the United States, not France. And that − once again, I'm a single standard girl − is a big old double standard. Therefore, it is the IHRA that we must not only fight for, but ensure that more spaces are committed to. I will share with you that in the global guidelines for combating antisemitism, which my counterparts and I passed in Argentina marking 30 years for the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) bombing, once again, the reference is singularly to the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. Thirty-seven countries basically recommitted to that IHRA working definition. Now we must hold them to account that they are committed to that IHRA working definition, whether they're in university spaces, city spaces, and so on. One more thing that's very important for me to say is that Israel is the current president of IHRA. It is very important for me to bring this into Israel as well. I've met with all the university presidents, the college presidents, it's a tall order and not so easy. If Meir Linzen is interested in helping me make accessible why the IHRA is important because universities are actually a network as social media spaces are a network, then I welcome any assistance with that as well. It's not so simple. The only university so far that has adopted the IHRA working definition as a statement saying, “we know to recognize antisemitism” is Ben-Gurion University. A second point that I want to make is that not only are we in sort of a reactive battle vis-à-vis IHRA, and with a huge pushback on it, but in places like Canada, for example, the Ontario School Board has adopted terms like “APR,” anti-Palestinian racism. And as you know now, I'm a definitions girl. The definition of antiPalestinian racism essentially means that a Zionist is an anti-Palestinian racist. So that is how anti-Palestinian racism is defined in the Ontario School Board. Public schools − students, teachers, principals − are now committed to a term. They haven't adopted IHRA, but they have adopted APR. So, we are not just one step ahead. We are one step behind, with not just the inability to comprehensively identify and combat antisemitism, but a whole new challenge. Israel Apartheid weeks began in Canada. BDS as a sort of movement, I will say, or a campaign across campuses began in Canada. Anti-Palestinian racism is the next big thing to look for that will actually render every individual who selfidentifies or is perceived to be a Zionist an anti-Palestinian racist. That is the moment in time that we're at that makes IHRA that much more important. Final Remarks − Aleksandra Gliszczyńska–Grabias Thank you so much Michal. I hope this conversation will continue. I am also receiving enormous praise here for you on WhatsApp. We are humbled and honored by your masterful presentation, which was really extremely impressive. I truly hope that we can develop the collaboration with the IJL and also engage our audience further. But concluding, I would also like to thank wholeheartedly Mala Tabory, our driving force behind this event and many other events at IJL. Mala's idea for this webinar was brilliant, the choice of the speaker — even better. Thank you also to Meir Linzen for being with us and also for your personal perspective of remembrance, which is also very important. n Michal Cotler-Wunsh, LL.B, LL.M, is Israel’s Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism, and a Senior Policy & Strategy Advisor. A former Member of Knesset, she chaired and served on several key committees. Michal served as the first Knesset liaison to the issue of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and co-founded the Interparliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism. Michal’s work focuses on antisemitism, international law, human rights, and Zionism. She has diverse legal, academic, and professional experience, including roles at the Jewish Federations of North America, Nefesh B’Nefesh, and Reichman University in Herzliya. Michal serves as a trustee for The Rabbi Sacks Legacy. She lives in Ra’anana, Israel, with her husband and four children.
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