Tuesday, February 02, 2021
Elder of Ziyon
On February 1, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kara McDonald spoke at the Expert Meeting on Combating Anti-Semitism in the OSCE Region where she officially announced that the Biden administration accepts the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism.
We must educate ourselves and our communities to recognize anti-Semitism in its many forms, so that we can call hate by its proper name and take effective action. That is why the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism, with its real-world examples, is such an invaluable tool. As prior U.S. Administrations of both political stripes have done, the Biden Administration embraces and champions the working definition. We applaud the growing number of countries and international bodies that apply it. We urge all that haven’t done so to do likewise. And we commend OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for using it.
When she said "with its real world examples" she said in no uncertain terms that saying Israel has no right to exist, or calling Israel an apartheid nation, is antisemitic.
This is a huge blow to the progressive groups who have been trying to set the Biden administration agenda.
Americans for Peace Now expressed its frustration:
Americans for Peace Now (APN) is disappointed at the Biden administration's support of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, as expressed yesterday by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kara McDonald.We at APN applaud the Biden administration's commitment to fighting antisemitism and are committed to doing whatever we can as part of this effort. But we believe that the IHRA Working Definition is the wrong vehicle for such action.
They say that the examples used, including "claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor," "applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation," "using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (like the blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis" and "drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis" is not antisemitic.
As with virtually every critic of the IHRA, APN lies about what it says:
Americans for Peace Now is proudly pro-Israel. And because we care about Israel, we denounce government policies that we believe are detrimental to Israel's future and wellbeing. Doing so is not antisemitic. And criticism of Israeli policy, including the occupation, whether by Jews or non-Jews, is not automatically antisemitic. IHRA's definition, however, uses a broad brush to paint legitimate criticism of Israel and Israeli government policies as exactly that.
The IHRA says the exact opposite to what they claim. "criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic."
Why does Americans for Peace Now and its far-Left supporters have to lie? Because the truth is not on their side.
Why do they have to denounce the best definition of antisemitism? Because they condone some kinds of antisemitism..
