Published: 31 July 2025
Last updated: 31 July 2025
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism has become a major focus of the criticism being directed at Special Envoy Jillian Segal’s plan to combat anti-Jewish racism. Yet the definition clearly states that criticism of Israel is not automatically antisemitic.
“Criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic,” the definition says. It depends on the context surrounding the criticism.
The definition was adopted by the IHRA at a meeting in Romania in 2016. Forty-six nations have endorsed it, including most of Europe, the US, and Australia in a bi-partisan decision in 2021.
The chief critique – which has existed since the definition was conceived, but has attracted sustained attention since the Segal announcement – is that it “conflates” criticism of Israel with antisemitism, therefore inhibiting people from making legitimate criticism of Israel and its state organs.
This is despite the definition stating that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic”. Furthermore, Spain and Ireland, for example, have endorsed the definition – yet the presidents of both have accused Israel of genocide.
"The claim that it suppresses criticism of Israel is completely false. What that claim does is let antisemites off the hook."
Dani Dayan, IHRA Chair
