Seeking to Challenge Rising Antisemitism in UK, Church of Scotland Adopts IHRA Definition of Jew-Hatred
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has voted to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.
The move was initiated by Reverend Dr. Richard Frazer — the convener of the Church and Socity Council — who pointed out that antisemitic incidents in the UK were “at a record high for the third year in a row.”
The adoption of the IHRA definition, he added, would “aid the Church in challenging antisemitism.”
The UK-based Campaign Against Antisemitism welcomed the vote, saying it showed the Church of Scotland’s “solidarity with the Jewish community in Scotland at this worrying time.”
The IHRA definition — which was established in 2016 — describes antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” and includes examples such as advancing “the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy” and “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination.”