A recent study from the Combat Antisemitism Movement found the number of new entities that adopted or endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism in 2024 was significantly lower compared to previous years.
The report, released by the Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) by CAM and the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University, showed 34 new entities adopted the IHRA definition, representing a 64.9% decrease from the 97 new IHRA adoptions in 2023 and a 62.6% decrease from 91 in 2022.
The entities included municipal governments, U.S. states, Brazilian provinces and public organizations. With another 14 adoptions from previous years retroactively added, the total number of global adoptions rose to 1,264.
“The relative decrease in IHRA antisemitism definition adoptions last year is concerning. As antisemitism continues to surge worldwide in the aftermath of Oct. 7, institutions must embrace the most authoritative and comprehensive tool to delineate all contemporary forms of Jew-hatred, not neglect it,” Zac Schildcrout, a CAM research and data manager, told JNS.
“Antisemites increasingly target Jewish communities under the guise of anti-Israel activism, making the IHRA definition’s explanations of how modern-day antisemitism frequently manifests as demonization and delegitimization of the Jewish state all the more crucial,” he continued.
The United States continued to lead the way in endorsements and adoptions, boasting 36% of global implementations in 2023 and 45% in 2022. As of the end of 2024, 37 U.S. states had adopted the definition.
CAM put out a “call to action” for U.S. schools and universities to adopt the definition, as those institutions, in particular, have been slow to do so. While four U.S. colleges and universities in 2022, Boston University was the only higher education institution to adopt the definition in 2023.
While the report did not include the total number of higher education institutions that adopted the definition in 2024, CAM’s mid-year report stated some universities were expected to adopt the definition as required by state legislation. (JNS has sought more information from CAM).
In January, Harvard adopted the IHRA definition of jew-hatred as part of a Title VI settlement for antisemitic discrimination.