Hadassah Adopts Policy Statement Defining Antisemitism

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Joshua Silberberg
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NEW YORK, NY – January 27, 2021 - Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. (HWZOA) National President Rhoda Smolow released the following statement today following a vote by the HWZOA National Board to adopt a new policy statement expressing “support for and adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, including all 11 accompanying illustrative examples.”

“We cannot eliminate antisemitism without first defining what it is. In reaffirming Hadassah’s support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism, we are saying to organizations, institutions and government leaders both here at home and around the world what we believe the standard ought to be.

“We must be able to easily identify antisemitic acts, whether they are physical acts of violence or inflammatory rhetoric. Nations around the world continue to adopt the IHRA’s Working Definition of Antisemitism, as have successive presidential administrations, but Congress has not yet written the definition into law. We will continue to call on lawmakers in Washington to codify the IHRA working definition into law and bring us one step closer to building a safer, more inclusive world.”

To read Hadassah’s policy statement, Defining Antisemitism, please click here.

To read Rhoda Smolow’s October 2020 op-ed in Jewish News Syndicate, “Time for America to Write the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism Into Law,” please click here.

About Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America:

Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is the largest Jewish women’s organization in the United States. With nearly 300,000 members, donors and supporters, Hadassah brings women together to effect change on such critical issues as ensuring Israel’s security, combating antisemitism and promoting women’s health care. Through its Jerusalem-based hospital system, the Hadassah Medical Organization, Hadassah helps support exemplary care for more than 1 million people every year as well as world-renowned medical research. Hadassah’s hospitals serve without regard to race, religion or nationality and in 2005 earned a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for building bridges to peace through medicine. Hadassah also supports two youth villages that set at-risk youth in Israel on the path to a successful future. Visit www.hadassah.org or follow Hadassah on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads and X.