'No' Campaign Submitted Argument
The following text was submitted by the 'No' campaign organisers. It outlines their view on why they believe students should vote 'no' in the referendum:
Summary
- The IHRA is recognised by every party in the UK Parliament, over 60% of universities, and ~50 other countries.
- The IHRA is the Jewish community’s definition of Antisemitism, made by Jewish scholars and Holocaust survivors.
- We believe any minority groups have the right to define their own oppression.
- This definition has nothing to do with limiting the freedoms of activists. It is about the protection of Jewish people from Antisemitism.
- This definition does not change that: criticism of the State of Israel is not antisemitic.
- This definition allows for Antisemitism to be properly recognised, allowing it to be properly addressed.
Full Case
The IHRA is the Jewish community’s chosen definition of Antisemitism, drafted and made by Jewish scholars and Holocaust survivors. It is also recognised by every party in the UK Parliament, the Premier League, 60% of UK universities, and over 30 other countries.
We believe that it should be up to the Jewish community to define our own experiences of Antisemitism, just as any other minority group has the right to define their oppression. It would never be acceptable for the majority to choose to reject any other minority community’s definition of how they experience oppression, so why is it okay to reject the Jewish community’s definition of Antisemitism?
The IHRA definition has nothing to do with limiting the freedom of speech of activists and is focused on the protection of Jewish people. There is not a single line in the definition that calls for censorship. Within the definition on the IHRA website, it clearly states that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.” Criticism of the State of Israel is not antisemitic and this definition does not change that. The only thing that this definition would do at City, University of London is protect Jewish students from antisemitism by providing a clear guide in recognising antisemitic incidents on campus, so that they can be properly dealt with when they occur.
In recent years, Antisemitism has been on the rise. The CST recorded their highest number of antisemitic incidents in Universities in one academic year last year (2019/2020), despite the year being ended short by coronavirus.
Many Jewish students at City have experienced Antisemitism first-hand, but the University lacks any policy to define and properly address it. The rejection of this Jewish community built definition would be proof that the SU does not acknowledge our lived experiences of discrimination, does not care to protect Jewish students, and is happy to stand by as Antisemitism continues.