University of Aberdeen rejects IHRA antisemitism definition over free speech concerns

Aberdeen’s Race Definitions Task and Finish Group tabled plans to adopt the IHRA definition last May 2021, say the Scotland-based media cooperative The Ferret.

In September 2021 a meeting of the university's senate aired concerns that IHRA recommendations  “impinged too heavily on academic freedom and the work of academics”.

The group said: “It was noted that 100 UK universities had adopted the definition, however, it was also noted that there had been recent high-profile cases which had resulted in academics losing their jobs, leading the group to discuss whether the definition had become ‘weaponised’ in the sector,” resulting in the adoption of the JDA definition in IHRA’s place.

The Group said the JDA offered “a fairer and clearer definition and set of guidelines”.

The IHRA guidelines were drafted to encourage institutions such as universities to adopt them. It is not legally binding in the UK.

The definition specifies that Jew-hatred may exhibit itself in  “the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity”.

Professor David Anderson, Aberdeen’s chair in the Anthropology of the North at Aberdeen University said he welcomed the decision to reject IHRA’s definition and claimed that “Definitions like this have no place in a university. They stifle creativity and debate.”

The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities said in a statement that: “If the critics of the IHRA Definition (originally devised by the EU Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia) had taken the trouble to read it, they would see that far from ‘defining antisemitism as any critique of the state of Israel’.

They wrote that the IHRA definition, "explicitly says the opposite – the second paragraph begins ‘criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.’"

A spokesperson for Aberdeen University said JDA guidance could aid it to “identify, address and raise awareness of antisemitism and how it can manifest”.

They said the university had worked “with the Aberdeen University Jewish Society and the Palestinian Society, University Senate and other staff and students,” and that “it was agreed that the university should adopt a definition of antisemitism to support its Jewish community but that wider options than the IHRA definition should be considered.”

“Further consultation indicated that the JDA definition was the preferred option, noting that it offers a clear and fair definition which protects critical open debate,” they continued.

The IHRA arose from an international group set up to commemorate and educate on the Shoah, set up by Sweden, Britain, and the US back in 1998. 29 European countries, along with Israel, the US, Argentina, and Canada are current members. 

The UK and Scottish governments have adopted IHRA’s antisemitism definition. Various Jewish and non-Jewish groups and organisations along with further 39 nations have endorsed or adopted it.

The Ferret reports that six institutions of higher education have adopted the IHRA guidelines, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, while seven other universities are considering it.