39-24 Resolution re Antisemitism 4869-7312-9882 v.1.pdf

4835-7218-2502, v. 1 WHEREAS, discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity is unlawful under state and federal law; and WHEREAS, antisemitism, including harassment on the basis of actual or perceived Jewish origin, ancestry, ethnicity, identify, affiliation, or faith, remains a persistent, pervasive, and disturbing problem in West Orange.; WHEREAS, in light of the above-mentioned facts and danger to the Jewish community, this Council finds it necessary to adopt, give effect to, and combat incidents of a workable definition of Antisemitism; WHEREAS the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (“IHRA”) definition helps clarify what is antisemitic; WHEREAS the IHRA definition of antisemitism reads as follows: Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities. To guide IHRA in its work, the following examples may serve as illustrations: Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish, collectively. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for "why things go wrong." It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits. Contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere could, taking into account the overall context, include, but are not limited to: • Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion. • Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective - such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions. • Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.