180 organisations call on Twitter to adopt IHRA definition of antisemitism

180 nonprofit and civil rights organisations have signed a letter calling on Twitter and Elon Musk to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. 

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition covers various types of antisemitism, including justifying the killing of Jews in the name of radical ideology, Holocaust denial, and denying the Jewish right to self-determination in the State of Israel.

The letter from the organisations stated that adopting the definition would help combat antisemitism on Twitter where Jewish users are “subject to unrelenting harassment.”

“Twitter’s guidelines should afford protection to Jewish Twitter users from antisemitic content and harassment. This is particularly urgent
given the record-breaking spike in antisemitic incidents over the last three
years,” the letter said.

The organisations listed statistics showing that between 2020-2021, antisemitic incidents surged by 78% in the United Kingdom and 75% in France, while the United States “saw an all-time high with 2,717 recorded antisemitic incidents, a 34% increase from the prior year.”

Elon Musk has been widely criticised for allowing Kanye West back on Twitter after the rapper threatened Jews with “Defcon 3” last month.

The Anti-Defamation League held a meeting with Musk earlier this month, urging him to remove hate speech from Twitter. But according to the watchdog Network Contagion Research Institute, antisemitic content on Twitter surged “prolifically.”

“We met with Elon Musk earlier this week (early November) to express our profound concerns about some of his plans and the spike in toxic content after his acquisition. Since that time, hate and disinformation have proliferated, and he has taken actions that make us fear that the worst is yet to come,” a statement read from Stop Hate For Profit, a coalition that includes ADL.