Tell Vancouver city council "NO IHRA definition of antisemitism!"

URGENT ACTION: Tell Vancouver city council "NO IHRA definition of antisemitism!"

Fill out the form below to send an email to all Vancouver city councilors and mayor asking them to vote against the IHRA. The motion was rejected in 2019, and is now in front of the city council on November 15th.

Independent Jewish Voices, the Palestinian Youth Movement, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, the Canadian Arab Institute, BC Civil Liberties Association, Canadian Association of University Teachers, and several other organizations oppose the IHRA re-definition of antisemitism because it intentionally conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel and Zionism, and support for Palestinian rights. The adoption of the IHRA definition poses a threat to academic freedom, freedom of expression and the right to protest Israel’s violations of international law.

If you are Palestinian, Jewish and/or a resident of Vancouver, we encourage you to mention that in your letter.

We also encourage you to customize the subject heading and text of the letter.

If you live in the Vancouver area you can sign up to speak about the motion by emailing speaker.request@vancouver.ca You can choose to speak via telephone instead of appearing in person if that is easier.

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

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City

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Subject *

Message *

Vancouver city council and Mayor,

I join together with Independent Jewish Voices, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, BC Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Association of University Teachers and more than 650 Jewish faculty across Canada as well as many other organizations in rejecting the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
 
Antisemitism is a real threat to Jews. It must be fought like all forms of racism, but the IHRA is not the right approach. The IHRA's primary aim is to prevent criticism of Israel policies and practices that violate universal human rights standards and international law.
 
If adopted, speaking in support of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch's description of Israel as an apartheid state would label a person as antisemitic.  This assault on free speech is unacceptable and silences the voices of Palestinians and their supporters (many of whom are Jewish).
 
We therefore urge you to reject the IHRA motion. Instead, we ask you to proceed with an anti-racism task force as promised in the ABC campaign, and to include antisemitism with other forms of racism. We must work together to combat all forms of racism and discrimination in this city.

Sincerely,