American Jewish Committee (AJC) Berlin welcomes FC Bayern Munich’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. Today’s announcement coincides with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
American Jewish Committee (AJC) Berlin welcomes the joint declaration of five major German corporations to combat antisemitism. Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen, and Borussia Dortmund published a statement today endorsing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. Germany’s Friends of Yad Vashem joined in the statement, issued on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
AJC Europe welcomes the European Commission’s publication of the Handbook for the Practical Use of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. This new publication offers clear guidance and examples of how the definition is already being used throughout Europe by law enforcement, the judiciary, educational institutions, and civil society.
“We are shocked by the EU Court of Justice decision, which is nothing less than a frontal assault on the basic rights and religious freedoms of Jews and Muslims in Europe. Within living memory of the Holocaust, a European court not only bans a core Jewish ritual but potentially Jewish life altogether in Europe, ” said Daniel Schwammenthal, Director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute.
“Bravo to Lord John Mann and all of those involved in this landmark decision,” said AJC CEO David Harris. Mann is the British government’s top advisor on antisemitism and a leading proponent of the IHRA working definition. “The importance of the British Premier League recognizing the most widely used definition of antisemitism cannot be overstated,” said Harris. “Hundreds of millions of people around the world follow closely the Premier League’s teams and players. The impact of today’s decision and its implementation can be extraordinarily helpful in the battle against rising antisemitism.”