Oppose the UN General Assembly adopting the IHRA definition

JVL Introduction

It looks as though an attempt will be made to get the UN General Assembly to adopt the propagandistic IHRA Working of Definition of Antisemitism next January.

This is a battle we have to win!

Resistance is already mounting

1. The final report of outgoing UN Special Rapporteur E. Tendayi Achiume criticised ‘the politically motivated instrumentalization of the fight against antisemitism, which is increasingly linked to the adoption, promotion and implementation by States of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism’ and urged ‘UN member states to suspend the adoption and promotion of the IHRA-WDA and the examples attached to it’. See paras. 71-79, 94 below.

See media coverage in the Jerusalem Post (1 November 2022) and Forward (1 November 2022)

2. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, highlighting the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, commented:

I doubt Western states’ endorsement of the IHRA def. prove either its value or its merit. Rather, and regrettably, it exposes eagerness to sacrifice fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression, while aligning with Israel’s (short term) political interests and diktat.

and warns:

We are at a critical juncture, where the adverse human rights impact of #IHRA def can no longer be ignored. Its political validation/endorsement by governments has encouraged its misuse for illiberal purposes. Reputable scholars, academia and NGOs oppose this.

3. 128 scholars warn: ‘Don’t trap the United Nations in a vague and weaponized definition of antisemitism’ (3 November 2022). See text below

1. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance

Advance Unedited Version, 7 October 2011

Full report available available here:

Paras 71-79 and 94 reproduced below

Summary

In this report, the Special Rapporteur summarizes information received from Member States with regard to the implementation of the above-mentioned resolution. She thanks Member States who made submissions for their contributions. The Special Rapporteur also summarizes the key trends in the glorification of Nazism and related racism, xenophobia and intolerance that she has observed and reported on during the five years of her mandate. The Special Rapporteur subsequently outlines the governing principles and obligations of racial equality and non-discrimination, highlighting their application in combating racism and xenophobia.

Particularly relevant paragraphs

71. The Special Rapporteur also calls attention to the politically motivated instrumentalization of the fight against antisemitism, which is increasingly linked to the adoption, promotion and implementation by States of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism (“IHRA-WDA”). While reiterating the urgent need for member states to remain committed to fighting antisemitism in all its manifestations, she urges greater attention and care to the implications of tools used in that context. Specifically, she calls on member states to ensure that all measures taken and instruments relied upon are fully compliant with and supportive of broader international human rights law norms.
72. Notwithstanding the political endorsement of the IHRA-WDA across Europe and in North America, the IHRA-WDA has become highly controversial and divisive due to its susceptibility to be politically instrumentalized and the harm done to human rights resulting from such instrumentalization.^[1] As a result, the Special Rapporteur cautions against reliance on the IHRA-WDA as a guiding instrument for and at the UN and its constituent entities.
73. Besides its adverse impact on the human rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, including Jews, the IHRA-WDA is highly contested among world-renowned scholars of antisemitism and related academic fields.^[2] About 350 leading scholars support an alternative definition of antisemitism in the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (“JDA”), warning that the IHRA-WDA is “unclear in key respects and widely open to different interpretations”, which “has caused confusion and generated controversy, hence weakening the fight against antisemitism”.^[3] Signatories of the JDA include international scholars of antisemitism, among them, preeminent Jewish scholars of antisemitism, as well as scholars in related fields such as Jewish, Holocaust, Israel, Palestine and Middle East Studies.
74. The IHRA-WDA is largely instrumentalized based on eleven “contemporary examples of antisemitism” attached to it, seven of which relate to the State of Israel. Some of these examples are being invoked and leveraged to suppress fundamental human rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and political participation, as well as human rights to equality and non-discrimination.^[4]
75. Although the IHRA-WDA is promoted as “non-legally binding”, its de facto influence on the policy and practice of governments and private actors has contributed to violations of human rights of freedom of expression, assembly, and political participation, among others.^[5] The Special Rapporteur observes that it is precisely the IHRA-WDA’s ‘soft law’ status, which effectively helps undermine certain co-existent rights, without offering any remedy or means to legally challenge such violations. Indeed, even Kenneth Stern, the lead drafter of the IHRA-WDA, has publicly denounced the instrumentalization of the IHRA-WDA, including to the detriment of freedom of expression on university campuses.^[6]
76. The IHRA-WDA and the illustrative examples attached to it are wielded to prevent or chill legitimate criticisms of the State of Israel, a state that must, like any other in the UN system, be accountable for human rights violations it perpetrates. Those primarily harmed as a result are Palestinians, as well as human rights defenders advocating on their behalf. This harm is occurring in a period of heightened repression of Palestinians, including escalating, daily, gross violations of their human rights.^[7]
77. UN member states and UN officials should firmly reject and act responsibly to end the political instrumentalization of the fight against antisemitism. Apart from preventing further resulting harm to Palestinians and human rights defenders, they should do so in the interest of fighting antisemitism in an effective and inclusive way and to protect Jewish persons and groups harmed by such instrumentalization.^[8]
78. In view of the controversial status and divisive effect of the IHRA-WDA and its negative impact on human rights, the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerance respectfully calls on UN member states to suspend adoption and promotion of the IHRA-WDA and the examples attached to it. In this context, she reminds states that the urgency of combatting antisemitism has been a cause she has consistently championed during her tenure in both thematic and country reports.^[9]
79. Precisely because the scourge of antisemitism remains an urgent issue of human rights concern, the Special Rapporteur urges the UN system and UN member states urgently to launch an open and inclusive process to identify an enhanced response to antisemitism by the UN consistently rooted in and supportive of human rights. This process should consider multiple instruments relevant to fighting antisemitism and involve, among others, impacted communities, including other experts and relevant stakeholders excluded so far, as well as UN Special Procedures mandate holders. She stresses that the elimination of the scourge of antisemitism must be, as part of the fight against any forms of bigotry and discrimination, grounded in international law, including inter alia the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

and

94. The Special Rapporteur calls on UN member states to suspend the adoption
    and promotion of the IHRA-WDA and the examples attached to it. In this context, she reminds states that the urgency of combatting antisemitism has been a cause she has consistently championed during her tenure in both thematic and country reports.

References (numbering in the original runs from 15-24)

1. See, for example, Who’s against adopting the IHRA antisemitism definition?, Corey Balsam, 9 December 2020, https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/whos-against-adopting-the-ihra-antisemitism-definition, listing some of the myriad groups and individuals that have publicly raised serious concerns with the definition or its instrumentalization including Israel Prize laureates, academics, universities, civil liberties groups, Jewish and Israeli organizations, Palestinian and Arab organizations among others.
2. See, for example, Expert submission in the context of a public consultation launched by the European Commission for its upcoming ‘Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life in the EU’, 5 July 2021, https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13068-Strategy-on-combating-antisemitism-and-fostering-Jewish-life-in-the-EU/F2661357_en; Call by scholars on global leaders at Malmö Forum on Combating Antisemitism, 11 October 2021, https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/euobs-media/b7602129dc4791bd47267b593f517caa.pdf.
3. Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, released on 25 March 2021, https://jerusalemdeclaration.org/.
4. Legal Form and Legal Legitimacy: The IHRA Definition of Antisemitism As a Case Study in Censored Speech, Rebecca Ruth Gould, 14 May 2018, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3178109; Backgrounder on Efforts to Redefine Antisemitism as a Means of Censoring Criticism of Israel, Palestine Legal, January 2020, https://palestinelegal.org/redefinition-efforts; IHRA Definition At Work, IJV, last updated 4 March 2022, https://www.ijvcanada.org/ihra-definition-at-work/; Berlin Court Finds Deutsche Welle Unlawfully Dismissed Journalist Farah Maraqa, ELSC, 5 September 2022, https://elsc.support/cases/berlin-court-finds-deutsche-welle-unlawfully-dismissed-journalist-farah-maraqa. The political adoption and promotion of the IHRA-WDA across the European Union, for example, has facilitated human rights violations and incidents that are cause for alarm. See Special Procedures Communications AL DEU 3/2019 & AL AUT 2/2022, which can be searched for in the Special Procedures Communication Database: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments.
5. See Ibid.
6. I Drafted the Definition of Antisemitism. Right Wing Jews are Weaponizing It, Kenneth Stern, 13 December 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/13/antisemitism-executive-order-trump-chilling-effect.
7. See inter alia the fourteenth periodic report on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (A/HRC/49/83); Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan (A/HRC/49/85); the March 2022 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (A/HRC/49/87), all available here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/regular-sessions/session49/list-reports; and various special procedures communications, including inter alia ISR 9/2022; ISR 6/2022; ISR 3/2022; and ISR 2/2022, all available here: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments.
8. 40+ Jewish Groups Worldwide Oppose Equating Antisemitism with Criticism of Israel, 17 July 2018, https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2018/07/first-ever-40-jewish-groups-worldwide-oppose-equating-antisemitism-with-criticism-of-israel/; The Jewish Voice Does Not Need a Kosher Certificate, Jüdische Stimme, 13 January 2019, https://www.juedische-stimme.de/2019/01/13/the-jewish-voice-does-not-need-a-kosher-certificate; Berlin Art College Withdraws Funding to Israelis Seeking to Unlearn Zionism, Mairav Zonszein, 21 October 2020, https://www.972mag.com/zionism-germany-antisemitism; How Labour’s Claim of Countering Antisemitism Has Resulted In a Purge of Jews, Jewish Voice for Labour, 5 August 2021, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nfnmySTnxuwTBVf4kIC0GtJ9ykuIcwhd/view.
9. A/HRC/41/54/Add.2, paras.68-69; A/HRC/41/54/Add.1, para.62; A/HRC/44/57/Add.2, para.47; A/HRC/38/52, para.17; A/HRC/44/57, para.25; A/76/434, recommendation g; A/HRC/50/61; A/76/369; A/HRC/48/77; A/75/329; A/HRC/44/58; A/74/253; A/HRC/41/55; A/73/312; and A/HRC/38/53.

3. 128 scholars warn: ‘Don’t trap the United Nations in a vague and weaponized definition of antisemitism’

3 November 2022

As scholars specializing in Antisemitism, Holocaust Studies, Modern Jewish History and related fields, we witness with growing concern politically motivated efforts to instrumentalize the fight against antisemitism at and against the United Nations.

Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan has spearheaded these efforts. In his persistent attempts to undercut the Palestinians and to shield the Israeli government from international criticism, Mr. Erdan has gone so far as to denounce the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) as “anti-Semitic”.

Beyond such defamation, Mr. Erdan now seeks to fundamentally change the rules of the game by pressing the UN to adopt the “Working Definition of Antisemitism” of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA WDA).

We find this definition deeply problematic. Vague and incoherent, the IHRA WDA does not satisfy the basic requirements of a good definition. Rather than ensuring greater clarity, the IHRA WDA has been generating confusion about what constitutes antisemitism.

As a result, the IHRA WDA has become highly controversial and contested, including among Jews. Its weaknesses prompted 350 leading scholars in Antisemitism, Holocaust Studies and related fields to endorse another more robust definition, the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.

The divisive and polarizing effect of the IHRA WDA flows from eleven “contemporary examples of antisemitism” attached to it, seven of which relate to Israel. Ample evidence shows that these examples are being weaponized to discredit and silence legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies as antisemitism. Among those denouncing such misuse is Kenneth Stern, the lead author of the IHRA WDA. More recently, Antony Lerman, former head of the World Jewish Congress’s Institute of Jewish Affairs, has sharply criticized the IHRA WDA for several flaws, including its focus on the so-called “new antisemitism” linked to Israel, at the expense of attention to virulent forms of antisemitism now on the rise.

One of the examples of the IHRA WDA says: “Applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” This example is particularly prone to political abuse at the UN, as it can easily be invoked to label any UN resolution that criticizes Israel as anti-Semitic.

Let us be clear: we wholeheartedly welcome the commitment of the UN to fight antisemitism and commend the UN for its vital efforts in this regard. What we object to and strongly warn against is that the UN would jeopardize this essential fight and harm its universal mission to promote human rights by endorsing a politicized definition that is instrumentalized to deter free speech and to shield the Israeli government from accountability for its actions.

We know that the IHRA WDA has been adopted by multiple governments, mainly in Europe and the US. That in itself is problematic. However, if the UN were to endorse the IHRA WDA, the harm would be exponentially greater.

The Israeli government would be emboldened and enabled to escalate its campaign against UN bodies and experts, by weaponizing and leveraging the IHRA WDA as a UN standard ‘establishing’ that UNRWA, the ICC, the Human Rights Council and bodies like the Commission of Inquiry are antisemitic. By extension, human rights defenders and organizations challenging Israel’s violations would be fully exposed to smear campaigns based on bad-faith allegations of antisemitism, harming their freedom of expression and other fundamental rights protected and promoted by the UN.

The UN’s mission and mandate rely upon serious debate about human rights concerns. Adoption of the IHRA WDA would transform any factual discussion about Israeli violations and accountability into a fraught debate about alleged antisemitism. This could also weaken the UN’s ability to act as a neutral mediator in Israel and Palestine.

The weaknesses and instrumentalization of the IHRA WDA have direct implications for the UN’s ability to fight antisemitism and all other forms of racism on universal grounds. UN High Representative Miguel Moratinos has been tasked by the UN to develop an “enhanced system-wide response [to antisemitism] based on a human rights approach”. Apart from contradicting a human rights approach, the IHRA WDA would inevitably politicize that response and thus compromise the UN’s ability to effectively fight antisemitism.

Instead of formally identifying itself with a vague and divisive definition that has been hijacked to shield the Israeli government, the UN should enhance its fight against antisemitism by relying on its universal human rights instruments, in accordance with its Charter. When seeking guidance, it should be free to consult a variety of resources, including the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.

We welcome the recent report by Prof. E. Tendayi Achiume, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, in which she “cautions against reliance on the IHRA WDA as a guiding instrument for and at the UN and its constituent entities” and calls on “UN member states and UN officials [to] firmly reject and act responsibly to end the political instrumentalization of the fight against antisemitism”.

We urge UN member states and UN officials to act upon Special Rapporteur Achiume’s warning and call and stand ready to support the UN in its steps forward.

Meir Amor, Dr., Department of Sociology and Anthropology (retired), Concordia University, Montreal Ofer Ashkenazi, Professor, Director The Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Aleida Assmann, Professor of English Literature and Cultural Theory, Konstanz University
Jan Assmann, Professor, Egyptologist and Religious Studies, University of Heidelberg
Leora Auslander, Arthur and Joann Rasmussen Professor of Western Civilization in the College and Professor of European Social History, Department of History, University of Chicago
Angelika Bammer, Professor of Comparative Literature, Affiliate Faculty of Jewish Studies, Emory University
Omer Bartov, Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Department of History, Faculty Fellow, Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs, Brown University
Moshe Behar, Dr., Arabic & Middle Eastern Studies, School of Arts, Languages & Cultures, The University of Manchester
Peter Beinart, Professor of Journalism and Political Science, The City University of New York (CUNY); Editor at large, Jewish Currents
Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus, Stanford University
lissa Bemporad, Jerry and William Ungar Chair in East European Jewish History and the Holocaust; Professor of History, Queens College and The City University of New York (CUNY)
Doris Bergen, Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies, Department of History and Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Toronto
Werner Bergmann, Professor Emeritus Dr., Sociologist, Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin
Michael Berkowitz, Professor of Modern Jewish History, Department of Hebrew & Jewish Studies, University College London
Lila Corwin Berman, Murray Friedman Chair of American Jewish History, Temple University
David Biale, Emanuel Ringelblum Distinguished Professor Emeritus, UC Davis
Frank Biess, Professor of Modern European History, University of California-San Diego
Daniel Blatman , Professor Emeritus, Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Donald Bloxham, Richard Pares Professor of History, University of Edinburgh
Daniel Boyarin, Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture Emeritus, UC Berkeley
Micha Brumlik, Professor Dr., fmr. Director of Fritz Bauer Institut-Geschichte und Wirkung des Holocaust, Frankfurt am Main
Jose Brunner, Professor Emeritus, Buchmann Faculty of Law and Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science, Tel Aviv University
Bryan Cheyette, Professor and Chair in Modern Literature and Culture, University of Reading Geoffrey Claussen, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Lori and Eric Sklut Scholar in Jewish Studies and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, Elon University
Stephen Clingman, Distinguished University Professor, Department of English, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Raya Cohen, Dr., fmr. lecturer Department of Jewish History, Tel Aviv University and Department of Sociology, University of Naples Federico II
Alon Confino, Pen Tishkach Chair of Holocaust Studies, Professor of History and Jewish Studies, Director Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Sebastian Conrad, Professor of Global and Postcolonial History, Freie Universität Berlin
Frank Dabba Smith, Rabbi Dr., Leo Baeck College
Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi, Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hasia R. Diner, Professor Emerita, New York University
Monique Eckmann, Professor Emerita, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Western Switzerland (HES-SO), Geneva; fmr. member Swiss delegation to the IHRA (2004-2018)
Vincent Engel, Professor, University of Louvain, UCLouvain
Jennifer Evans, Professor, Department of History, Carleton University; Member College of New Scholars, Royal Society of Canada
David Feldman, Professor of History, Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, University of London
Anna Foa, fmr. Associate Professor, Department of History, Cultures, Religions, Sapienza University of Rome
Ute Frevert, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin
Efrat Gal-Ed, Professor Dr., Institute of Jewish Studies, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf Katharina Galor, Hirschfeld Senior Lecturer in Judaic Studies, Brown University
Alexandra Garbarini, Charles R. Keller Professor of History, Faculty Affiliate in Jewish Studies, Williams College
Sander Gilman, Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Emeritus, Emory University Shai Ginsburg, Associate Professor, Chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and Faculty Member of the Center for Jewish Studies, Duke Universit
Amos Goldberg, Professor, The Jonah M. Machover Chair in Holocaust Studies, Head of the Avraham Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Harvey Goldberg, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Sylvie-Anne Goldberg, Professor, Jewish Culture and History, Head of Jewish Studies at the Advanced School of Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris
Svenja Goltermann, Professor Dr., Historisches Seminar, University of Zurich
Dorota Glowacka, Professor, Humanities, University of King’s College, Halifax
Leonard Grob, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Jeffrey Grossman, Associate Professor and Chair Germanic Languages and Literatures, Member Program in Jewish Studies, University of Virginia
Atina Grossmann, Professor of History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The Cooper Union, New York
Wolf Gruner, Shapell-Guerin Chair in Jewish Studies, Professor of History and Founding Director of the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research, University of Southern California
Ruth HaCohen, Artur Rubinstein Professor Emerita of Musicology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Aaron J. Hahn Tapper, Professor, Mae and Benjamin Swig Chair in Jewish Studies, Director of the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice, University of San Francisco
Anna Hajkova, Associate Professor of Modern Continental European History, Warwick University Rachel Havrelock, Professor of English and Jewish Studies, University of Illinois, Chicago
Elizabeth Heineman, Professor of History and of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies, University of Iowa
Deborah Hertz, Wouk Chair in Modern Jewish Studies, University of California, San Diego
Dagmar Herzog, Distinguished Professor of History and Daniel Rose Faculty Scholar Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY)
Dafna Hirsch, Dr., Department of Sociology, Political Science and Communication, The Open University of Israel
Marianne Hirschberg, Professor, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Kassel
Jill Jacobs, Rabbi, Executive Director, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, New York
Uffa Jensen, Professor Dr., Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität, Berlin Jonathan Judaken, Professor, Spence L. Wilson Chair in the Humanities, Rhodes College
Irene Kacandes, The Dartmouth Professor of German Studies and Comparative Literature, Dartmouth University
Marion Kaplan, Professor Emerita of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University
Brian Klug, Hon. Fellow in Social Philosophy, Campion Hall, University of Oxford; Emeritus Fellow, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford; Hon. Fellow, Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non- Jewish Relations, University of Southampton
Thomas A. Kohut, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Professor of History, Williams College
Alexander Korb, Dr., Associate Professor in Modern European History, Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Leicester
Tony Kushner, Professor, Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, University of Southampton
Dominick LaCapra, Professor Emeritus of History, Cornell University
Ferenc Laczó, Assistant Professor in European History, Maastricht University
Ben Lapp, Associate Professor of History, Montclair State University, New Jersey
Nitzan Lebovic, Professor, Department of History, Chair of Holocaust Studies and Ethical Values, Lehigh University
Claudia Lenz, Professor of Social Science, Chair for prevention of racism and antisemitism, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Oslo
Mark Levene, Dr., Emeritus Fellow, University of Southampton and Parkes Centre for Jewish/non- Jewish Relations
Giovanni Levi, Professor Emeritus of Modern History, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Simon Levis Sullam, Associate Professor of Modern History, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Hanno Loewy, Director of the Jewish Museum Hohenems, Austria
Ian S. Lustick, Bess W. Heyman Chair Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Sergio Luzzatto, Emiliana Pasca Noether Chair in Modern Italian History, Department of History, University of Connecticut
Shaul Magid, Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College
Avishai Margalit, Professor Emeritus in Philosophy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jessica Marglin, Associate Professor of Religion, Law and History, Ruth Ziegler Early Career Chair in Jewish Studies, University of Southern California
David Mednicoff, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy and Chair Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Eva Menasse, Novelist, Berlin
Paul Mendes-Flohr, Professor Emeritus of History and Religious Thought, University of Chicago; Professor Emeritus at the Divinity School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Leslie Morris, Professor of German and Jewish Studies, Chair Department of German, Nordic, Slavic & Dutch, University of Minnesota
Dirk Moses, Professor, Anne & Bernard Spitzer Chair in International Relations, The City College of New York (CCNY)
Samuel Moyn, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of History, Yale University Harriet L. Murav, Professor, Center for Advanced Study, Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Comparative and World Literature, University of Illinois
Susan Neiman, Professor Dr., Philosopher, Director of the Einstein Forum, Potsdam
Adi Ophir, Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University; Visiting Professor, Brown University, the Cogut Institute for the Humanities and the Center for Middle East Studies
Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and the Dunphy Visiting Professor of Religion, Violence, and Peacebuilding at Harvard Divinity School Thomas Pegelow Kaplan, Professor of History, Louis P. Singer Endowed Chair in Jewish History, University of Colorado Boulder
Robert Jan van Pelt, University Professor, School of Architecture, University of Waterloo
Derek Penslar, William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History, Harvard University
Andrea Pető, Professor, Central European University (CEU), Vienna; CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest
Alessandro Portelli, fmr. Professor of Anglo-American Literature, Sapienza University of Rome
David Ranan, Dr., Political Scientist and Writer, London/Berlin
James Renton, Professor of History, Co-Director, International Centre on Racism, Edge Hill University Na’ama Rokem, Associate Professor, Director Joyce Z. And Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies, University of Chicago
Mark Roseman, Distinguished Professor in History, Pat M. Glazer Chair in Jewish Studies, Indiana University
Göran Rosenberg, Writer and Journalist, Sweden
Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Professor of Talmud and Jewish Philosophy, Department of Jewish Philosophy, Tel Aviv University
Michael Rothberg, 1939 Society Samuel Goetz Chair in Holocaust Studies, UCLA
Raz Segal, Associate Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and Endowed Professor in the Study of Modern Genocide, Stockton
Joshua Shanes, Professor and Director of the Arnold Center for Israel Studies, College of Charleston David Shulman, Professor Emeritus, Department of Asian Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dmitry Shumsky, Professor, Israel Goldstein Chair in the History of Zionism and the New Yishuv, Head of the Institute of History, Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Tamir Sorek, Liberal Arts Professor of Middle East History and Jewish Studies, Penn State University David Sorkin, Lucy G. Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History, Department of History, Yale University
Stefanie Schüler-Springorum, Professor Dr., Director of the Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin
Michael Stanislawski, Nathan J. Miller Professor of Jewish History, Department of History, Columbia University
Michael P. Steinberg, Barnaby Conrad and Mary Critchfield Keeney Professor of History; Professor of Music and German Studies, Brown University
Lior Sternfeld, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies, Penn State University
Mira Sucharov, Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Political Science, Carleton University Kylie Thomas, Dr., Senior Researcher, NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam
Anya Topolski, Associate Professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy, Radboud University, Nijmegen Barry Trachtenberg, Associate Professor, Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History, Wake Forest University
Enzo Traverso, Susan and Barton Winokur Professor in the Humanities, Department of History, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Peter Ullrich, Dr. Dr., Senior Researcher, Fellow at the Center for Research on Antisemitism, Technische Universität Berlin
Alana M. Vincent, Associate Professor, Religious Studies, Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Umeå University
Anika Walke, Georgie W. Lewis Career Development Professor and Associate Professor of History, Washington University in St. Louis
Dov Waxman, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair in Israel Studies, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
Sebastian Wogenstein, Associate Professor of German, Hebrew and Judaic Studies, University of Connecticut
Moshe Zimmermann, Professor Emeritus, The Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Steven J. Zipperstein, Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History, Stanford University Moshe Zuckermann, Professor Emeritus of History and Philosophy, Tel Aviv University