The radical anti-Israel group, IfNotNow, is devising a way to discredit the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. To achieve this, the group’s members are aiming to coerce Macalester College President Suzanne Rivera into replacing the school’s current adoption of IHRA with the Jerusalem Definition of Antisemitism (JDA), which lacks both global recognition and is and is widely opposed by the Jewish community.

If successful, these anti-Israel activists will rid Macalaster College of one of the most essential tools in combating antisemitism - a clear and credible definition of Jew-hatred that allows faculty and administrators to identify when an antisemitic attack has occurred so that it can be rebuked and prevented in the future. 

The IHRA definition of antisemitism is so beneficial in combating this hatred that it has been adopted by countries and universities across the globe and the United States Department of State. If Macalester truly aims to stand with the school’s Jewish community, both student leaders and the administration must reject this intimidation campaign from radical outside groups and stand with the most reliable definition for fighting antisemitism.