Press Release
November 16, 2022
180 NGOs Call on Musk to Adopt Antisemitism Definition
In a joint letter, 180 civil rights groups from around the world call on Twitter's new owner to adopt the widely accepted IHRA definition of antisemitism and act against Jew-hatred on the social media platform
Today, a coalition made up of more than 180 nonprofit organizations representing regions from across the globe, called on Twitter and its new owner and CEO, Elon Musk, to adopt the widely-accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism as a tool to fight growing antisemitism on the platform.
"To maximize the probability that the future is good, the world needs an online platform where everyone can participate," the letter reads, "unfortunately, this is not the case, as Jewish users are subject to unrelenting harassment on Twitter."
The groups believe that with Elon Musk's innovative genius, Twitter can implement technological solutions to curb antisemitism and serve as an example to other social media platforms. In order to do so, Twitter should utilize the IHRA working definition as a tool to define what consists of antisemitism.
Demonstrating the seriousness of Twitter's antisemitism problem, the letter to Musk includes a dataset of more than 1,000 examples of antisemitic tweets that fall under the IHRA definition.
The joint letter also recommends a way for Twitter to flag antisemitic tweets while educating users about antisemitism (see illustration).
The IHRA Working Definition describes 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 definition was adopted by more than 38 countries and by hundreds of educational institutions, local governmental bodies, and international organizations.
The letter concludes by calling on Musk and Twitter "to rise to its commitment to be the modern town square...by fully adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism."
Anita Bromberg, President of the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation and Co-Chair of End Jew Hatred Canada, noted that Jews worldwide are protesting the level of antisemitism on social media platforms, “with no curbing of Jew hatred on line, there is increasing danger for the safety of individual Jews, Jewish communities and community property such as synagogues, as lies invoke hatred which invokes assault. Twitter must become accountable and end Jew hatred on its platform.”
The letter to Musk and Twitter can be found online at: www.AdoptIHRA.org/twitterletter
Contact: Andria Spindel, Executive Director, Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, andria@caef.ca 416-409-3822
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