Nov. 16, 2022
B’nai Brith Canada has joined 180 civil-rights groups worldwide in a call on Twitter to adopt the widely accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and act against Jew hatred.
In a joint letter sent yesterday, new Twitter owner Elon Musk was asked to implement technological solutions to curb antisemitism and serve as an example to other social-media platforms. The letter suggests Twitter should use the IHRA definition as a tool to define what constitutes antisemitism.
“We are proud to offer our support to this important letter,” said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada. “Twitter is such an influential social-media platform in contemporary society and we hope Mr. Musk will have the acumen and moral resolve to understand why he should include the IHRA definition as a staple in his newest venture.”
“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.”
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 image above).
The IHRA 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, including Canada 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.”
The letter to Musk and Twitter can be found online here.
