The American Jewish Committee praised Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism.
“Critical to effectively fighting the hatred of Jews is understanding what antisemitism is, and the IHRA definition is the gold standard,” said Arnie Herz, AJC Long Island President. “We are grateful to the Nassau and Suffolk County Executives and our local municipal leaders for taking this definitive step to clearly define antisemitism, look forward to working with our local government on implementing the definition, and continuing to be a resource on combating antisemitism.”
The announcements by the two Long Island officials follow recent adoption of the definition by the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay and the City of Glen Cove.
Long Island, home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the U.S., has experienced incidents of antisemitic vandalism and harassment. Nationally, antisemitic incidents have been on the rise.
AJC Long Island also expressed gratitude for its partnership with the Nassau and Suffolk County Police Departments, and all law enforcement agencies on Long Island, who do an outstanding job protecting the Jewish community.
The IHRA Working Definition has been adopted by 31 countries, including the United States, and by several multilateral bodies, including the European Commission and Organization of American States.
AJC has been at the vanguard of getting the definition adopted by municipalities nationwide. Visit AJC.org/workingdefinition for more information on the IHRA Working Definition.
