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Cambridge University adopts IHRA definition of antisemitism

Institution had previously claimed antisemitic behaviour was covered by its Rules of Behaviour

November 9, 2020 16:01
The Great Court of Trinity College, Cambridge
1 min read

Cambridge University has followed Warwick in adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. 

The decision to adopt the definition – including all 11 examples – was made by the General Board on 4 November. 

The university included two clarifications made by the Home Affairs Select Committee in 2016, which stipulate that criticism of the Israeli government was not antisemitic without additional evidence to suggest otherwise. 

The institution had previously resisted calls to adopt the IHRA definition. After Education Secretary Gavin Williamson wrote to universities urging them to adopt the definition, a Cambridge University spokesperson told the JC it believed any behaviour that would fall within the IHRA definition was already covered by “current Rules of Behaviour”.