Europe’s largest youth body adopts the universal definition of anti-Semitism

The European Youth Forum (YFJ), the world’s largest youth body, adopted over the weekend the generally accepted working definition of anti-Semitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

In Serbia, YFJ’s General Assembly delegates overwhelmingly voted for the motion, “Combating Anti-Semitism: Young people’s responsibility.”

The YFJ represents 104 smaller groups, including tens of millions of young Europeans.

In addition to adopting the IHRA definition, the resolution “commits to address instances of anti-Semitism among lay leadership, secretariat and member organizations,” “encourages all its 41 National Youth Councils and 63 International Non-Governmental Youth Organizations to adopt and apply the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism,” “commits to provide opportunities for educational training on anti-Semitism to member organizations” and “encourages alliances in youth organizations, be it value-based, youth branches of the political parties or national youth councils.”

The move was hailed by many, including American Jewish Committee assistance executive director and former Israel Defense Forces’ spokesperson Avi Mayer.

“Europe’s largest youth body has just adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, recognizing anti-Zionism as a form of Jew-hatred,” he posted on Twitter. “The kids are alright.”

This development comes as Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who gave a keynote address last week at a conference titled “Beyond Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism: Securing Jewish Life in Europe.”

“Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are getting blurred, but they are two sides of the same coin,” he said. “As Austrians, we have to be honest when we look back at our past as Austria was not only a victim but also a perpetrator, but we must also look ahead to the future. We can’t undo history, but we can do justice to our history.”

This hatred is exemplified through the BDS movement, which the European Union has supported.