The Chicago City Council unanimously adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism into the city’s declaration of human rights.
Alderman Raymond Lopez, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, announced its passage on Tuesday, writing that the city “had never provided a clear definition of what antisemitism is.”
“We must define antisemitism fully and completely so that we can address it directly and resolutely,” Lopez stated. “Vague nondescript definitions give Jew-hatred cover. That ends now.”
The council passed the measure, which Lopez introduced alongside alderman Debra Silverstein, a Democrat, on Wednesday.
It adds “antisemitism” to the city’s municipal code as one of the prejudices that “threaten the rights and proper privileges of the city’s inhabitants and menace the institutions and foundation of a free and democratic society.”
The measure also defines antisemitism by referring to IHRA’s working definition.
Dozens of states and the federal government have adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism to help identify discrimination against Jews.
Efforts to enact the IHRA definition have met pushback from some Democrats and Republicans who have argued that it restricts free speech, including calling legitimate criticism of Israel antisemitism and limiting the ability of Christians to say that Jews killed Jesus.
The Chicago measure becomes law upon its publication.
