Israel is working to thwart an initiative at the United Nations that would not define anti-Zionism as a form of antisemitism.
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The initiative was proposed by UN High-Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Moratinos, former foreign minister of Spain, who had earlier been appointed the organization's point man on Jew-hatred.
Moratinos was tasked with enhancing a system-wide response, a plan for which he is scheduled to present in Córdoba in about two weeks. However, contrary to Israel's requests, he advocates for the adoption of a more lenient term for antisemitism, which, as mentioned above, would not equate anti-Zionism with Jew-hatred.
Under the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which Israel is trying to get the UN to adopt, any attempt to deny the Jewish people their right to sovereignty is considered antisemitism. The definition has been accepted by several European countries, including Britain and Germany, and other EU bodies, as well as the United States State Department.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan met with Mortinos when the former began his term. At the time, Mortinoc made it seem that he would promote the more accepted version of the definition, however, two years later, his plans have changed, and he has refrained from consulting with Israel and is promoting his plan unilaterally.
Israel Hayom learned that Thursday, Erdan briefed the heads of Jewish organizations and presented them with the damage Mortinos' initiative could cause, as the kind of definition the UN adopts will impact its every action with regard to antisemitism and Israel.
Far left-wing Israeli organizations have also urged the UN to accept the more lenient definition of antisemitism, claiming that the IHRA definition is being "misused" to protect Israel from legitimate criticism.
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