The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association urges Mayor Ken Sim and Vancouver City Council not to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.

The IHRA definition of antisemitism is extremely vague, open to misinterpretation, and the document states that it is “non-legally binding.” Not only is the text unsuitable for any legal or administrative purpose in British Columbia or Canada, but the accompanying “illustrations” suggest that the definition conflates certain critiques of the state of Israel with antisemitism. If implemented, the IHRA definition will serve to severely chill political expressions of criticism of Israel as well as support for Palestinian rights.