Global Christian leaders adopt IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, urge more believers to join network

The European and International Coalition for Israel (ECI and ICI) has launched a global campaign inviting churches worldwide to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism.

The campaign — Churches Against Antisemitism: I am my brother’s keeper — was created on Jan. 27 as a support network for churches to share resources and raise their voices against hatred towards Jewish people.

Last month, Christian leaders from around the world met virtually for a Holocaust Memorial hosted by the ECI and ICI at the Andreaskyrkan Church in Helsinki, Finland on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

During the event, speakers discussed the importance of remembering the Holocaust and agreed to adopt and implement the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism that was issued by the European Commission just two weeks prior.

Among the other churches represented during the event were Destiny Church in Glasgow, Scotland and His Church in Durban, South Africa which adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism as an expression of solidarity with the Jewish people. 

Senior Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong of Cornerstone Community Church in Singapore said, “We are living in the most divided time in history as the spirit of anti-Semitism is rising up in many nations. The church has a responsibility to stand strongly with the Jewish community.”

“It is important to take a stand against anti-Semitism in all its forms to ensure that what happened in the Nazi concentration camps is not repeated,” said Rev. Nicky Gumbel from Holy Trinity Brompton in London, the pioneer of the Alpha Course. 

Watch the two-minute video below, a compilation of statements by Christian leaders who participated in the International Holocaust Memorial on Jan. 27, as part of the ECI and ICI initiative to invite churches to adopt the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism, and to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.

The European Coalition for Israel is committed to confront anti-Semitism in Europe and to educate about its long and tragic history on that continent, as well as to support ways for peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs in Israel and the Middle East. For more information visit https://www.ec4i.org/about-us/