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Parkland Moves to Enshrine IHRA Antisemitism Definition as Jewish Communities Face Rising Threats 3

{Credit: Anti-Defamation League}

The Parkland city commission is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a proposed ordinance that would formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism into city law, a move supporters say would strengthen the city’s ability to identify and respond to acts of anti-Jewish hatred.

If approved on first reading Wednesday, the ordinance would return to the commission for a second and final vote at a future meeting. City staff has recommended approval of the legislation.

According to the city, antisemitism, including harassment based on actual or perceived Jewish ancestry, ethnicity, identity, affiliation, or faith, remains a “persistent, pervasive, and disturbing problem in contemporary American society and in Florida.”

The proposed IHRA legislation comes amid an unprecedented surge in anti-Jewish hatred across the U.S. following the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. Since the Hamas-led massacre, which set off a war between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist organization, Jews across the U.S. have routinely been targeted with harassment, intimidation, vandalism, hateful speech and demonstrations, and physical violence. Law enforcement agencies and civil rights groups have documented sharp increases in antisemitic and racist antizionist incidents targeting Jews, including multiple homicides in 2025.

Parkland’s proposed ordinance would adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism and Florida’s definition of hate crimes and incorporate both into the city code.

Since the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism was adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016, experts say it has become the most widely recognized barometer in the effort to fight Jew-hatred, serving as an essential tool for identifying contemporary manifestations of the age-old scourge.

A mainstream consensus has coalesced around the definition worldwide, with a diverse array of international institutions and organizations, national and local governments, NGOs, universities, and corporations using it as a guiding framework for recognizing modern-day iterations of Jew-hatred.

A total of 47 countries, including the U.S. and most Western democracies, have adopted the IHRA definition. So have 37 U.S. states, including Florida, according to a database compiled by the Antisemitism Research Center.

The IHRA definition was developed by experts in an effort to combat the world’s most enduring form of hatred, which has insidiously reinvented itself over millennia and led to persecution and mass killings of Jews in every age.

If the ordinance passes, Parkland city departments and officials would take into account the IHRA and hate crime definitions when determining whether an alleged act was motivated by discriminatory antisemitic intent, consistent with federal and state hate-crime statutes. The ordinance would also require the definitions to be used as educational tools in city employee training related to discrimination and anti-bias efforts.

The Parkland legislation includes the IHRA’s contemporary examples of antisemitism, including

-Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jewish individuals.

-Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jewish individuals as such or the power of Jewish people as a collective, such as the myth about aworldwide Jewish conspiracy or of Jewish individuals controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.

-Accusing Jewish people as a collective of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, the state of Israel, or for acts committed by non-Jewish individuals.

-Denying the fact, scope, and mechanisms, such as gas chambers, or the intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of Nazi Germany and its supporters and accomplices during the Holocaust.

-Accusing Jewish people as a collective, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust; or

-Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jewish individuals worldwide, than to the interest of their respective nations.

Additional examples of antisemitism related to Israel in the IHRA include:

-Denying Jewish people their right to self-determination, such as claiming that the existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavor.

-Applying double standards by requiring of the Jewish state of Israel a standard of behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation; or

-Demonizing Israel by using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism to characterize Israel or Israelis, drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis, or blaming Israel for all inter-religious or political tensions.

“However, the term “antisemitism” does not include criticism of Israel that is similar to criticism of any other country,” the legislation states.

City officials emphasized that the ordinance explicitly protects constitutional rights, noting that nothing in it may be construed to diminish or infringe upon rights protected under the First Amendment or the Florida Constitution, or to conflict with federal or state discrimination law.

The ordinance was proposed last month by Commissioner Jordan Isrow, who said his decision was informed by personal experience and concern over the rise in antisemitism.

“I introduced this ordinance because antisemitism is not something I’ve only read about, it is something I have personally experienced firsthand,” said Isrow, who was among a group of officials targeted with racist, anti-Jewish slurs by a mob of anti-Israel protesters outside the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s 2025 North American Mayors Summit, held in New Orleans in December.

“Witnessing the recent exponential rise in antisemitism across our country has been painfully alarming and I believe this moment calls for thoughtful and decisive action — particularly at the local level,” Isrow told Parkland Talk.

Several residents said adopting the IHRA definition would provide clarity while preserving free expression.

“I’m a huge supporter of open debate and free speech. I’m thrilled to live in a community that [will recognize] the IHRA definition of antisemitism,” said Parkland resident Shlomit Shelly Leibowitz, founder of the South Florida chapter of Mothers Against College Antisemitism (MACA). “Parkland is a very diverse community with a large Jewish presence, and I think it’s important to have a clear gold standard for what constitutes antisemitism/antizionism.”

Miriam Zivin, board president of MACA, praised the city’s action.

“I commend Parkland for seeking to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism,” Zivin said. “This decision provides a clear and widely recognized framework to identify and address modern antisemitism. Accepting IHRA is a meaningful step forward in holding hatred accountable and protecting Jewish communities. We hope this action inspires other municipalities to take equally decisive steps in combating antisemitism.”

Parkland previously adopted a resolution condemning antisemitism worldwide. City officials say the new ordinance is intended to build on that commitment by giving city departments a clear framework for identifying and addressing antisemitic conduct.

Isrow emphasized that the ordinance is not intended to restrict speech or political debate.

“In fact, what Parkland is considering explicitly protects First Amendment rights and is fully consistent with what the State of Florida has already done,” Isrow said, referencing the IHRA definition signed into state law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024. “Florida Statute 1.015 formally adopts the IHRA definition of antisemitism as a guiding standard, and this proposed measure would simply align our city with that existing statewide framework.”

Isrow said the timing of the proposal carries particular weight, coming shortly after International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“The timing of the proposal is especially meaningful, coming just after the 81st Anniversary of International Holocaust Remembrance Day,” he said. “A sobering reminder of what can happen when hatred is ignored or allowed to spread unchecked.”

“I, for one, refuse to let ‘Never Again’ become just an empty promise and remain equally open to addressing all forms of hate and discrimination wherever they appear,” Isrow said.

“History has taught us what happens when good people remain silent and I believe leadership requires doing more than just remembering.

“It requires action.”

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Author Profile

Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.