Israeli ambassador calls on Ukraine to enshrine definition of anti-Semitism in law.

Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Joel Lion has called on the Cabinet of Ministers to enshrine in Ukrainian law the legal definition of anti-Semitism developed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

According to Ukrinform, Lion said this in a video message, posted on the Facebook page of the Israeli Embassy in Ukraine, on the occasion of Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day.

"I am calling upon the Ukrainian government to adopt the definition of anti-Semitism of IHRA. By understanding what anti-Semitism is, you can fight it. But if you don't understand what anti-Semitism is, how can you fight it?" he said.

Yom HaShoah is Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews killed who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and its collaborators, and for the Jewish resistance in that period.

IHRA defines anti-Semitism as a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews; rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

According to IHRA, the definition has been adopted by 29 countries, including Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

op