NRB calls on Christian media to join the fight against anti-Semitism by educating their audiences and lobbying governments

Organizers of the National Religious Broadcasters Breakfast to Honor Israel urged participants to lobby their respective governments to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of anti-Semitism.

The breakfast took place Thursday morning with a keynote address by Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders and a member of the ALL ARAB NEWS Advisory Board. 

The IHRA – adopted by the NRB Board of Directors – calls anti-Semitism “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.”

Co-sponsors of the breakfast include the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, NRBTV and Artza.

In January, Moore warned a European symposium that the current wave of anti-Semitism is worse than what we've seen in generations and urged Christians to lead the way in combating this type of racism.

"These dark ages always begin with hatred of the Jews," Moore said at a European Coalition for Israel event on the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference. "This is a moment of warning because 'the road to Auschwitz,' Ian Kershaw also reminds us, may have been 'built by hate,' but it was 'paved with indifference.'”

NRB organizers are urging Christian media to join in combating anti-Semitic sentiment by educating their audiences on its origins and dangers.

The convention, taking place this week in Nashville, is the world’s largest gathering of Christian communicators and ministry professionals, according to the NRB website.

At the Israel breakfast, participants were encouraged to sign a statement committing to the fight against anti-Semitism.

Here is the statement in full:

Statement on our Shared Commitment to Combatting Anti-Semitism 

The Jewish people face an escalating threat from contemporary forms of anti-Semitism, many of which are associated with attacks against Zionism- the movement to return the Jewish people to their ancestral God-given homeland and the right to self-determination and sovereignty in the State of Israel.

We completely reject this new form of Jew-hatred on historical, moral, and religious grounds. Attacking the Jewish people, including their bond to the Land of Israel, their historic homeland, is an assault on the Bible and the deep roots of our faith.

All peace-loving, God-fearing people should support the Jewish right to return to their land and exercise self-determination.

That is why we are calling on all Christians in the United States to urge their local, state, and federally elected officials to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Anti-Semitism which states, "Anti-Semitism is 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."

Already adopted by dozens of nations, institutions, and law enforcement agencies worldwide, the IHRA definition is the primary tool governments, educational authorities, and civil society institutions use to assess whether an act or speech constitutes anti-Semitism. 

The IHRA Working Definition of Anti-Semitism provides contemporary examples of what constitutes anti-Semitism, including denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, claiming the existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavor and using the symbols and images associated with classic anti-Semitism to characterize Israel or Israelis.

We further call upon all those in Christian media to educate their audiences about contemporary forms of anti-Semitism and the need to adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Anti-Semitism.

We make a solemn pledge to fight anti-Semitism in all its forms and encourage all our colleagues to do the same.