On Tuesday, the King County Council adopted this proclamation against antisemitism. It is based on the previous definition adopted by the Greater Puget Sound Jewish Community.
The statement both references the IHRA Definition and calls out “virulent antagonism toward Israel” as antisemitic. While it is disappointing that the Council did not explicitly endorse the IHRA definition that is the gold standard for most civic governments locally and globally, the intense politics surrounding this issue and the efforts to attain a majority vote resulted in this modified document. Our tradition encourages the concept of peshara—a compromise that balances the integrity of ideals with the striving for communal shalom.
But there are larger lessons to be gleaned from this experience. The first: We are in the midst of an ongoing battle in our community against those who go far beyond legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies to embrace a stark denial of its right to exist. The second: Our community desperately needs to better concert its messaging and advocate for the vast majority of Jews against a small and vocal minority who align themselves with anti-Zionist activists and misrepresent themselves as reflective of a larger perspective.
I am profoundly grateful for those who shared their views with the Council and are committed to offering loving and poignant critique of Israel’s policies, while always affirming its centrality as an unqualified expression of Jewish identity