Chicago suburb adopts International Definition of Antisemitism

A Chicago suburb is the latest American town to adopt the International Definition of Antisemitism.

Forest Park, Illinois, adopted the Definition at a village council meeting on 9th November. The meeting, held online over Zoom, was addressed by senior Jewish figures.

The resolution means that the Definition will be available as an “educational resource” to assist police and local government in determining whether a crime or incident was antisemitic.

Pointing out that there had been a rise in antisemitism over recent years, and that some cities and counties in Florida had already adopted the resolution, the Jewish speakers explained that they were trying to get as much “awareness of it as possible” in Illinois and wanted to show how Forest Park could “take a leading role in addressing” the disturbing trend of increasing antisemitism.

At the meeting, the Mayor, Rory Hoskins, explained that recent protests in the Illinois state capital involving antisemitic imagery had motivated him to have the Definition adopted, adding that a spate of graffiti around town in September that had included swastikas would now be investigated as hate crimes rather than merely property damage.

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