International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)

The organization’s best-known activity is the publication of its Working Definition of Antisemitism, which is adopted by member countries, some local governments, and some private nongovernmental organizations. ³ The Working Definition characterizes certain forms of criticism of the State of Israel as antisemitic, affirming: “Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”  ⁴ In 2026, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), a critic of Israel, rescinded the city’s adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. ^{5  6}

Background

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance focused on uniting governments and experts to promote Holocaust education, remembrance, and research around the world, and to uphold the commitments of the 2000 Stockholm Declaration. ⁷

The IHRA was an intergovernmental organization with 35 member countries, one liaison country, and seven observer countries. ¹ Member countries include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. ⁸

The organization has noted that as Holocaust survivors have died of old age, Holocaust distortion has increased. Thus, remembrance and education became more important. ¹ The IHRA focuses on combatting antisemitism; opposing Holocaust denial and distortion, studying Holocaust archives and research; education; documenting the Nazi genocide of the Roma to help combat anti-Roma discrimination; scholarship and research of the Holocaust, genocide, and crimes against humanity; helping governments, organizations, and communities remember victims of the Holocaust and the Nazi genocide of the Roma; and working with memorial sites to the victims of the Holocaust and the Nazi genocide of the Roma. ⁹

Working Definition of Antisemitism

Member countries, as well as many local governments and private nongovernmental organizations, have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism. The working definition defines antisemitism thus: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” ³

Critics of the state of Israel have objected to the language of the Working Definition. Regarding Israel, the definition states: “Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”  ⁴

The definition further states, “Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for ‘why things go wrong.’” It further highlights “making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective—such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.” ⁴

In response to antisemitic and anti-Israel unrest on the campus on Columbia University, the university announced in August 2025 that it would adopt the IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism into the work of the Office of Institutional Equity. ¹⁰

After taking office in January 2026, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), a critic of Israel, rescinded the city’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism. ^{5  6}

History

In May 1998, former Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson established what was originally called “the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research.” It later became known as “the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.” ²

A delegation from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sweden (led by then-President Bill Clinton, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Persson, respectively) established the international organization during a meeting in Stockholm, Sweden. Germany, Israel, and Poland joined later that year. In 1999, the Netherlands, France, and Italy joined.  ²

The group convened in January 2000 to mark the 55th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp by Soviet troops that included 23 heads of states as well 14 deputy prime ministers. At the conference, participatory countries unanimously adopted the Stockholm Declaration, which consists of eight paragraphs obligating the member countries of the IHRA to engage in Holocaust education, remembrance, and research.  ²

The Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, or Stockholm Declaration, was the founding document of the IHRA. It contained a series of pledges to remember the Holocaust, educate future generations, and strengthen governmental cooperation to oppose genocide. ¹

Two decades after the Stockholm Declaration, IHRA member countries adopted the 2020 IHRA Ministerial Declaration that consisted of 14 commitments.  ¹¹

Leadership Structure

The presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance rotates among representatives member countries annually. ¹²

In 2026, Argentina held the presidency of the IHRA, with Marcelo Mindlin as president. He was the former president of Tzedaká, the largest charitable foundation in Argentina’s Jewish community. ¹³

The executive board of the IHRA is the decision-making body, which is led by the Secretary General and two representatives appointed by the Plenary, a current or former Head of Delegation and a former IHRA chair.  ¹³

The IHRA’s network of delegates was divided into three Working Groups: the Academic Working Group; the Education Working Group; and the Museums and Memorials Working Group. The IHRA had three major committees, the Committee on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial; the Committee on the Genocide of the Roma; and the Committee on the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity.  ¹²