© Andrew Winning / ReutersA member of the Jewish community collects his children from school in north London.
Prime Minister Theresa May is apparently set to deliver a speech in which she will state that the adoption of the definition "means there will be one definition of anti-Semitism - in essence, language, or behavior that displays hatred towards Jews because they are Jews - and anyone guilty of that will be called out on it."
She will also say that it is "unacceptable that there is anti-semitism in this country," according to pre-extracts of the speech cited by The Independent.
"...It is even worse that incidents are reportedly on the rise. As a government we are making a real difference and adopting this measure is a ground-breaking step," she will state.
No details were available as to where May's speech was scheduled to occur, according to Reuters. However, The Independent reported that it would take place during a luncheon with the Conservative Friends of Israel.
The definition was developed in May by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an intergovernmental organization backed by 31 countries.
The text states that "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."
Comment: That was vague and confusing. Like the recent passage of the US's Anti-Semitism Awareness bill is the UK's new policy a covert assault on the BDS movement? Philip Giraldi goes on to state:
The Anti-Semitism bill makes Jews and Jewish interests a legally protected class, immune from any criticism. "Free speech" means in practice that you can burn an American flag, sell pornography, attack Christianity in the vilest terms or castigate the government in Washington all you want but criticizing Israel is off limits if you want to avoid falling into the clutches of the legal system. The Act is a major step forward in effectively making any expressed opposition to Israeli actions a hate crime and is similar to punitive legislation that has been enacted in twenty-two states as well as in Canada. It is strongly supported by the Israel Lobby, which quite likely drafted it, and is seeking to use legal challenges to delegitimize and eliminate any opposition to the policies of the state of Israel.
As the Act is clearly intended to restrict First Amendment rights if they are perceived as impacting on broadly defined Jewish sensitivities, it should be opposed on that basis alone, but it is very popular in Congress, which is de facto owned by the Israel Lobby. That the legislation is not being condemned or even discussed in the generally liberal media tells you everything you need to know about the amazing power of one particular unelected and unaccountable lobby in the U.S.
Although the British police currently use a version of this definition, the UK's official adoption of the definition would also mean it will be used by councils, universities, and other public institutions.
Meanwhile, the UK government is due to release its response to an anti-Semitism inquiry conducted by a committee of lawmakers on Tuesday, which found that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn failed to provide "consistent leadership" in tackling the problem within his party.
Corbyn has suggested the conclusion was biased, with a spokesman for the leader saying, "Jeremy has consistently spoken out against all forms of anti-Semitism and condemned all anti-Semitic abuse, and set up the Charkrabarti inquiry into anti-Semitism and other forms of racism."
The UK's adoption of the anti-semitism definition comes after a rise in reported incidents against Jews. In the first half of 2016, the number of incidents recorded by the Community Secretary Trust (CST), which provides security advise to the country's Jewish population, rose by 11 percent.
The CST said most of the incidents in the first half of the year took place in April, May, and June, when the issue of discrimination against Jews received a larger amount of media attention.
Britain is home to 270,000 Jews, representing the fifth-largest Jewish population in the world.
Someone should tell Iran that their promise to raze zionists to the ground is politically incorrect LOL!