The City Council of Kansas City, Missouri, unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the increasing levels of antisemitism and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism.
Resolution 230035, adopted on Jan. 19, 2023, “recogniz[es] the growing problem of antisemitism in America and adopt[s] a Working Definition of Antisemitism as an important educational tool to address it.”
“This resolution is a crucial step towards combating antisemitism, which is at an all time high in the United States since tracking began four decades ago,” said JCRB|AJC Kansas City Executive Director Gavriela Geller. “We can’t fight what we can’t define.”
The IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism says “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.”
In a quote given to JCRB|AJC, Mayor Quinton Lucas said, “All in Kansas City deserve to feel safe, respected, and welcomed — and I am proud of the strong declaration made by this Mayor and City Council [on Jan. 19] that hate has no place here. To our friends in the Jewish community: all of Kansas City stands with you to reject hate and antisemitism.”
City Councilwoman Andrea Bough (6th District at-large), an original co-sponsor of the resolution with Mayor Lucas, told JCRB|AJC that she stands with the organization and that “the Council took action to not only stand against antisemitism but also to provide the educational tools so that others may do so as well. As we see the rise of antisemitism, racism and homophobia, it is imperative that we all speak out.”
Other councilmembers who sponsored the resolution were Heather Hall (1st District), Teresa Loar (2nd District at-large), Dan Fowler (2nd District), Katheryn Shields (4th District at-large), Lee Barnes, Jr. (5th District at-large), Ryana Parks-Shaw (5th District), and Kevin McManus (6th District and Mayor Pro Tem). The vote was 12:0.
The United States formally adopted the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism under an executive order by President Donald Trump on Dec. 11, 2019. More than 40 countries and numerous cities, states, organizations and political entities have adopted the definition as of 2023.
The passing of Resolution 230035 comes amid recent antisemitic and bigoted incidents in Greater Kansas City, including the vandalism of the football stadium press box of Blue Valley High School with antisemitic, homophobic and racial slurs on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as well as antisemitic and anti-Black remarks on social media and a gun threat at Bishop Miege High School on Jan. 23.
