Highland Park — seeing ‘immediacy of need to address antisemitism’ — adds definition to employee manual

Highland Park City Council voted unanimously on Monday to adopt a formal definition of antisemitism as a prohibited act of discrimination for the city’s employee manual. 

The City of Highland Park already bears a Statement Against Hate and official nondiscrimination policy, but councilmembers approved endorsing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism to foster education amid a reported surge of antisemitic hate crimes, city documents show.

“We have consistently said ‘Hate Has No Home Here.’ We have really walked the walk, talked the talk, and this is really the crowning piece on it,” said Councilmember Annette Lidawer, who originally suggested during a May work session that the city adopt a formal definition of antisemitism, on Monday. 

“The reason for that is because this is the time based on statistics of what’s going on in this country and we are reacting to something in which we can then be leaders in other communities,” she said. 

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism is as follows: 

“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.”

The updated language in the city’s personnel manual will now be shared with employees and contractors so staff understand the definition, City Manager Ghida Neukirch said. 

This ordinance does not carry any specific penalty provision, but antisemitism, like any form of discrimination, will be addressed from a city supervisory perspective; a violation will be taken into consideration when it comes to continuing to work with the city, Neukirch said. 

The city will also move to share information on antisemitism with the public to facilitate the reporting of antisemitic incidents. An official city memo cites an Anti-Defamation League report that antisemitic hate crimes have increased by 68% in Illinois since Oct. 7, 2023. 

Mayor Nancy Rotering said the ordinance aims to recognize the “immediacy of need right now to address antisemitism,” especially given its “disproportionate impact” on the significant Jewish population in Highland Park’s community and region.

But the mayor also directed the city’s Human Relations Advisory Group to review the city’s Statement Against Hate and Values Statement to ascertain whether other groups dealing with discrimination and intolerance could benefit from a similar official ordinance. 

Councilmember Andrés Tapia, the sole non-Jewish member of the City Council, noted he heard people question why a particular community would receive an additional ordinance of support on top of the city’s existing policies regarding anti-discrimination.

Tapia said he supported the ordinance because of what he has learned about antisemitism’s unique elements, the rise in antisemitic incidents and Highland Park’s Jewish demographics. 

“As a Jewish person, of course I want to see a statement on antisemitism, but I have to ask, ‘Why do we have a separate statement on antisemitism when we already have a broad statement against all forms of hate?’” Councilmember Tony Blumberg said, echoing Tapia.  

“For me that’s largely been answered for the same reason it has been conflated by the federal government to be used in a way that’s essentially weaponizing the term antisemitism for something that it is not,” Blumberg continued.

“We finally have a definition of that that I think is sufficiently encompassing to address, within the Jewish community as well as the outside of the Jewish community, the complexity of being religiously Jewish, culturally Jewish, possibly Israeli, having issues with the current government of Israel and this statement for me finds the appropriate opportunity for that,” Blumberg said.

According to city documents, more than 120 U.S. municipalities have formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, including five in Illinois: Champaign, Glencoe, Forest Park, Lincolnwood and Rockford. 

No other members of the regional Northwest Municipal Conference have formally adopted a formal definition of antisemitism, city documents said. 

After the ordinance was approved Monday evening, the gallery broke into applause.

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