The Glen Eira city council adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism on Tuesday.
The city, located in the southeastern Melbourne suburbs, became the first council in the state of Victoria to adopt the definition, the Australian Jewish News reported.
The motion to adopt the definition was approved 6-0 by the eight member council, with one absent councillor sending a message in support of the motion, and another councillor speaking out against it but abstaining from the vote.
The motion described the definition as “an important tool in recognizing and combating manifestations of antisemitism.” It also mandated that Glen Eira will urge all Victorian councils and the Municipal association to follow its lead, “encouraging them to also adopt the definition and use it to better understand and act against anti-Jewish hatred.”
The week before the vote, Zionism Victoria (ZV) created an online petition calling for the council to adopt the definition, noting it was “already adopted by 40 countries, including Australia” and calling it “a critical tool in stemming the tide of rising global antisemitism.”
The petition received over 2,200 signatures in its first three days.
With Glen Eira containing Australia’s largest Jewish population, ZV President Yossi Goldfarb, speaking at the Tuesday council meeting, commended the passage of the resolution, thanking the councillors for “heeding and respecting the wishes of the community.”
The adoption of the definition comes after Waverly Council in the Syndey area became the first council in Australia to adopt the definition in November 2021.