Following consultation with the Jewish Leadership Council, Community Security Trust and the Antisemitism Policy Trust, the Plaid Cymru Westminster MPs have followed the example set by Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament UK Government, and adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism in full.
There will also be a motion presented to Plaid Cymru’s National Council at the next opportunity. This will request Plaid Cymru as a whole adopts the IHRA definition in full and un-amended.
The definition has been fully welcomed by all the mainstream Jewish communal bodies. It is designed to help ensure clarity around what constitutes antisemitism. The new description is a clear and practical working definition of antisemitism. It is hoped that through adopting it, confidence will be created within the historic Welsh Jewish community and in Plaid Cymru’s stance as a party which rejects prejudice.
Liz Saville Roberts, Westminster Leader of Plaid Cymru said:
‘’On behalf of my Plaid Cymru colleagues in Westminster, I am proud to take a stand against prejudice on the grounds of race or religion. Political parties must be alert to their leadership role in resisting hate crime in all its manifestations.’’
Marc Levy, Northwest Regional Manager, Jewish Leadership Council said:
“It has been an absolute pleasure working with Liz Saville Roberts MP and Hywel Williams MP. Their positive and constructive engagement with the Jewish community has been hugely appreciated. This concluded with the Westminster group of MPs adopting the full IHRA definition. I am also grateful that they intend on bringing the matter before the forthcoming Plaid National Council. This will ensure that the whole Party take the important step of adopting the IHRA definition.
On behalf of the Jewish Leadership Council, I would like to place on record my gratitude to Liz and Hywel for being so receptive to the concerns of the Jewish community.”
Danny Stone MBE, Director of the Antisemitism Policy Trust said:
“We have had a long and positive engagement with Plaid Cymru and were pleased to be able to liaise with the parliamentary party, again, on positive measures to better understand and address antisemitism.” “Antisemitism continues to rise across the world and Wales is certainly not immune. In this context, Plaid’s efforts towards identifying and educating about antisemitism are critically important.”