Dina Porat is an Israeli historian. She is professor emeritus of modern Jewish history at the Department of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University and the chief historian of Yad Vashem.

Dina Porat served as head of the Jewish History Department at Tel Aviv University's Stephen Roth Institute. She is head of the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and holds the Alfred P. Slaner Chair for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University.

18 countries, and a growing number of organizations have already adopted the Working Definition of Antisemitism elaborated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Among these countries are Hungary, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Romania, United Kingdom, France.

The working definition is already used in these countries e.g. in the training of police forces and justice authorities and in educational activities. Today, many studies show that despite unprecedented efforts to eradicate Antisemitism, it is on the rise again, together with other discriminatory and hostile attitudes against foreigners, immigrants and minorities.

So, is this definition just another action failing to effectively reach the hearts and minds not only of experts but of the broad public? May it serve as a guideline also to politicians? What is the actual and potential role of the social media in making use of this widely adopted working definition? Can this definition also serve each one of us as a means to control our own emotions, feelings, actions and reactions? What is the role of the Arts, of academic environments, of schools, of civil society action and what can a widely accepted definition of Antisemitism contribute in these fields? Does action against Antisemitism also have a positive effect in preventing other discriminatory attitudes and activities? There is hardly any person to speak with more authority on these questions than Prof. Dina Porat. She is also open to a candid and sincere discussion.

Opening remarks: Amb. (ret.) dr. Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, AUB

Moderator: Prof. Ulrich Schlie, AUB

Language: English