Highland Park, IL takes a stand: antisemitism gets an official definition

Annette Lidawer, the Highland Park City Council member who introduced the bill, called it “true landmark legislation.”

Aaron Bandler, JNS

Published August 14, 2025

The Highland Park City Council voted 7-0 to adopt both the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of Jew-hatred and the accompanying contemporary examples of antisemitism on Monday.

Annette Lidawer, whose official council biography lists affiliations with Jewish Women’s Foundation of Chicago, Jewish Child and Family Services and Aitz Chaim Center for Jewish Living, introduced the ordinance, which she called “true landmark legislation.”

The bill “helps our staff and city identify and prevent antisemitic behavior and further protects our residents,” she said during the council meeting.

“Why in a city as tolerant and clearly committed to protecting its residents do we need to define antisemitism, and why now?” she asked. “The answer is painfully evident in the world, in our country, in Illinois and even in Highland Park.”

“For the first time since the United States has begun recording hate crimes, acts of antisemitism outpaced race. Antisemitic hate crimes not only surpassed those of race, but 68% of all hate crimes reported last year were antisemitic in nature,” she said, citing FBI data.

Lidawer told the council that it was taking the “brave step” of putting ordinances into place that adopt the IHRA definition and “further directs our city manager to ensure ongoing education and training to our staff and publicity on our website and materials.”

“Not that not only do we condemn all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism, but we can now identify such behavior in order to combat it and to teach others to do the same,” she said.

Highland Park, located just under 25 miles north of downtown Chicago, is about 50% Jewish, according to the 2020 Metropolitan Chicago Jewish Population Study, sponsored by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and conducted with the University of Chicago.

The ordinance states that the council “recognizes that antisemitism today is being promoted by individuals and groups at both ends of the political spectrum throughout the country” and that it is best for Highland Park to adopt the IHRA definition “and to implement and enforce terms of city employment that expressly forbid illegal discrimination by city employees.”

Nancy Rotering, the mayor of Highland Park, told JNS, that at “this moment in our world, it is especially important to affirm our shared commitment to combating hate and ensuring that everyone in our city feels safe, respected and valued.”

“By adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, we affirm our unwavering support for the Jewish community and make clear that antisemitism will never be tolerated here,” she said.

Andrés Tapia, who identified himself at the meeting as the only non-Jew on the council, said that Highland Park is at least 30% Jewish, compared to 2% of the country.

“There is something that falls on us as leaders to say, ‘We actually understand the needs of the Jewish community in better ways than most communities,’” he said. “It’s not only about leading on behalf of our residents.”

“If Highland Park could speak and does speak up on behalf of the Jewish community and addresses antisemitism, then we’ve set the standards for other communities,” he said.

One council member said that the legislation was “deeply personal” given Holocaust survivors in their families, and another said that the federal government is “weaponizing” Jew-hatred. Attendees gave the council a standing ovation when the ordinance passed.

At the meeting Lidawer thanked the Anti-Defamation League, StandWithUs, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Federation.

Peggy Shapiro, director of policy and outreach at StandWithUs, said that the ordinance is a “critical first step in the fight against the rise of antisemitism nationwide.”

In July, the Chicago mayor’s office released data suggesting that crime declined by 25% in the city in 2024, but that there was “particular alarm” about a 58% “surge” in antisemitic hate crimes, which accounted for 37.6% of all reported hate crimes in the city.

Lisa Katz, chief government affairs officer for the Combat Antisemitism Movement, stated that the council “demonstrated a clear and enforceable commitment to ensuring antisemitism will be recognized, addressed and confronted.”

“This precedent-setting move should be replicated by other cities nationwide,” she said.

Published on Wed, 13 Aug 2025 19:19:39 -0400. Original article link