The Republic of Serbia has officially adopted the working definition of antisemitism.

Serbia has become the second country in the Euro-Asian region to adopt the working definition of antisemitism developed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

Sandra Papo Fisher, President of the Jewish Community of Sombor (Serbia) and a board member of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, stated that Serbia adopted the working definition of antisemitism back in February 2020. However, the official announcement was deferred until May due to the state of emergency declared in response to the spread of the coronavirus. The Republic of Serbia is the eleventh country globally to adopt the IHRA definition.

"Prior to World War II, 30,000 Jews resided in Serbia, of whom only one-third-survived. Today, approximately 2,500 Jews live in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Zrenjanin, Sombor, Pančevo, Kikinda, Niš, and several other Serbian cities. In 2016, Serbia became the first European nation to pass a restitution law targeting Holocaust victims with no surviving legal heirs," said Sandra Papo Fisher.

"We welcome the decision of the Serbian authorities and highly appreciate that the countries of the Euro-Asian region have begun to adopt the working definition of antisemitism. The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress is currently in dialogue regarding the IHRA definition with the Ukrainian authorities and is in the process of reaching out to other governments in the region. State leaders must take a firm stance to prevent further escalation of antisemitism in the region," stated Dr. Haim Ben-Yakov, Director General of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

The IHRA definition is legally non-binding and provides a practical, non-ideological framework for identifying antisemitism once officially adopted by a state.

Moldova was the first in the Euro-Asian region to adopt the international IHRA definition, doing so in January 2019.