Bishops of the Church in Wales have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-semitism.

The defition from the IHRA states that "Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews".

"Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities," it reads. 

The bishops clarified that in adopting the IHRA's definition, they were not precluding criticism of Israel or the Israeli government. 

"We regard anti-Semitism as abhorrent and recognise that the Christian Church has need of repentance for the ways in which it has contributed in the past to anti-Jewish sentiment," they said in a statement.

"We note that the IHRA definition itself does not preclude criticism of the State of Israel, and that legitimately holding the Israeli government to account is not anti-Semitic.

"In making the decision we recognise the excellent relationships between faith communities in Wales."

In adopting the definition, the bishops are following in the footsteps of the Welsh and UK Governments, as well as all four Welsh police forces. 

The decision of the Welsh bishops has been welcomed by the President of the Board of Deputies of British Jew, Marie van der Zyl, who said, "We are pleased to see that the international antisemitism definition is gathering pace in the faith communities."

"Following the Church of England's adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism last September, we have been pleased to see the Church of Scotland and now the Church in Wales follow suit.

"We would commend the definition and all its examples to all who want to identify, confront and eradicate this poisonous and enduring form of hatred from our society and we thank the Church in Wales for their solidarity." 

The Church of Scotland adopted the definition during its General Assembly last month following a proposal put forward by Rev Dr Richard Frazer, convener of the Church and Society Council. 

Putting forward the proposal, Dr Frazer noted that "anti-Semitic incidents in the UK are at a record high for the third year in a row" and said that adopting the definition would "aid the Church in challenging anti-Semitism".