Amnesty International cautioned in a report on Wednesday that there has been a “chilling effect” on the right to freedom of expression in Austria due to the authorities’ responses to activism by protestors and civil rights organizations “expressing solidarity” with Palestinians. The report maintains that undue restrictions on expression and “fear caused by broad allegations of antisemitism against the backdrop of racism” have contributed to the effect.
To inform its findings, Amnesty International interviewed a group of activists, journalists, and representatives of NGOs, who warned that activists “risked being branded ‘antisemitic’ when they criticized Israel’s violations of international law.” Executive Director of Amnesty International Austria, Shoura Hashemi, similarly notes that there is a risk that “antisemitism is being instrumentalized and politicized.”
The report criticizes the widespread use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism (IHRA WDA). The IHRA WDA lists examples of antisemitism, including “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” and “applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behaviour not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” Amnesty International argues that the IHRA WDA is inconsistent with international human rights law.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, explains that the IHRA WDA has “repeatedly been instrumentalized to suppress legitimate criticism of the Israeli government’s policies by falsely labelling it antisemitic,” adding that the definition “undermines the fight against genuine antisemitism.”
Consequently, the report contends that the fear of being labelled antisemitic has created a chilling effect on freedom of expression for activists who support the BDS movement, who are deterred by court proceedings, smear campaigns, and loss of state funding. Amnesty International highlighted several cases of politicians publicly questioning the eligibility of non-governmental organizations for funding as a direct result of positions they have taken on the Palestinian cause.
Previously, Amnesty International had joined 103 other organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Al-Haq, and the Jewish Network for Palestine, in an appeal to the UN not to endorse any working definition of antisemitism that would embolden policies that undermine human rights. The rights groups recommended alternative definitions of antisemitism, including the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, which provides examples of conduct it believes that on its face is not antisemitic, including: “supporting the Palestinian demand for justice” and “[c]riticizing or opposing Zionism as a form of nationalism,” and boycott, divestment, and sanctions protest tactics against Israel.
The report comes as the free expression and protest rights of pro-Palestine protesters have allegedly been restricted in the UK and Germany. In January 2026, Human Rights Watch reported that UK authorities sought to expand anti-protest legislation in the Crime and Policing Bill. In October 2025, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, among other UN experts, warned that German policing of Palestinian solidarity activism has eroded the right to peaceful assembly.
The European Convention on Human Rights protects freedom of expression rights in the European Union. Article 10 ensures that freedom of expression includes “freedom of hold opinions and to receive and impact information and ideas without interference by public authority”, and that restrictions are only justified when “prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society.”
