NJ bill on defining antisemitism has tense hearing
By: Deena Yellin
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... After a year in legislative limbo, a bill to adopt a definition of antisemitism in New Jersey law finally received another public hearing June 23. [2025]
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But the legislation proved as controversial as ever, with proponents citing a deadly spike in anti-Jewish violence and opponents fearing that the measure would be used to punish criticism of Israel's war in Gaza.
..... In the end, the Assembly Community Development and Women's Affairs Committee heard three hours of testimony in Trenton on whether to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's language. But it opted not to vote on the measure, A3558, angering people on both sides who traveled long distances for the hearing.
..... "this is my third time coming here to speak out in favor of IHRA bill," a frustrated Jason Shames, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey in Paramus, told the committee. "You know the statistics about what's happening in our community. I find the last-minute change to be deeply hurtful and disrespectful to the over 600,000 Jews who live in this state."
..... Shames was so upset that he walked out of the hearing, along the 50 supporters who had come from North Jersey to advocate for the legislation.
..... The measure would endorse the IHRA definition, which provides a comprehensive description of antisemitism, including hatred and discrimination against Jews, Holocaust denial and the ways that criticism of Israel is expressed.
..... A companion bill was approved last June [2024] by a state Senate committee after two days of emotional testimony. But since then, it has yet to advance in the full Senate or the Assembly. Both chambers must pas it, and Governor Phil Murphy would have to sign the measure, for it to become law.
..... The version debated Monday [06/23/2025] is sponsored by Assemblyman Gary Schaer, D-Passaic, and Michael Inganamort, R-chester.
..... Dozens of people testified for an against the bill during the hearing. Outside the Statehouse, meanwhile, pro-Palestinian groups held a rally calling on legislators to reject it. Despite assurances that the measure would still allow for free debate, the critics cited the recent push by the Trump administration to detain and deport campus leaders of pro-Palestian protests.
..... During testimony, Mazuz Shaquill of Elmwood Park, a teacher, said he always tells his students that "you have to be free to express yourself" and noted a prominent Israeli journalist who frequently critiques his home country. "If Israel allows the criticism of Israel, why would New Jersey not allow it?" he asked.
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It is unclear why the vote was postponed. Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, a Paterson Democrat who leads the community Development and Woman's Affairs Committee, did not immediately respond to request for comment, but at the hearing said she was eager for input on the bill from the public.
..... Proponents say the IHRA legislation would help address a world wide rise in antisemitism by providing a clear definition for law enforcement and other institutions to identify and combat anti-Jewish hatred. The language is used by the U.S. State Department, at least 36 other U.S. states and numerous countries aorta the world, they said.
..... Antisemitic attacks have soared since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, leading to the highest number of anti-Jewish hate crimes on record in the U.S., the FBI says. Despite accounting for just 2% of the population, Jews are the most frequent target of religious-based hate crimes, federal statistics show.
..... That has included a recent spate of high-profile violence, including a June 1 [2925] attack in Boulder, Colorado, in which a man threw firebombs at a group rallying on behalf of Israeli hostages in Gaza. the suspect allegedly shouted "We need to end Zionishts" during his assault, which injured 12 people, including Holocaust survivors and Jewish children.
..... On May 21, [2025] two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, DC, were shot and killed by a man who allegedly chanted pro-Palestininan slogan during his attack.
..... "We are at a moment when Jewish families are scared to send our kids to school, attend synagogue or simply live our daily lives without fear or hate or violence," said Katie Katz, a mother of three who is executive director of T Each NJ, an organization that represents religious and nonpublic school students in the state and advocates for their security.
..... "New Jersey ranted third in the U.S. in antisemitic incidents in 2023 and last year," [2024] Katz said. "The New Jersey State Police said anti-Jewish incidents were the second-highest type of reported bias incidents. The IHRA definition provides clarity and gives our state a front antisemitism in all its forms.
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"This is not about stifling speech. It's about ensuring that hatred is named, recognized and stopped before it turns into violence."
..... Rabbi Andrew Baker, who played a lead role in drafting IHRA definition in the early 2000s, told The Record and NorthJersey.com in an interview last year [2024] that the wording 'does not limit free speech or protest against Israel. It states clearly that criticism of Israel is not antisemitism," he said.
..... "People are free to critique Israel the same way they criticize or protest against any country. The issue is when it crosses the line into violence," he said.
..... But critics said the bill is overly vague and wared that it would chill free speech, at a time when Israel's tactics in Gaza have come under criticism.
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Waseem Kunan of Wayne, representing American Muslims for Palestine in New jersey, said the IHRA bill is "politically motivated." a student walkout for Palestine in Camden had to be canceled after a similar measure was passed in that city, he said.
..... Mona Mustafa, a history teacher in Paterson, said, "I teach about free speech, and this bill would threaten those values.
..... "We should have the right to speak out," she told the committee. "This bill is silencing Palestinian voices."
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Schaer, the bill co-sponsor, said the legislation has been under consideration for more than 16 months. He's frustrated by the lack of movement on a bill he said is sorely needed.
..... Adopting the IHRA definition would mean "that when similar crimes against Jews are commuted in different places law enforcement would treat them the same. they should be recognized and treated the same way,' he said.
..... In respond to free-speech warnings, Schaer said critics should read his proposal more closely.
..... "The bill expressly states that people have the right to make statements and have opinions. It;s important that elected officials need to understand the consequences to the Jewish community and why it needs to get done. This is not something new: 40 countries and 35 states have adopted this."