Should NJ define antisemitism? bill spurs 5 hours of debate

By: Deena Yellin
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... A virtual hearing on whether New Jersey should adopt an official definition of antisemitism drew dozens of speakers on Monday, [06/17/2024] but ended with no resolution of the legislation.
..... For five hours, witnesses delivered passionate testimony on whether New Jersey should codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Jewish hate, a debate that has taken on new intensity amid the Israel-Hamas war.
..... Supporters said the bill, S1292, is necessary to define where the boundaries of hate speech lie as reports of harassment against Jews rise in New Jersey and around the globe. Opponents, however, warned the IHRA definition will be used to punish legitimate criticism of Israel.
..... The language has been adopted by 36 other U.S. states and countries around the world. Most recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would adopt the definition, but it faces an uncertain path in the U.S. Senate.
..... The New Jersey bill, sponsored by state Senators James Beach, a South Jersey Democrat, and Robert Singer, a Jersey Shore Republican, would also provide $100,000 for a public awareness campaign to fight antisemitism.

What's next for IHRA bill?

.... With dozens still waiting to testify, Monday's [06/17/2024] meeting of the Senate's State Government Committee was adjourned until Thursday. [06/20/2024] the committee may vote at that point. The bill must pass the full state Senate and Assembly and be signed by the governor to take effect.
..... The Senate was initially scheduled to hold an in-person hearing on the proposal last month [05/2024] but that was canceled due to security concerns, according to Singer's office. Jewish groups said they were advised to call off their plan to hold a news conference and bring busloads of supporters to Trenton.
..... At Monday's [06/17/2024] virtual hearing, Jewish community leaders and residents spoke of their trauma in the months following Hamas' October 7 [2023] terror attack on Israel. they said they've been harassed and targeted on college campuses and city streets in New Jersey.

Can anti-Zionism and antisemitism be separated?

..... Opponents of the bill told legislators it would wrongly equate anti-Zionism - questioning the legitimacy of Israel - with antisemitism - hatred of all Jews.
..... But Kate Korson, who identified herself as a lifelong New Jersey resident, said many Jews consider the concepts of Jew, Israeli and Zionist to be interchangeable. "that concept is crucial to understanding the definition of antisemitism and the feeling that arises when these words are used in any context," she said.
..... She gave the example of a neighbor who repeatedly chalked her sidewalk with slogans such as, "Israel is evil," and "Israel is the enemy of humanity."
..... "To me, that's like saying Jews are evil and Jews are the enemy," Korson said. "That feels traumatic to me, and I think that's antisemitism."
..... Another speaker, emma Horowitz of Teaneck, said, "In order to combated something, we must be able to define it, and this is something that law enforcement and other communal institutions have long struggled to do" when it comes to antisemitism.

Rutgers student see a 'normalization' of hatred

..... "The idea that criticizing Israel or the Israeli government is by itself antisemitic and would run afoul of these laws is patently false," she said. "If this were true, most Jews I know would be in serious trouble, even the most Zionisitic ones such as myself, since many of us have criticism of the Israeli government, and have for decades."
..... Reports of antisemitic acts were increasing well before the October 7 [2023] attack and Israel's response in Gaza. the number of anti-Jewish incidents more than doubled in New Jersey last year, [2023] according to a report this spring [2024] by the Anti-Defamation League. Examples recorded by the group included physical assaults, death threated and Heil Hitler" salutes directed at Jewish students at school.
..... Joe Gindi, a junior at Rutgers University, said he's seen a "normalization of antisemitism on campus. We've seen Jewish students get harassed in our libraries and in our dorms. Whenever i thought things couldn't get worse, they did. Students quickly mobilized to make campus a place that's unsafe for Jews. they celebrated violence and the massacre of Jews," he said.

Defending 'critical and worthwhile free speech'

..... But Mohammed Bahri, another state resident who testified, expressed concerns about IHRA bill. "the definition of antisemitism that conflates critical and worthwhile fee speech and criticism of the state of Israel, a foreign entity, with the unacceptable ethnic hatred of Jewish people ... the conflation is counterproductive to U.S. interest," he said.
..... Adopting the definition "does nothing to protect Jewish people from hateful speech," he said.
..... Benee Steinhagen, another critic, said she was Jewish and felt the bill would only raise tensions. "By making the Israeli government immune form criticism it will exacerbate antisemitism. It shields the Israeli state form criticism and fosters hostility and rage again Jews."
..... But Maxine Angel of Teaneck urged lawmakers to adopt the bill to help protect the Jewish community. she said her family had faced antisemitic harassment and assaults. When she went to the police, she said she was asked if her family was specifically being targeted.
..... "My entire Jewish community is being targeted," she said on Monday. [06/17/2024]
..... "If this were any other group it would be big news," angel continued. "The fact that so many people oppose this bill is evidence of its necessity. There are people who oppose granting Jews equal protection under the law. If this bill were in place, perhaps my children and i would not have experienced harassment in our own town."

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