With minor amendments, anti-Semitism bill will get Assembly consideration on Monday

Assembly Democrats will move forward on legislation establishing a state definition of anti-Semitism, ending a four-month standoff with Jewish leaders that pushed consideration of the bill until after the June 10 primary election.

The proposed legislation sponsored by Assemblymen Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) and Michael Inganamort (R-Chester) used the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism that includes rhetorical or physical manifestations directed at Jews.

The new language, obtained by the New Jersey Globe, requires law enforcement to take the state’s definition of anti-Semitism into consideration during a review, investigation, or determination of whether the federal anti-bias statute was violated and prior to deciding whether an incident was motivated by anti-Semitic intent.

Amendments  also include a declaration by the legislature that anti-Semitism “remains a persistent, pervasive, and disturbing problem in contemporary American society” and cites data showing “Jewish people are among the most likely of all minority groups to be victimized by incidents of hate, and such incidents are increasing at an alarming rate.”

Additional language is being added stating that New Jersey ranked third in the U.S. in anti-Semitic incidents in 2023 and that last year, the New Jersey State Police says “anti-Jewish incidents was the second highest type of reported bias incidents.”

“Anti-Semitism on campus is systemic, broad and deep, with recent studies showing that the number of Jewish students experiencing anti-Semitism across the United States had spiked to nearly 75 percent and, in 2017 alone, there were more than 204 reports of anti-Semitic incidents of harassment, vandalism, or assault against Jewish students on campus, an 89 percent increase from the previous year,” the new language states.

The latest version drops a $100,000 public awareness campaign to train the public on identifying and reporting bias crimes.

The Assembly bill has 58 sponsors and co-sponsors.

The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee approved their version of the bill over a year ago by a 4-1 vote, with State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence) opposing the measure.