New Jersey Antisemitism Bill Sparks Concern From Multifaith And Civil Rights Groups

Jewish, Muslim, immigrant rights, and social justice organizations gathered outside Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin’s (D-Middlesex) district office on Tuesday to protest a bill that would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism in New Jersey law.

Scheduled for a special summer hearing in the Assembly this Thursday, the bill has drawn sharp criticism from a wide coalition of civil rights and advocacy groups, who say it threatens to curtail free speech, particularly when it comes to criticism of Israel.

“While we agree that antisemitism must be eradicated, we cannot support a bill that would undermine free speech, silence dissent, and threaten the life of activists who speak out against Israel’s policies,” said Ali Aljarrah, State Lead for CAIR Action NJ, at the press conference.

The IHRA definition, which has been adopted by more than 40 countries worldwide—including the United States—describes antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.”

It includes examples of antisemitic incidents, noting that “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.”

While the definition states that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic,” one of its examples describes calling Israel a “racist endeavor” as antisemitic—language that opponents fear can be misused to stifle political discourse around Israeli government actions in Palestine and Gaza.

Aljarrah of CAIR Action NJ called for more clarity in how antisemitism is defined, pointing to concerns raised by Kenneth Stern, one of the original drafters of the IHRA definition. Stern has warned publicly against weaponizing the definition, particularly in academic spaces.

“It puts pro-Israel Jewish students in a situation where they may be seen as trying to suppress speech rather than answer it,” Stern told NPR earlier this year, discussing the Trump administration’s campus policies that embraced the IHRA definition.

The bill has stalled repeatedly since it was introduced last year. A Senate version passed through committee in June 2024 after lawmakers added an amendment clarifying that the law cannot be used “to diminish or infringe upon any right to criticize the government of the State of Israel in a manner similar to that leveled against any other country.” The Assembly version does not include this addition.

Bill sponsor Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) urged lawmakers earlier this year to take the proposed definition seriously.

“For those opposing this, you do not comprehend the depth and immediate threat that we as Jews feel. For those treating this like any other bill, it is not. It is our existence. Our children are being threatened at our state universities,” said Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic).

However, a vote on the bill was unexpectedly pulled from the Assembly committee last month, a move that frustrated bill sponsors and supporters.

“I find this process and the last-minute change deeply, deeply hurtful, disturbing, and disappointing to the over 600,000 Jews who live in the Garden State,” said Jason Shamas, CEO and president of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, during a previous hearing.

Opposition to the bill is also coming from within Jewish communities, where some religious and scholarly voices say the bill blurs the line between antisemitism and opposition to Israeli policies.

“This bill is being pushed by anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim extremists who want to change the definition of antisemitism from hatred of Jews to opposition to the genocide of the Palestinian people,” said Rabbi Yitzchok Deutsch of Neturei Karta International in a statement. “Its purpose is to silence human rights advocates. It has nothing to do with combatting real antisemitism.”

Academics have voiced similar warnings, saying that codifying the IHRA definition in law risks punishing forms of political speech protected by the First Amendment. 

Raz Segal, an Israeli associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University, told NJ Spotlight News earlier this year that it “silences Palestinians who, for example, will say that Israel is a racist state, which is a very legitimate critique against any other state in the world—including the United States.”

“This has nothing to do with Jews. This is about protecting Israel,” said Segal.