On January 28, 2023, an arsonist threw a molotov cocktail at a synagogue in Bloomfield, New Jersey. In Montclair, New Jersey a swastika was found etched on a middle school bathroom wall. In Bergen County, 52 incidents occurred at K-12 schools or in public areas and 31 occurred at Jewish institutions.
In 2022, New Jersey recorded the third highest level of antisemitism in the nation, a 25% increase over the previous year. 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.
The mayor of Linden, New Jersey actively refused to hire Jews for school positions and said his decisions were based on “what has to happen in order to keep our community from being taken over by guys with big hats and curls.” A Rutgers student posted on social media about a fraternity brother who identified as Israeli, “To all the pro-Palestinian ralliers … Go kill him.” This year, a Rutgers student said “Jew-hatred has become rampant at Rutgers University. And it has become clear that some members of the school’s administration and faculty are complicit in allowing — and even in encouraging — this hate to grow.” This student was harassed on the street by Students for Justice in Palestine as they called him a “murderer,” “European colonizer” and “We don’t want Zionists here.”
On April 8, 2022, then-27-year-old New Jersey man Dion Marsh carried out a series of violent assaults on members of the Orthodox Jewish community in and around Lakewood, New Jersey. Marsh was charged with five counts of willfully causing bodily injury to five victims and attempting to kill and cause injuries with dangerous weapons to four of them.
These are just some of the many occurrences that have unfortunately become all too commonplace across New Jersey over the last year, a fact that pains me to say as a proud Jew and legislator in this state. In fact, since October 2023 statistics show that antisemitic incidents in New Jersey are off the charts. Sixty-three percent of American Jews believe the status of Jews in the U.S. is less secure than in 2022. According to the American Jewish Committee, about 25% of American Jews report being the personal target of antisemitism.
The sad reality is that New Jersey is not alone in this; antisemitic rhetoric and hate has been on the rise across the country since Oct. 7.
However, where I do take umbrage, is that here in New Jersey, we have been presented the chance to do something about it — to sound the alarm and make clear that hate has no place in our state. And yet, there are those who seek to be a roadblock to this opportunity.
I am speaking of the IHRA bill, S192/A3558, a bill that I introduced to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s official definition of antisemitism — already advanced in 38 other states. In addition, the policy would also provide $100,000 for a public education campaign against antisemitism, which is needed now more than ever.
The bill already passed 4-1 in committee in the State Senate to adopt the bill back in June. However, it now sits with the full senate, the state assembly and Gov. Murphy to approve before becoming law.
A bill such as this one should be easy to pass: a clear, simple way to rally behind and make a difference for tens of thousands of New Jersey’s residents who are currently living in fear. Nonetheless, there are those who have found issue with this seemingly innocuous proposal, arguing that IHRA could be a blockade to free speech and criticism of Israel.
This argument holds little merit — as noted earlier, over 36 states have already advanced similar legislation. Additionally, our bill expressly protects the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech, and the N.J. State Constitution’s right to “freely speak, write and publish sentiments on all subjects” — including about the State of Israel and its policies.
Diversity has always been a bedrock of New Jersey, a fact that I am immensely proud of, and one that I believe this proposed bill aims to protect. It’s not just about the Jewish community, which we of course have an obligation to protect. This is about sending a clear message that New Jersey will stand up for all its communities, that in a state that values diversity, minorities and targets of hate will always find haven here.
If we don’t pass IHRA, what message are we sending to the Jewish community — or to any minority community — in our state?
If seen through this lens, there should be no opposition to the swift passage of this bill.
This week is the anniversary of Oct. 7, a day marked by hate and vitriol and the unfortunate beginning to a year filled with uncertainty for the Jewish community. On this day, I urge New Jersey to use this opportunity to take the steps needed to condemn hate in our state, protect our communities and ensure that New Jersey can continue to be a thriving, diverse state.
