July 25, 2025
Kevin R. Wexler/Imagn Content Services
A New Jersey Assembly panel advanced a controversial bill defining antisemitism after more than seven hours of heated testimony from supporters and opponents. This photo from 2021 shows the state capitol building in Trenton.
An Assembly panel advanced a controversial bill that would create a state definition of antisemitism Thursday after more than seven hours of impassioned testimony from hundreds of supporters and critics alike.
Supporters cited rising rates of antisemitic hate crimes as a reason why lawmakers must pass the bill, which has more than 50 cosponsors.
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Opponents said the bill, which would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, would violate free speech rights by criminalizing criticism of Israel. Several cited crackdowns on campus protests and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who the Trump administration detained and aims to deport after declaring his anti-Israel activism antisemitic.
The disagreement ran so deep that tensions exploded even hours before the Assembly state and local government committee's hearing on the measure started. Pro-Palestinian advocates held a morning rally outside the Statehouse to condemn the bill, and several pro-Israel activists tried to disrupt it, prompting state troopers to scramble to defuse the resulting shoving match between both sides.
Things didn't go much more smoothly inside.
Troopers had to open four overflow rooms to accommodate the crowds who showed up to testify, and testimony grew so heated that Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak (D-Middlesex), the committee's chair, repeatedly pounded his gavel to restore order and threatened to have troopers remove disruptive spectators.
Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic), the bill's chief sponsor, kicked off the testimony just after noon. Four other Assembly members from both parties beside him also testified in support of the bill.
Schaer denied that the bill would infringe upon the First Amendment, saying its goal is simple — to combat rising antisemitism.
"A statutory definition of antisemitism gives law enforcement a clear lens to determine the motivation and/or intent behind a criminal act or bias incident that may have been motivated by antisemitism," he said. "It may also be incorporated into policy development and anti-bias training. However, the legislation does not create new criminal penalties or criminalize protected speech. Instead, it ensures that when an individual paints a swastika on a synagogue, shouts slurs at a Jewish student, or otherwise targets someone based on their Jewish identity, we have a consistent, recognized standard by which to evaluate."
Dozens of Jewish groups, mayors, and others echoed that support.
"The Jewish community must stand up to the bullies who see this bill as a threat to their ability to harass and intimidate us," said Jason Shames, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.
But DaWuan Norwood, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition conflates protected political speech with unprotected discrimination.
"Incorporating this definition into law has been widely criticized and condemned because it is overbroad and not rooted in legal protections that exist to ensure safety from hostile environments, bias, or harassment. Instead, the definition threatens to prohibit speech based on viewpoint alone," Norwood said.
Omayma Mansour, a pro-Palestinian activist who lives in Princeton and board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of New Jersey, tested that theory by talking about Gaza and genocide during her testimony. Karabinchak interrupted her, redirecting her to the bill.
"Can I say what I just said? Because it doesn't look like I can, which means that my free speech, my First Amendment rights, are not protected based on this bill," Mansour said.
She called the bill unconstitutional and "a hot mess of a bill" and predicted it would not withstand judicial scrutiny.
"Should this pass, we will challenge it in court, and every court in this nation will clearly show you how unconstitutional this is," Mansour said.
Sadaf Jaffer, a former assemblywoman, testified against the bill, saying it wrongly requires New Jerseyans to accept Israel as a Jewish state. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance lists, as an example of antisemitism, "denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor."
"How is that different from requiring all New Jerseyans to accept Iran as an Islamic Republic or the U.S. as a Christian nation? These kinds of ideological tests are absurd and dangerous," Jaffer said.
Many critics warned the bill would be used to silence criticism of Israel, but those concerns prompted lawmakers to amend the bill to state: "Nothing in this section shall be construed 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."
Jaffer also questioned the need for a state definition of antisemitism.
"We have no special definitions for anti-Black, anti-Arabic, or anti-Palestinian hate," Jaffer said. "Meanwhile, the bill's prime sponsor, Assemblyman Schaer, had to fire his own chief of staff for making anti-Black, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arabic statements."
People on both sides of the issue shared personal stories of persecution.
Livingston Mayor Edward Meinhardt, a Democrat, told lawmakers he was the son of two Holocaust refugees and urged them to pass the legislation.
"We have a duty, a moral obligation, to teach the history of the past so that it'll never be repeated," Meinhardt said. "We must educate those who do not understand what antisemitism is. We must support those who have experienced it and teach them how to combat it. And we must start this education from a very young age to prevent hate from taking root."
Legislators considered the bill during a rare return from their traditional summer recess, which is expected to last until after November's general election. The panel — whose members were all sponsors of the bill — passed it unanimously, just after 8 p.m.
In explaining his vote, Assemblyman Avi Schnall (D-Monmouth) told the sparse audience remaining in the chamber that he's a "visible Jew" and recently got ambushed during a visit to Washington, D.C., by people calling him a murderer and accusing him of killing children in Gaza.
"As far as I know, I live in New Jersey. I've never been to Gaza," Schnall said. "What do I have to do with the children and the atrocities that are going on there? They are atrocities. It's terrible. But that's when I realized that, yes, unfortunately, the lines have become blurred, and that is the reality. The reality today is that, unfortunately, people are claiming if you're Jewish, you must be a Zionist, and if you're a Zionist, you're responsible for genocide."
The Senate version of the bill passed in that chamber's state government committee in June 2024 by a 4-1 vote — after a nine-hour hearing. It awaits consideration by the full Senate.
New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.com.
