In February of this year I authored a bill, A-3558, that would provide a working definition of antisemitism and a universal understanding of what antisemitism is as put forth by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA. Thirty-seven states have taken action to advance similar legislation, dozens of countries have adopted the IHRA definition, and the White House’s Strategy to Combat Antisemitism also uses the definition as a guiding principle to combat hatred of the Jewish people. And in Trenton, 57 Assembly members of a total of 80, both Republicans and Democrats, have signed on to this legislation as sponsors.
We are seeing Jewish students barred from school clubs, pogroms and the hunting down of Jews on the streets, and the targeting and vandalism of Jewish businesses and places of worship. Antisemitism in America, and here in New Jersey, is at an all-time record high, according to the New Jersey attorney general. And yet, despite this frightening reality, since February, the bill has gone nowhere.
A few months ago, in response to numerous demonstrations held nationwide on college campuses, including Rutgers, the U.S. House of Representatives formed a special subcommittee to investigate numerous allegations of antisemitism. Their findings: Antisemitism was allowed, if not encouraged, by university administrators and faculty members; Jewish students at numerous institutions were systematically harassed, and in many cases physically threatened; and Jewish student communal institutions were defaced. On one campus, Jewish students needed to be escorted to class. The many stories unfortunately get worse.
Presidents of several of America’s most renowned institutions resigned from their positions in embarrassment at what was allowed under their watch, including our own Rutgers president. And just a few weeks ago, President-elect Donald Trump announced that universities that did not take immediate steps to eradicate antisemitism on their campuses would not receive federal funding, as no institution that violates or infringes on anyone’s civil rights should.
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Democracy is a sloppy form of government. It allows and even encourages discussion, if not dissent. By providing a forum for discourse to be held, it encourages the rights of those not in power to freedom of speech, a fundamental of any viable democracy, and invokes a sense of self-value and pride in government.
In our Statehouse, the process to move a bill forward begins when it is introduced. When a proposed bill is put into the system, it is then moved ahead by members, advocates and organizations. In the state Assembly, bills move at the direction of the speaker of the Assembly. An identical process is followed by the state Senate president. Without the support of the Assembly and Senate, the bill dies on the vine.
In the many conversations that I have had with the speaker and his staff, I have been reminded that when the state Senate heard the bill in committee in August 2024, the five members voted four in favor, one opposed, with no abstentions, after nine long hours of testimony. It was arduous. Perhaps even chaotic. But fundamentally important to give voice to those who otherwise would not be heard. In response to a Legislative colleague who was concerned that our state troopers would not be able to control the expected demonstrators at the Statehouse, I could only reflect on the cost of free speech and democracy. It can be messy. But it is necessary.
I am a proud Democrat who represents with pride the 36th Legislative District. I am also the proud Assembly sponsor of A-3558, the bill on antisemitism. Not hearing the bill in Assembly committee and on the Assembly floor ensures that the bill will die on the vine; that the interests and concerns of numerous New Jerseyans will be disregarded, even disrespected. Will the same considerations apply to other controversial yet necessary discussions, like a woman’s right to choose or strengthening democracy?
I want to publicly remind my leadership of my frustration, of the need to protect the Jewish community, and of the message that failing to pass this legislation sends to my constituents and Jewish New Jerseyans at large.
Mr. Speaker, respectfully, it is time to move the bill.
Assemblyman Gary Schaer represents New Jersey’s 36th Legislative District.
