By Marcia Steinbock
As a Jew, I am concerned about antisemitism. I wouldn’t be opposing a bill to codify a legal definition of antisemitism if I believed that it would keep Jews safe.
We do not need the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism.
Here in NJ, we have the NJ Civil Rights Act and a Hate Crimes law. These laws protect Jews.
Meanwhile, Holocaust Studies academics, constitutional scholars, and authors of the IHRA definition itself oppose its codification because of the dangerous implications to free speech and how it undermines the fight against antisemitism.
We know what antisemitism looks like. It’s white nationalists marching in Charlottesville chanting “Jews will not replace us.” It’s Jews being gunned down in Jersey City, San Diego, Monsey, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Overland Park, Colleyville — in synagogues, private homes, stores.
Antisemitism is not people exercising their first amendment right to protest Israel’s acts against Palestinians. That is called democracy.
But the definition this bill would codify into law broadly characterizes criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) uses the IHRA definition to collect data on antisemitism. As a result, its numbers are inflated, with 40% of their statistics on antisemitism being IHRA violations. They go so far to say that a keffiyah and the phrase Free Palestine are antisemitic.
And now the Trump administration, under the banner of “fighting antisemitism,” is conflating anti-Israel sentiment with antisemitism in order to —
- detain and deport protesters like Mahmoud Khalil and Badar Khan Suri,
- shut down college vigils,
- defund billions of dollars from universities,
- revoke international students’ visas, and
- chill First Amendment protected speech.
The IHRA definition of antisemitism was adopted in Camden County, NJ. Here is an example of the damage it caused: Students at Eastern High School in Voorhees, planned a school-approved walkout during lunch hour to show support for Palestinian liberation. Politicians heard about it, and forced the school to cancel a legitimate, constitutionally protected demonstration. Is this the message we want to impart to our students?
At the NJ State Assembly hearing on this topic, Raz Segal, a Jewish Israeli Holocaust / Genocide Professor at Stockton University, testified in opposition of the IHRA Bill. When he used the words “genocide,” and “ethnic cleansing,” the Committee Chair told him he couldn’t use those words and had to confine his comments to the bill. He continued to use those phrases, and the Chair turned off Roz Segal’s microphone so that he couldn’t be heard. This was a vivid example of how the IHRA definition chills speech.
Testimony opposing the IHRA definition outweighed testimony supporting the Bill by a margin of at least 2 to 1.
Our timeline is short. The bill to codify the IHRA definition of antisemitism has passed both the Senate and Assembly committees. The next step is for it to be brought to the Assembly floor for a vote. Some Assembly members are saying that a vote is inevitable sometime in the fall.
I belong to a coalition of individuals who represent organizations in New Jersey that oppose IHRA: CAIR (Council on American- Islamic Relations), AMP (American Muslims for Palestine), JVP, Bend the Arc, NJJewsforGaza, to name a few. Our main focus now is on speaking to New Jersey legislators to have them vote NO on IHRA.
Join us:
- If you're in NJ, sign the petition: NJ Jews Demand: Protect Free Speech, Reject A3558
- Phonebank for free speech: sign up for a shift on Monday, October 20th
