TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) will hold a press conference this week outside the district office of Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin to protest a proposed state law that would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
The press event comes ahead of a Thursday hearing and possible vote by the Assembly State and Local Government Committee on Bill A3558, which seeks to make the IHRA definition the legal standard for identifying antisemitism in the state. The legislation also appropriates $100,000 to the Attorney General’s Office for a public awareness campaign on bias crime reporting.
CAIR-NJ and other advocacy groups argue that the IHRA definition conflates criticism of the State of Israel with antisemitism, posing a risk to constitutionally protected speech. The organization says the bill would have a chilling effect on political discourse and that lawmakers should instead focus on passing measures like the Immigrant Trust Act, which aims to safeguard undocumented residents from federal immigration enforcement.
The bill states that when evaluating potential discriminatory acts, state agencies would be required to consider the IHRA definition—including its list of “contemporary examples of antisemitism”—to determine intent. However, the legislation also includes language asserting that it would not infringe on First Amendment rights or conflict with existing anti-discrimination laws.
Supporters of the bill describe it as a tool for enhancing bias crime enforcement and reporting, while opponents argue it risks restricting speech critical of foreign governments.
The $100,000 appropriation would fund outreach to encourage New Jersey residents to report hate crimes using the state’s existing bias crime hotline.
The proposed law is part of a broader national debate over how antisemitism should be defined in legal and educational settings.
