Republican Lawmakers Support Bill That Defines Antisemitism
July 25, 2025
TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey is one step closer to officially defining antisemitism.
After a contentious, hours-long meeting, the Assembly State and Local Government Committee on Thursday released the bill (A3558) that establishes a uniform definition of antisemitism based on the May 26, 2016 definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
“As a lifelong resident of Margate and Atlantic County, we have a vibrant Jewish community, who are a tremendous asset to our community and state. I along with my family and children are lifelong members of the Margate JCC, an active member of our local Jewish Federation and Jewish Family Services, which provides invaluable resources and helps thousands of our constituents,” Assemblywoman Claire Swift (R-Atlantic), a member of the State and Local Government Committee, said. “The fact that we have to vote on a bill to define antisemitism is antiquated and inconceivable.”
The bill comes in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, in which 1,200 Israelis and 46 American citizens were killed and 251 people taken hostage. Since that attack, the Anti-Defamation League has reported a record-breaking number of antisemitic incidents, with a 5% increase from the previous year and a 344% increase over the past five years. New Jersey ranked third, after New York and California, for the highest number of reported antisemitic incidents among states.
The bill’s primary sponsors—Michael Inganamort (R-Morris) among them—stressed that the bill does not infringe on protected First Amendments rights or academic freedom.
“As an ordained deacon in a Historical Black Church for over two decades, I believe that hate speech is not free speech no matter the religion, race, ethnicity, et cetera,” Assemblyman Erik Simonsen (R-Cape May), also a member of the committee, said. “This is unacceptable anytime and anywhere.”
Swift and Simonsen, along with 19 other members of the Assembly Republican Conference, cosponsored the bill.
