NJ legislator proposes bills to define antisemitism, criminalize swatting and doxxing

With tensions rising amid the Israel-Hamas war, a North Jersey legislator has proposed a trio of bills aimed at tackling antisemitism and other forms of harassment that have proliferated around the conflict.

State Assemblyman Gary Schaer, a Passaic Democrat, said this week that his proposal includes legislation to adopt a statewide definition of antisemitism, a move that many Jewish groups have urged as threats and attacks have soared.

The measure has been controversial, however, among free-speech advocates, who say it would stifle legitimate debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Schaer's two other proposals would combat tactics that have been wielded against both critics and defenders of Israel in recent months.

One would recognize swatting — the intentional filing of a false alarm against a house of worship — as a state crime; another would do the same for doxxing, the practice of publicly revealing a person's personal information to subject them to violence or intimidation.

“Over the last few months, we have seen a disturbingly rapid rise in antisemitism and hate crimes on our college campuses, K-12 schools, houses of worship and online,” said Schaer, whose 36th District covers parts of Bergen and Passaic counties.

Synagogues in Jersey City, Bloomfield and Rutherford were targeted in recent months, he said, referring to incidents in which attackers hurled firebombs at temples or vandalized them.

Defining antisemitism

Schaer's legislative package would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition refers to "a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred towards Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed towards Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, towards Jewish community institutions and religious facilities."

In the weeks after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, and during the subsequent fighting in Gaza, there has been an unprecedented increase in antisemitic incidents, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks hate incidents. More than 2,000 were reported in the U.S. last year after Oct. 7, a more than fourfold increase over the same period a year earlier, the ADL said.

The IHRA definition offers a comprehensive description of antisemitism, including hatred and discrimination against Jews, Holocaust denial and the way that criticism of Israel is expressed. Supporters say it's essential to define hatred of Jews.

"In order to understand antisemitism, we need to define it. The IHRA definition has been accepted by the U.S. State Department and European Union," said Schaer, who is also council president in Passaic. "It's vitally important to define what antisemitism is so that we can act upon it."

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The IHRA definition debate

But others have opposed enacting the IHRA definition into law, arguing that it could silence critics of Israel.

"When used as a speech code, the IHRA definition threatens core political speech protected by the First Amendment," said Will Creeley, legal director of the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. "The definition itself is impossibly vague, and its accompanying examples include pointed but fully protected criticism of Israel. The First Amendment protects criticism of Israel, just like it protects criticism of the United States or any other country."

Schaer said IHRA doesn't prohibit people from critiquing Israel's government and policies. "If you disagree with Israel or its policies it does not make you an antisemite," he said. "People have the right to express their disagreement."

More than 30 states around the country and thousands of entities around the globe have adopted some form of the IHRA definition.

Schaer's bills have been posted in the Assembly. They must pass in that chamber and the state Senate and be signed by Gov. Phil Murphy before they can become law.

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Swatting, doxxing attacks in NJ

Schaer's doxxing bill would tackle a practice that victims say can ruin a reputation. In December, NorthJersey.com and The Record documented how the tactic had been used on college campuses in New Jersey, including at Rutgers and Ramapo College. On some campuses, the names and photos of professors and students were displayed on "doxxing trucks" and websites calling them antisemitic.

Swatting, meanwhile, has become a tool of harassment, with hoaxes spurring fear and disrupting services at houses of worship across the nation. In December, a Hebrew school in Bergen County was among several Jewish institutions and synagogues across the U.S. targeted with fake bomb threats.

"This is huge," Harris Laufer, state director of the Jewish Federations of New Jersey, said about the proposed legislation. "The bills would solve three problems: It defines antisemitism and develops criteria for hate crimes against Jews, it codifies doxxing, which became a big problem, and brings penalties on swatting."

The bills are A3558, adopting a statewide definition of antisemitism; A3560, criminalizing swatting; and A3561, recognizing doxxing as a crime in New Jersey.

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

.Email: yellin@northjersey.com, Twitter/X: @deenayellin

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Proposed NJ laws would tackle rise in antisemitism, swatting, doxxing