Part of an exhibit on the Holocaust supported by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Photo: Courtesy of IHRA.

A Jewish advocacy group last week issued a petition imploring New Jersey to reintroduce a previously blocked bill to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism into law after the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) revealed that it ranked third on the list of US states which saw the most antisemitic incidents in 2025.

New Jersey’s 687 antisemitic incidents came only behind New York and California, with cases of assault, harassment, and discrimination barraging a small minority group in one of the most liberal states in the US.

The petition, organized by a group called The Jewish Majority, argued that the legislature missed the chance to address this issue earlier this year, when an IHRA bill up for consideration never reached the floor after then-Gov. Phil Murphy and fellow Democrats reportedly determined that debating the measure could endanger incumbents vulnerable to primary challenges from the party’s far-left, anti-Israel wing.

The bipartisan bill, which had the support of 59 co-sponsors in the 80-seat New Jersey General Assembly, was reported out of committee unanimously in July before it was ultimately killed in January.

Last week’s petition said that opponents of the bill took away a chance for New Jersey’s Jews to be granted the justice and civil rights protections conferred without question to other minority groups.

“We were deeply dismayed that legislation to adopt the IHRA definition was recently shelved for political reasons, despite broad support in the legislature and clear evidence of rising antisemitism,” the petition stated. “At a moment when Jewish communities seek protection and clarity, this delay sends a troubling message about whether Jewish safety is prioritized.”

It added, “New Jersey’s Jewish community is among the nation’s largest. We cannot lag behind in equipping our state to confront rising antisemitism. Defining antisemitism clearly is not symbolic, it is a practical necessity. Therefore, we urge you to act without delay and pass legislation to adopt the IHRA working definition as a state standard.”

IHRA — an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries including the US and Israel — adopted the “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum, and it is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations.

According to the definition, antisemitism “is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” It provides specific, contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere. Beyond classic antisemitic behavior associated with the likes of the medieval period and Nazi Germany, the examples include denial of the Holocaust and newer forms of antisemitism targeting Israel such as demonizing the Jewish state, denying its right to exist, and holding it to standards not expected of any other democratic state.

Murphy’s successor, Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D), has expressed support for the IHRA definition, although it remains unclear whether she would support new legislation to adopt it.

According to the ADL’s latest annual audit of US antisemitic incidents, assaults against Jews nationwide increased 4 percent in 2025, and perpetrators more often resorted to using “deadly weapons.”

The advocacy group noted that the upward shift was reflected in the shocking murders of Jews in antisemitic attacks in the US for the first time since 2019. Two Israeli embassy staffers — a young couple set be engaged — were shot dead in Washington, DC last May, and weeks later a firebombing in Colorado claimed the life of an octogenarian. In both crimes, the alleged killers cited anti-Zionism as their motivating ideology.

The wave of hatred has changed how American Jews perceive their status in the US. According to the results of a previous survey commissioned by the ADL and the Jewish Federations of North America, a striking 57 percent of American Jews believe “that antisemitism is now a normal Jewish experience.”

The survey results revealed other disturbing trends: Jewish victims are internalizing their experiences, as 74 percent did not report what happened to them to “any institution or organization”; Jewish youth are bearing the brunt of antisemitism, having faced communications which aim to exclude Jews or delegitimize their concerns about rising hate; and the cultural climate has instilled a pervasive fear that the non-Jewish community will not act as a moral guardrail against continued violence and threats.

In April, ADL chief executive officer Jonathan Greenblatt committed his organization to reversing this trend.

“Our 2025 audit, which shows that it was one of the most violent years for American Jews on record, is a reminder of how dramatically the threat landscape has shifted. Numbers that would have shocked us five years ago are now our floor,” Greenblatt said. “People are being murdered because of antisemitism on American soil, and thousands more are threatened. ADL will not stop until that baseline changes.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.