New Jersey-2024-S3340-Introduced

An Act concerning antisemitism at institutions of higher education and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act."

2. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. The United States Department of State recognizes both Hamas and Hezbollah as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

b. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack to deliberately target Israeli civilians, including the killing and abduction of men, women, children, and the elderly.

c. This attack killed over 1,200 innocent civilians including women, children, and approximately 30 American citizens, and Hamas took over 250 individuals hostage, including at least 10 Americans.

d. Hamas' stated goal is the entire destruction of the State of Israel and the murder of its Jewish citizens.

e. New Jersey will continue to support our Jewish neighbors and students in New Jersey.

f. Incidents of antisemitism have increased since Hamas' attack, and the proliferation of antisemitism at public institutions of higher education is particularly concerning.

g. A disturbing number of student organizations at institutions of higher education placed blame solely upon the State of Israel for the attack and expressed support for the terrorist actions of Hamas through the glorification of violence and the use of antisemitic rhetoric.

h. Many administrations of institutions of higher education do not follow the practice of institutional neutrality and frequently speak out on public issues, but have failed to speak out clearly in support of their Jewish students.

i. The glorification of violence and use of antisemitic rhetoric, including, but not limited to, "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "there is only one solution; intifada, revolution" are forms of hate speech, a call for violence, and create a hostile learning and working environment for all but especially for Jewish students, faculty, and staff. This rhetoric has long been used by Hamas supporters to call for the violent dismantling of the State of Israel and the destruction of the Jewish people who live there.

j. Acts of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel vandalism in which individuals intentionally destroy, damage, or remove any banner, poster, flyer, or billboard located in public spaces, where the intent or purpose of these communications is to bring awareness for Israeli individuals who have been victims of a crime or to positively support the country or citizens of Israel, are further forms of antisemitic rhetoric and hate speech which create a hostile learning and working environment for all, but especially for Jewish students, faculty, and staff.

k. Many administrations of institutions of higher education have failed to discourage, prevent, or thoroughly investigate these acts of antisemitic vandalism and rhetoric and have failed to appropriately punish the perpetrators.

l. Additional examples of recent unchecked antisemitism on campuses in the State include a masked protester shouting, "We are Hamas. We're all Hamas," and masked protesters shouting, "Never forget the 7th of October, that will happen not one more time, not one thousand more times, but ten thousand more times."

m. New Jersey supports free speech, especially on the campuses of its institutions of higher education, but that freedom comes with responsibilities for students, faculty, and the institutions themselves.

n. Free speech and action can never incite violence, encourage people to harass other students or other New Jersey residents, or disrupt the core educational purpose of an institution of higher education.

o. Students and faculty should not participate in, and institutions of higher education should not allow, expression that is unlawful or disrupts the operations of the institution.

3. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, no State aid shall be granted to any institution of higher education that:

(1) authorizes, facilitates, provides funding for, or otherwise supports or encourages antisemitism or any event or organization promoting antisemitism on campus;

(2) fails to enforce its own student code of conduct and policies and procedures on harassment, intimidation, and bullying; or

(3) fails to adequately and appropriately punish the perpetrators of antisemitism with academic, professional, and legal consequences, which may include expulsion and referral for criminal prosecution.

b. As used in this section, "antisemitism" means the same as the term defined in the working definition of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016.

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill, entitled the "Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act" prohibits the disbursement of any State aid to an institution of higher education that:

� authorizes, facilitates, provides funding for, or otherwise supports or encourages antisemitism or any event or organization promoting antisemitism on campus;

� fails to enforce its own student code of conduct and policies and procedures on harassment, intimidation, and bullying; or

� fails to adequately and appropriately punish the perpetrators of antisemitism with academic, professional, and legal consequences, which may include expulsion and referral for criminal prosecution.

The bill defines "antisemitism" to mean the same as the term defined in the working definition of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016.