Bill Text: NJ SCR154 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 40-20)
Status: (Passed) 2015-06-11 - Filed with Secretary of State [SCR154 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-SCR154-Amended.html
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 154
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED DECEMBER 15, 2014
Sponsored by:
Senator LORETTA WEINBERG
District 37 (Bergen)
Senator THOMAS H. KEAN, JR.
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
Senator STEPHEN M. SWEENEY
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Beach, Beck, Greenstein, Ruiz, Whelan, Thompson and Turner
SYNOPSIS
Condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee on January 29, 2015, with amendments.
A Concurrent Resolution condemning all forms of anti-Semitism and rejecting attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred or violent attacks as acceptable expressions of disapproval over political events in the Middle East or elsewhere.
Whereas, There is clear evidence of increasing incidents and expressions of anti-Semitism throughout the world; and
Whereas, In April 2014, the United States Department of State released the International Religious Freedom Report and noted, "Throughout Europe, the historical stain of anti-Semitism continued to be a fact of life, leading many individuals who are Jewish to conceal their religious identity;" and
Whereas, Anti-Semitic acts committed and recorded in 2014 around the world, including countries in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, and North America, include incidents of murder at Jewish sites, violent attacks and death threats against Jews, as well as gun violence, arson, graffiti, anti-Semitic cartoons, and other property desecration at Jewish cemeteries, places of worship, and communal activity; and
Whereas, Anti-Semitic imagery and comparisons of Jews and Israel to Nazis have been on display at demonstrations against Israel's actions in Gaza, throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America; and
1Whereas, The January 2015 terrorist massacre of 12 people at the offices of "Charlie Hebdo" magazine in Paris, the subsequent killing of four French Jews at a kosher market just hours before Shabbat, the closing of Paris' Grande Synagogue for the first time since World War II, the closing of Jewish schools in Belgium and other European nations, and the fears of ongoing anti-Semitism in Europe's largest Jewish communities demonstrated to Jews and non-Jews everywhere that Jewish life in France, Europe and throughout the world is difficult and uncertain in the face of growing jihadist-inspired hatred and violence; and1
Whereas, The United States Government has consistently supported efforts to address the rise in anti-Semitism through its bilateral relationships and through engagement in international organizations; and
Whereas, The United States Congress has played an essential role in illustrating and counteracting the resurgence of anti-Semitism worldwide; and
Whereas, A May 2014 survey by the Anti-Defamation League, "The ADL Global 100: An Index of Anti-Semitism," which surveyed people in over 100 countries about their attitudes toward Jews, found that a majority of people surveyed overall have either not heard of the Holocaust or do not believe it happened as has been documented by factual accounts and recorded by history; and
Whereas, The New Jersey Legislature decries and condemns the comparison of Israel to Nazis as an insult to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and an affront to those who survived and their children and grandchildren, the righteous gentiles who saved Jewish lives at peril to their own lives, and to those who bravely fought to defeat the Nazis; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):
1. The New Jersey Legislature unequivocally condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of disapproval or frustration over political events in the Middle East or elsewhere.
2. The New Jersey Legislature applauds the United States and those foreign leaders who have condemned anti-Semitic acts and calls on those who have yet to take firm action against anti-Semitism in their countries to do so.
3. The New Jersey Legislature supports expanded Holocaust education programs that increase awareness, counter prejudice, and enhance efforts to teach the universal lessons of the Holocaust, genocide, intolerance and discrimination.
4. The New Jersey Legislature calls upon the citizens of New Jersey and the State's government entities to continue to be vigilant about efforts to prevent and report acts of anti-Semitism, hate crimes and other violations of human rights and religious freedom.
5. Copies of the resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of State, the Governor, and to each member of Congress elected from this State.
