4 ‘Freedom Of Speech’ Fights In NJ To Keep On Your Radar: Advocates

NEW JERSEY — Public records. Election transparency. Israel-Palestine. Antisemitism. These are some of the ongoing battles over “free speech” that New Jersey residents should keep on their radars, advocates say.

The Green Party of New Jersey recently released a list of several First Amendment debates that are impacting the Garden State, citing the above issues as among the most urgent.

“This is a critical time for freedom of speech in the United States,” party leaders stated in a news release. “This issue surfaces in many different ways, at all levels of government, from the federal level, to the state level and even at the local level. For those who want to protect the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution and democratic rights that follow from it, speaking out about these threats to the freedom of speech is very important.”

Here are some of the issues that advocates are asking residents to keep in mind this spring.

OPRA BILL

A proposed law that would chop away at public access to government records has stalled in the New Jersey state Legislature, amid a growing crescendo of angry criticism from social justice groups and free speech advocates.

The bills would make sweeping changes to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), which guarantees the public’s right to certain government records, and creates an appeal process for denials. Learn more about OPRA here.

Some critics of the current process allege that it needs to be revamped, with multiple New Jersey towns citing expensive labor bills related to the requests – which they claim pose an unfair burden for local taxpayers.

Supporters of OPRA acknowledge that it could use an update – particularly the clauses that allow corporate businesses to request records that are used to pad their databases and make them money. But the law is a crucial safeguard for democracy, they add, arguing that gutting it would be devastating to the public's "right to know” what their government is doing in their names.

Those supporters include Green Party of New Jersey co-chair, Barry Bendar, who attended an Assembly hearing on the bills.

According to Bendar, the proposed changes would worsen the state’s already “horrible voter turnout numbers.” Citing a voter turnout rate of 20 percent in Ocean County during the last general election, he asked: “Do you want these numbers to go down further?”

“All of this should set off alarm bells,” agreed Christina Khalil, a Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in New Jersey.

The proposed law was pulled from the legislative agenda last month for revisions, but could start moving again in April, reports say.

• See Related: OPRA Bill Creeps Forward In NJ Despite Protests From Angry Critics

SCHOOLS AND ISRAEL-PALESTINE

On the local level, there have been multiple struggles over the freedom of speech and right to peaceably assemble at school districts across New Jersey. And much of it is fueled by the Israel-Palestine war, advocates say.

“We have seen this in Maplewood/South Orange, West Orange, Livingston and Teaneck, to name a few school districts,” the Green Party of New Jersey said.

“These efforts to suppress free speech and the right to peaceably assemble could have a very detrimental effect on the ability of students and community to participate in demonstrations, rallies and teach-ins,” the Green Party alleged.

In South Orange and Maplewood, district administrators sent out an apology last month after an “inflammatory document” that allegedly contained antisemitic language was sent to staff at Columbia High School without official permission. It included information about Ramadan – an important Muslim holiday – in a paragraph that called the United States a “co-conspirator with Israel.”

The document was created by the group Teaching While Muslim, which said it “strongly condemns” the backlash, and asserted that “telling the truth is not inflammatory, but rather a vital aspect of shedding light on injustice.” Read their full reply to the controversy here.

In Livingston, the district’s superintendent was recently invited on a “fact finding mission” to the Israel and Gaza border along with other school administrators, community leaders and several members of the New Jersey State Assembly. The trip was organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, which recently received a commendation from Gov. Phil Murphy and other state lawmakers. The superintendent said he accepted the invitation because it was a chance to gather some valuable “primary-source” research that could help to “bring people together.”

However, some advocates have been criticizing an ensuing highly attended school event in Livingston that recapped the trip, which they allege was pro-Israel and political in nature – a problem in a district where some students have been harassed and called “terrorists,” they say.

“So far no equivalent event about Palestine or the Palestinian perspective has been allowed to take place,” the Green Party added.

Nearby in West Orange, high school students who have been supporting Palestine have also faced harassment and intimidation, advocates claim – especially those who are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Read More: West Orange Parents Fear Pro-Palestine Students May Be 'Doxed'

Pro-Israel advocates in West Orange have countered that the local Jewish community has good reason to be afraid, including past incidents such as swastika graffiti and violence against nearby temples and synagogues. Read More: Debate Over Antisemitism Rages At West Orange Council Meeting

A Palestine flag raising ceremony that included participation from local students was recently canceled in West Orange despite previous town-sanctioned shows of support for Israel, raising additional concerns over potential free speech issues. Read More: Mayor Cancels Palestine Flag Raising, Critics Cry Foul

The battle over free speech and the Israel-Palestine war has also been felt in Newark, where some local residents and educators recently protested what they described as a “book ban.”

Members of the Newark Board of Education said they were not behind the decision to remove “A Little Piece of Ground” by Elizabeth Laird from the district’s classrooms. Administrators also said that there is no “book ban” involving the work – or any others – in the Newark Public School District. See Related: There Is No 'Ban' On Pro-Palestine Books In Newark Schools, Board Says

ANTISEMITISM

Some free speech advocates have also taken aim at a proposed New Jersey law, S-1292/A-3558, which would establish a state definition for “antisemitism.”

Under the bill, the term would be linked to the definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance on May 26, 2016, which reads:

“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.”

If it passes, the state would have to take the official definition into consideration when deciding if a violation of any policy, law, or regulation prohibiting discriminatory acts has taken place.

Many Jewish advocates, religious leaders and community groups have been urging action as reports of antisemitism rise in New Jersey.

Anti-Jewish motivations were behind 22 percent of the state’s bias incidents last year, according to 2023 data that was recently released by the New Jersey attorney general’s office. Antisemitic incidents in New Jersey rose by 10 percent in 2022, reaching 408 total incidents – the highest number ever recorded in the state, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The proposed law specifically states that: “Nothing contained in the bill would be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, or paragraph 6 of Article I of the New Jersey State Constitution.”

But according to Madelyn Hoffman, a former governor candidate with the Green Party in New Jersey, the bill currently before the state Legislature “effectively conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism.”

“It may very well have a chilling effect on all efforts in New Jersey to protest the ongoing Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza,” she said.

The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has panned the proposed law, arguing that it would “unfairly silence Palestinian advocacy and empowerment” if it crosses the finish line.

“While we appreciate and support efforts to combat hate and discrimination, these bills carry consequences that would suppress legitimate advocacy and free speech,” the group wrote in a letter to Senate lawmakers.

The ACLU of New Jersey has also been dubious about the bill.

“The ACLU-NJ condemns bias-based harassment or violence committed against all New Jerseyans, including Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities,” the nonprofit wrote. “However, as proponents of free speech, we should be concerned whenever the government forces people to accept its view of the world.”

• See Related: 'Criticizing Israel Doesn't Make You Antisemitic,' NJ Activists Say
• See Related: Feds Investigating Teaneck Schools Over Possible Antisemitism

ELECTIONS TRANSPARENCY ACT

Green Party of New Jersey leaders are also taking aim at another piece of legislation: the Elections Transparency Act.

Signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy last year, it overhauled New Jersey’s campaign finance rules to allow doubling of contributions and gutted state and local pay-to-play ordinances, Politico previously reported.

“The Green Party always says: ‘Follow the money and you will find out the truth’ – and now it's a fight against the truth,” Khalil said. “The people we voted into office should spend their time fixing issues in our state and country, not spending our tax dollars to take away our rights for free speech and to know the truth.”

• See Related: 'Hardly Perfect' Campaign Overhaul Still Better Than NJ's Past, Murphy Says

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