Action Together NJ Urged to Protect NJ’s Public Schools from IHRA Defunding and Other Threats

This message to Action Together NJ (ATNJ) and one of its lead coordinators Uyen Khuong is follow up to an expressed disagreement about their announced policy in their Facebook group restricting Palestine related issues from being discussed.  In the course of the discussion Uyen Khoung expressed that she and the ATNJ group have no position on the topic of the Democratic Party’s support for IHRA.  NJ legislative Democrats are steamrolling proposed laws to codify the IHRA definition of “anti-Semitism” that falsely includes criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism. The laws would provide serious harm to individuals who speak out against US – Israel genocide in Gaza and could lead to censorship and defunding in NJ funded universities, NJ public schools, libraries, municipal operations and other services funded by NJ.

While Ms. Khuong claimed to be neutral on the issue of IHRA personally and for the ATNJ group, she concurs that she and the group politically supports Mikie Sherrill for Governor – who is campaigning in favor of IHRA codification in NJ – and that they are also backing NJ democrats running for Assembly – most of whom are also supporting the proposed IHRA legislation.  

Please, Ms. Khuong, I invite you and ATNJ to take a closer look at the IHRA issue – and the laws being proposed in the NJ Assembly and in the NJ Senate.  As a lead NJ advocate for public education it behooves you and your organization to have a thorough understanding of the impact IHRA will have on public education in NJ if implemented.

I do not consider Ms. Khoung and ATNJ an adversary.  I certainly have nuanced and stylistic disagreements but I also respect good work they have done and continue to do.  For the most part I concur with the work they do to steer public education away from control of right wing demagoguery.  The non-partisan work of ATNJ to provide support and guidance to candidates trying to prevent censorship and intolerance from taking hold in NJ public education – has many successes.  

That said – I question the lack of consideration of IHRA impact to public education in ATNJ’s endorsement of Sherrill and Assembly Democrat candidates that are supportive of codifying IHRA in NJ.

For ATNJ to have “no position” on IHRA suggests that it has not been fully attentive to the direct impact it has on ATNJ’s number one concern – protecting public education in NJ.  I am hereby urging ATNJ to at least get better informed.  Even if you have no position one way or the other – you should be aware of the impact it will have on public education and you should have expressed concerns about it.  

With your good leadership in defense of public education NJ looks to you to analyze legislation and how it will impact public education – to critique and oppose harms to public education and to join in prevention of laws that are outright deleterious.  IHRA falls into this category.

There are two IHRA bills in the Senate and only one in the Assembly. One redefines anti-Semitism legally to include criticism of Israel including questioning Israel’s proclaimed “right to exist” (which opposing US aid and weapons for Israel can then be painted as opposing Israel’s right to the provisions it needs for its existence and defense) – and the second bill – that has not been introduced in the Assembly yet – provides the teeth:

S2937: Requires definitions of Antisemitism and Islamophobia be included in State’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging policies, and in any such policy for recipients of State’s funds.

This language from S2937 if enacted will lead to vulnerability of NJ state funding of public education.  Districts will inevitably be accused of mishandling expressions of opposition to US support for genocide by students and possibly staff.  Letters and legal filings will lead to preventative repression of such expressions.  Accusations, letters, legal filings, can lead to calls to defund public school districts over accusations that they are not fully complying with the most rigid enforcement pro-Israel lobby and advocacy groups will continue to demand.  Public school districts will be in danger of defunding over IHRA implementation!

These sorts of accusations are already occurring – for example Camden County has adopted a county level version of IHRA resolution.  Camden county high school students were accused of anti-Semitism for saying “stop bombing Gaza.”  There will be no shortage of Israel advocates making fraudulent accusations under IHRA legislation at public schools, state funded colleges, municipalities and non-profits.

Further proof that this will happen is already there for all to see.  Ms. Khuong, do you support what Trump is doing, attacking universities, pulling funding, using the false IHRA definition of anti-Semitism?  Infamous attacks on Harvard and Columbia have been devastating and NJ’s Rutgers and Princeton have not been spared such spurious IHRA based accusations.

In NJ republicans have already introduced legislation that would implement Elon Musk styled DOGE committees in NJ.  Democrats are working with those same Republicans to pass IHRA.  The IHRA provisions would hand the tool over to the republicans to go after the funding of public education, municipalities, libraries, non-profits and any other state funded services.  Much of NJ’s pro-Israel constituency is deeply embedded with Trump allied NJ republican legislators.  You can assume that once IHRA is implemented it will be the go to tool for seeking to cut funds from NJ funded education at all levels.

Here is another issue of concern that you should consider.  Your organization was helpful in NJ toward getting state legislation passed codifying our “Right to Read” – opposing book censorship in public schools.  You no doubt are familiar with the drill that groups with an agenda that me and you might consider “intolerant” will seek the list of books from libraries and curricula and raise objections due to their personally held political or religious beliefs.  The precise dynamic will play out under IHRA where pro-Israel groups will review books offered by school libraries (and public libraries), or assigned by school curriculum and challenge materials they deem hostile toward pro-Israel sentiment.  An example of this was when Josh Gottheimer attempted to ban a course, professor and book – at Princeton University  – he was turned back by the Jewish and pro-Israel president of Princeton on academic freedom grounds.  

Also Action Together NJ has to consider who it is getting “together” with and who it is excluding – by knowingly supporting candidates codifying IHRA in NJ you turn your back on those communities whose existence will be traumatized by these laws – whose very mourning the loss – in such horrid depraved method of killing – of their kin, sistern, brothern yet when they mourn and express their dignity in the public schools in an atmosphere of further intolerance and they will be forced to choke down their grief and dignity – is Action Together NJ together with those communities who are moved by the humanitarian horrors of genocide or are those students not too entitled to a safe and supportive environment in our public schools?

Ms. Khuong you are in no position and your organization ATNJ is in no position to credibly be silent on IHRA.  If you are a public school advocate who opposes censorship – or claims to – that claim is struck down as you admit your lack of a position on IHRA.  Are you only against some kinds of censorship – but allowing people who demand forced loyalty and support for Israel (genocide) to control what we are allowed to read in our public schools is ok?  Giving the republicans you oppose the weapon they can use to completely defund public education through false IHRA accusations – like Trump is doing at the national level to colleges – is that something you can afford to be silent upon?

If you are going to be silent on the issue – you should at least be able to discuss concerns about the dangers IHRA could pose to book censorship, public school student and staff protected speech rights and outright funding of public education.  To state that you have no position on these bills that WILL have a serious deleterious impact on NJ’s public schools is a bad look for you and ATNJ.  You could be aiding the wholesale defunding of our public schools.

The good news is that it can be fixed – I invite you Ms. Khuong to go back and reread the IHRA bills.  Have a conversation with Sahar Aziz – one of NJ’s top legal experts on this matter. There are many others that would be more than happy to help develop a more complete understanding on the impact IHRA codification has on public schools.  Bring your findings to your ATNJ decision body and hopefully craft a meaningful position that defends NJ public schools from the harms IHRA will certainly bring.

I also offer the following advice – you have stated one of ATNJ priorities is seeking Mikie Sherrill’s election.  We are actually saying to our constituency that If IHRA passes we should withhold votes from Sherrill – because she supports IHRA.  We are not going to vote for our jailers.  

The best compromise solution would be for the Assembly to hold off on voting on this until after the election.  They seem to instead be back from summer session trying to rush it through.  We have a mutual interest – we want to delay the passing – you do not want to lose support from voters who are motivated on this issue.  Perhaps you can communicate to your collaborative partners the potential harm to Sherrill’s chances an IHRA vote before the 2025 November election can have and we can work together to remove this issue from the 2025 election debate.  Right now – this is me talking to you as a comrade – an IHRA passage before November could be problematic to Mikie Sherrill.

We look forward to hearing more about ATNJ’s deeper dive into the potential impact of IHRA could have on public education – the primary focus area of ATNJ.