The New Jersey State Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and other bar associations in the state issued the following statement last week in response to the recent spate of anti-Semitic violence in the region and country.

On behalf of the tens of thousands of members of some of the state's leading legal organizations, we condemn the recent scourge of anti-Semitic violence that have cost innocent members of our communities their lives.

From the murders of a police officer and innocent civilians in Jersey City, to damaging hate-based graffiti in numerous other communities in our state, to the killing of people celebrating a joyous holiday across the border in New York, these crimes are occurring with far too much regularity in our great state and around the country. New Jersey is one of the most diverse states in the nation, and this is not who we are.