The State Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved without objections a bill Monday that will block New Jersey from investing in companies that do business with Iran.

State Jewish leaders traveled to Trenton to press passage of the bill amid growing concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions and its support fo

r insurgents in Iraq.

The U.S. Department of State includes Iran on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

The bill had previously passed in the Assembly and has now been voted out of two Senate committees. It now moves to the desk of Senate President Richard J. Codey, who must decide to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

Senate Bill No. 2615, sponsored by Sen. Robert Singer (R-Dist. 30) and Sen. Joseph F. Vitale (D-Dist. 19), would prohibit the State Investment Council from investing in any company that has a tie to the government of Iran or is engaged in Iran's defense, nuclear, natural gas, or petroleum sectors.

The Treasury would have up to three years following enactment to divest.

Max Kleinman, executive vice president of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, made a strong plea for the divestment bill when he testified before the committee.

Calling Iran's oil and natural gas sector "the lifeblood of its economy," Kleinman said a divestment campaign "will force companies investing in Iran's oil and natural gas sector to reevaluate their business activities and to consider whether the risk associated with their investment outweighs the benefits."

Kleinman asserted that Iran has been "sponsoring terrorism against the West for decades" and "pursuing nuclear weapons for nearly two decades in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty." With nuclear weapons, he said, Iran could "blackmail the world economy over oil prices."

"The threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is not a Jewish or Israel-based issue but a matter of profound concern to Americans, moderate Arab states, Europe, and the civilized world," Kleinman said.

Lori Price Abrams, director of the UJC MetroWest NJ Community Relations Committee, said the CRC is also going to ask individuals to divest their personal holdings. "The key issue is a fiduciary one for investors," said Price Abrams after leaving the hearing.

Jim Daniels, a Short Hills resident who was born in Iran, accompanied Kleinman and Price Abrams to the session.

Daniels, who chairs the CRC's Iran subcommittee, called the bill's bipartisan support "very gratifying. It looks like we are on the right track. It is going to be a slow process. I think it is going to have an impact on Iran but it is going to take time. It is a necessary step, but in preparation for others. I think it will come to a show of force one way or another."

Although he was pleased at the vote, Jac Toporek, executive director of the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations, said there was still more work to be done to make the bill effective.

"We want an amendment to the preamble" with language strengthening the assertion "that Iran is more of a threat and a danger," he said.

Toporek said he and other advocates are also seeking a clause stating that "if one part of the bill is held invalid or unconstitutional, it will not affect the other provisions of the bill."

"We're still very hopeful it is going to get through," said Toporek. "We've been assured by Gov. Corzine's office that he is supporting it."

Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D-Dist. 20), one of the bill's key sponsors in the lower house, told NJ Jewish News that he had supported legislation to require divestment within a year, but that "is not happening."

Still, Cohen said, "I don't expect any problems" with passage.

Corzine must sign a bill before the next legislative session begins on Jan. 8.

According to Toporek, the California, Florida, and Ohio legislatures have already passed similar divestment laws. "The fact that a state has made this statement will be used as a model for other states. There is a momentum to do this."

Kleinman agreed. "It could be a model for companies themselves to divest," he said in a cell phone interview en route home from Trenton. "It educates people about what is happening in Iran and helps put the screws on Iran to prevent it from going nuclear."

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