After stalling in 2023, a bill to define antisemitism in state law is advancing in Georgia
ATLANTA– A bill to define anti-Semitism in Georgian law stalled in 2023 because of the way it was worded. But a revised version received unanimous support from a key Senate committee on Monday, buoyed by Republican support for Israel in its war with Hamas and a wave of reported incidents of bias against Jewish people in the state.
“I think the whole world saw what happened on October 7 and the impact on Jewish communities around the world,” said Democratic state Rep. Esther Panitch of Sandy Springs, the only Jewish member of the Georgia Legislature. She is a co-sponsor of the measure that received support from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
But fears about opponents who say House Bill 30 would be used as a shield to block criticism of Israeli war crimes against Palestinians are stronger than ever, showing how what was already a charged topic in early 2023 has become downright raw because of the war between Israel and Hamas. . Some demonstrators chanted “Free Free Palestine!” were dragged from the committee room by police officers after the vote. Other opposition witnesses told lawmakers that they favored political support for Israel.
“What it does do is weaponize attacks and hatred against my community and silence Palestinian and Muslim Georgians, somehow making threats against me more important than threats against my own neighbors and implying that my security can only come at a cost go from them,” said Marissa Pyle. , who said he was Jewish: “Making other people less safe doesn’t help me.”
The bill already passed the House last year, and Monday’s vote indicates the measure will likely pass the Senate and be signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp. The Republican governor has previously said he supports the measure.
The committee also advanced Senate Bill 359 on a split vote. The measure seeks to tackle the distribution of anti-Semitic flyers in residential areas by adding littering, illegal sign placement, loitering, terrorist threats, disorderly conduct and harassing communications to the list of crimes that carry higher penalties under Georgia’s hate crimes law. The bill would also subject any two crimes to Georgia’s hate crimes law, eligible for prosecution under the state’s expansive anti-racketeering statute.
Lawmakers in at least eight states nationwide are working on measures to define anti-Semitism, part of a resurgence of legislation prompted in part by the war between Israel and Hamas. Arkansas passed such a law last year, and like Georgia, a South Carolina measure passed in unicameral passage in 2023. This year, new bills are pending in Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey and South Dakota.
Sponsors say a definition would help prosecutors and other officials identify hate crimes and illegal discrimination against Jewish people. But some critics warn this would restrict freedom of expression, especially when it comes to criticizing Israel’s actions. Others do not oppose a law, but object to the standard that defines anti-Semitism by referring to a definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
“When can we expect the Legislature to move forward on a bill that addresses Islamophobia?” said Asim Javed of the Georgia Muslim Voter Project. Javed added that the bill “stifles our First Amendment rights by censoring all criticism of Israel.”
But opponents’ warnings of damage to free speech were met by personal accounts of the harm suffered by supporters, including Rabbi Elizabeth Baher of Macon’s Temple Beth Israel. She told how an anti-Semitic group hanged a Jew in effigy outside the synagogue as worshipers arrived for services in June.
“We, the people of Georgia, stand united against bigotry and discrimination. Our diverse tapestry is woven with threads of resilience, understanding and mutual respect,” said Baher.
David Lubin was among those who testified. He is the father of Rose Lubin, who grew up in a suburb of Atlanta but moved to Israel, where she became a staff sergeant in the Israeli army before being stabbed to death in Jerusalem on November 6. Lubin said that when her daughter was a student at suburban Dunwoody High School in Atlanta, she reported a student making anti-Semitic comments and “Heil Hitler” salutes.
“We need laws to deter the threat and convict those who commit acts of hate,” said David Lubin.