Letter to the Editor: Chuck Berk

Letter to the editor,

A Great Friend of the Jewish Community.

About six months ago, in a conversation with Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, he asked me if I knew John Carson, a (R) GA State Representative from West Cobb. I did not. He proceeded to inform me that John was the GA legislator who sponsored and got support to get HB 426, the Hate Crimes Bill and SB327, the Anti-BDS bill passed in the Georgia House. Mayor Paul told me that John Carson carried the water for the Jewish community and that nobody in our community had thanked him.

I reached out to John and proceeded to invite him to events, introduce him to other prominent Atlanta Jews and helped him raise funds for his November reelection campaign.

Most recently, he cosponsored, with (D) GA State Representative Esther Panitch, HB30, the antisemitism bill, which passed last week through their efforts. When I called Esther to thank her for her efforts, she told me that John was the one who really made it happen. As a Christian, with very few Jews in his district, John Carson did it, not to get votes, but for the right reasons. Esther recommended we do something special for John as recognition and as a thank you. All Atlanta Jews should know what a friend John Carson is of the Jews and how our GA Christian legislature (Esther is the only GA Jewish House or Senate member) supports us.

Atlanta Jewish Times apparently has mentioned John Carson in previous articles, but I doubt that the Atlanta Jewish community is aware of all he’s done for us.
I hope others in our community will spread the word and reach out to Representative Carson and thank him for his efforts.

Chuck Berk, Atlanta, Board Chairman GA Commission on the Holocaust