YIR: Antisemitism Bill Fails in Georgia Again
The lack of action on the last day of the session irritated Jewish supporters, who vow to try again next year.
On the last day of its 2023 session — and for the second consecutive year — a bill to define antisemitism failed to clear the Georgia General Assembly.
The legislature adjourned without the necessary votes on the Senate and House floors to send the bill to Gov. Brian Kemp.
Incorporating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition in the state’s legal code had been a legislative priority of Jewish Atlanta’s major communal organizations.
The political machinations began in the House but died in the Senate. The House passed a bill that was amended by a Senate committee. The amended bill needed approval by the full Senate and then, per legislative procedure, by the House. But that didn’t happen, leaving supporters — who claimed the backing of 90 percent of Georgia’s Jewish population — upset.
“It was devastating to watch the Georgia Senate, for the second year in a row, ignore the cries of Georgia’s Jewish community for help amid escalating antisemitism,” Jewish Democratic Rep. Esther Panitch, a co-sponsor, told the AJT. “I thank the House, including Speaker [Jon] Burns, Majority Leader [Chuck] Efstration, and lead sponsor John Carson for understanding that a safe Jewish community is a safer Georgia — and I question the leadership of those who can’t or won’t see it.”
The IHRA definition reads: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The House bill included the language of the IHRA definition. The Senate’s version included only a reference to the definition, not its text.
The legislation would have made the IHRA definition the standard for determining whether antisemitism was the motive for an act of discrimination or a criminal offense. Supporters said that the definition would aid prosecutors as they considered whether to apply Georgia’s hate crimes law, with its enhanced sentencing for bias-related offenses.
The Georgia General Assembly returns to session on Jan. 8, 2024, where it will once again take up consideration of the antisemitism bill.
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