The home of Georgia’s only Jewish state legislator has been the target of a continuing wave of anti-Semitic posters that have been circulating in suburban Atlanta.
New Democratic state Rep. Esther Panitch of Sandy Springs denounced the signs in the House of Representatives on Monday, surrounded by hundreds of colleagues who shared her outrage.
Over the past weekend, “it was my turn to be the target,” Panitch said. Fearing for one’s safety as a Jew in the United States is, unfortunately, nothing new.
The signs, sealed in plastic bags and loaded with corn kernels, appeared at the entrances to Sandy Springs and Dunwoody on Sunday. Police at both locations have confirmed that they are investigating the matter.
Similar pamphlets have recently been discovered in several Georgia cities, including Acworth, Cartersville, Columbus and Kennesaw, as well as in other US states.
Panitch promised to take decisive action. House Bill 30, which she has supported, would make Georgia law the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s “working definition of anti-Semitism.” Simply put, it is defined as acts of verbal or physical violence directed once morest Jews. However, “a criticism of Israel similar to that made once morest any other country cannot be construed as anti-Semitic”, which is why the “attack on the State of Israel” is included.
A harsher penalty for anti-Semitic offenses under Georgia’s hate crimes law might result from such a designation beginning in 2020. In the eyes of supporters of the movement, law enforcement responses to anti-Semitic incidents are, too often weak.
“Please, we must listen to the communities to find the solutions they need,” Panitch said. “Don’t dismiss them. Don’t tell them it doesn’t matter or that it’s not necessary. listen to them. We need your help. We’ve had enough. We hope you do too.”
There is no evidence that Panitch was specifically targeted or that the pamphlets had anything to do with the proposed law. There is a Jewish community center not far from one of the neighborhoods attacked.
The pamphlets sparked widespread outrage, with even Georgia Governor Brian Kemp condemning them. The Republican added that state investigators would assist local police if necessary.
Kemp noted Sunday that “this kind of bigotry has no place in our state” and that the perpetrators “do not share Georgia’s beliefs.”
Jewish factory manager Leo Frank, convicted of the murder of a 13-year-old girl who worked at an Atlanta plant, was featured in a brochure distributed by the Goyim Defense League. After reviewing the evidence, investigators conclude that Frank’s conviction was wrongful. After a Georgia governor commuted Frank’s death sentence to life in prison, he was kidnapped from the center and lynched in Marietta in 1915.
Panitch stated that she and her family have experienced anti-Semitic acts in the past, including the drawing of swastikas in her daughter’s bedroom at the University of Georgia and the projection of anti-Semitic messages at last year’s Georgia-Florida football game. , which was attended by two of Panitch’s sons.
I feel frustrated because I know that the thing will not end there. Panitch commented: “There are still Jews injured and dead.”
