The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘No place for hate,’ Kemp says, signing antisemitism law
Gov. Brian Kemp said “there is no place for hate in this great state” as he signed into law protections against antisemitism as part of the state’s law targeting crimes rooted in bias and bigotry.
“Acts of hatred have taken on many forms, including harassment, intimidation and unfortunately, violence. Georgia has not been immune to that horrible reality,” Kemp said. “In Georgia, we stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters.”
House Bill 30 makes antisemitism a part of Georgia’s hate crimes statute, which now will allow harsher criminal penalties against people who target victims because they’re Jewish.
The hate crimes law already covers crimes based on religion and race, but it didn’t specify antisemitism, a broader category of bias against Jewish people.
Antisemitic speech would continue to be protected by the First
Amendment. But a judge could impose additional penalties under the state’s hate crimes act if an underlying crime, such as assault, is found to be motivated by antisemitism.
Hate crimes come with an additional six to 12 months of incarceration for misdemeanors and at least two years in prison for felonies.
The antisemitism bill stalled last year but became a priority for Georgia’s elected leaders after the Israel-Hamas war erupted Oct. 7, with supporters citing an increase in hate speech against Jewish people.
Antisemitic incidents were already on the rise before the war, when hate groups repeatedly distributed flyers smearing Jewish people in several neighborhoods and a group hung a Jewish figure in effigy last summer outside a Macon synagogue.