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Both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly approved a bill on Thursday to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, a move warmly welcomed by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).
The H.B. 30 legislation — which can be read in full here — was passed by a 44-6 margin in the Senate and a 129-5 margin in the House of Representatives. The bill now goes to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who said he will sign it into law because it “builds on our commitment to protect Georgians from criminal acts, including those based on hate.”
Once the law is enacted, Georgia will be the 35th U.S. state to have adopted the IHRA antisemitism definition.
(A full CAM database on U.S. state adoptions is accessible here.)
CAM CEO Sacha Roytman stated, “The Combat Antisemitism Movement commends the Georgia House and Senate for adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. With antisemitism on the rise in the U.S., Georgia has joined 34 other states in equipping itself with the most effective tool to identify and address antisemitism and secure and nurture Jewish life. I also want to commend Georgia Governor Brian Kemp who has indicated he will quickly sign the bill into law. Today, Georgia takes an important step forward, and we urge other states who have not done so yet to take similar action.”
More than 1,200 entities worldwide have recognized the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism since 2016, establishing it as the most mainstream and commonly-accepted definition of Jew-hatred, in all its contemporary forms.
(Please read CAM’s 2023 IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism Adoptions & Endorsements Report, produced in collaboration with Tel Aviv University’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry, here).
The definition says, “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.”
Its accompanying list of examples details 11 specific discriminatory behaviors targeting Jews.
