ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers are looking to put added antisemitism measures in place after Jewish hate flyers were dispersed in metro Atlanta driveways last month and a recent increase in discrimination reports in Jewish communities.

The proposed House Bill 30, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee Feb. 21, would adopt the internationally recognized definition for “antisemitism” as adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in May 2016.

IHRA defines antisemitism as “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.”

“It gives officials a standard definition of what antisemitism needs to be considered when they’re assessing the intent behind unlawful discriminatory actions or hate crimes,” said Mark Goldfeder, general counsel of Hillels of GA, a Jewish support group. “Incorporating this definition is necessary because today, anti-Semites have made horrific acts of discrimination against Jewish people and they hide behind the lack of a definition to avoid accountability.”

Goldfeder said HB 30 does not criminalize or limit antisemitism speech, but addresses discriminatory acts and hate crimes committed against Jewish people.

“HB 30 doesn’t even criminalize crimes against Jews. Those are already illegal,” he explained. “All it does is analyze the intent behind illegal discriminatory actions and in an allegation that the person who shows they’re a victim because of the anti-Jewish antisemitism, authorities consider the world’s most well accepted definition of antisemitism as the textual evidence of motive.”

Referencing the American Jewish Committee’s “State of Antisemitism in America 2022: Survey of American Jews,” state Rep. Esther Panitch (D-Sandy Springs), who is Jewish, citied statistics indicating the rise of antisemitism.

The survey indicated 23% of Jews surveyed avoided publicly wearing, carrying or displaying things; 16% avoided certain places, and 27% avoided posting online on social media. Nearly 73% of U.S. adults who know someone who is Jewish say antisemitism is a problem, and 52% of adults who know someone who’s Jewish say that antisemitism has increased in the last five years.

“There is no doubt antisemitism is on the rise,” said Panitch, a co-sponsor of HB 30. “We need every tool in our toolbox. To be clear, [HB 30] does not restrict speech. There is an ongoing campaign, a misinformation campaign, to say it violates free speech … The definition does not even come into play until there’s an unlawful act like unlawful discrimination or a crime has already been committed.”

Marietta state Rep. John Carson, a Republican, sponsored the bill to support and protects Jews in Georgia.

“I’m here because I believe that this is right, this is moral and this was just the right thing to do for people that are constantly being persecuted, even though they are a vast minority of the population,” he said. “They get huge amounts of persecution on religious and other grounds. It is important that we pass this bill, that we end the hate toward this community once and for all.”