State Sen. Sally Harrell (Dist. 40) last week spoke out against House Bill 30, also known as the antisemitism bill. Harrell represents a significant Jewish population as her district spans Dunwoody, Brookhaven, and Peachtree Corners.
Harrell addressed the Senate, saying she struggled with HB30 more than any other bill in her 12 years as a legislator.
“We will not eliminate hate until we learn to listen to one another,” Harrell told her fellow senators on Jan. 25.
“If we had two bills today – if we had this bill HB30 that defines antisemitism, and we also had a bill that defines Islamophobia – I would feel so much more at peace,” Harrell said.
When the vote was called Harrell did not vote either way, leaving some Jewish leaders and activists deflated. The bill passed the state senate 44-6 and the house 129-5, and was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp on Jan. 31.
“I’m terribly disappointed in the senator. I don’t understand what point she’s making,” said Dov Wilker, regional director of American Jewish Committee Atlanta.
Wilker said he met with Harrell prior to the vote.
“When we met, we discussed her perspective on the bill and how she was taking a much deeper look into it, and I totally respect that decision. But I was quite disappointed with her decision-making at the end of the day,” Wilker said.
In her speech to the Senate, Harrell recalled “nasty, ugly, mean, hateful flyers” distributed in the suburbs, and the story of IDF soldier Rose Lubin, who lost her life defending Israel.
“We grieved together as a body about that,” Harrell said.
She then described the pain she saw in Sen. Sheikh Rahman (Dist. 5), who received calls questioning his leadership because he is Muslim.
Harrell wasn’t the only one contrasting the antisemitism bill with a lack of legislation on Islamophobia.
Sen. Kim Jackson (Dist. 41) said, “I refuse to accept that Jewish people who oppose this bill who are somehow not Jewish, or less-than. I will be voting no on HB30 today, because I know what it is like to be a minority voice in a minority community.”
Jewish Voices for Peace in Atlanta has condemned HB30, saying the bill is an infringement of First Amendment rights.
Political activist Valerie Habif knows Harrell to be a “reliable friend to our Jewish community, and someone we have always been able to count on.”
“While we may disagree with her on the particular issue of HB30, as Democrats, we stand united in our fight against the damaging and divisive effects of hate and I know that Sen. Harrell is with us in this fight,” Habif said.
Habif told Rough Draft that “the brutality and barbarism of Oct. 7 reminds the Jewish community of the importance of support from our elected officials who have been with us at so many other difficult times.” She added that Harrell opposes antisemitism in all forms and from all sources.
“I believe there must be room in our hearts to support the record of allyship that Sen. Harrell has demonstrated that goes beyond any one single definition of antisemitism. The challenges before us are just too great,” Habif said.
Harrell said she will protect her Jewish friends.
“We need to ensure that Georgia’s hate crime law is utilized fully and effectively to fight antisemitism. HB30 is an attempt to define antisemitism for those who might not recognize it when they see it, yet the IHRA definition and its supporting examples were never intended to be codified into law,” Harrell wrote. “I particularly fear codifying the examples will lead to unintended consequences that could increase hostilities, which could in turn lead to increases in antisemitism.”
