Community:

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Rabbi and three others hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. In October 2018, 11 people were killed in a mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Months later, in April 2019, one person was killed and three injured by a shooter at Chabad of Poway Synagogue in San Diego, California.

An Anti-Defamation League audit recorded approximately 2,700 antisemitic incidents in 2021, the highest number on record since the league began tracking them in 1979.

Temple Emanu-El project volunteer Rich Lapin said he believes that Antisemitism is a community issue, not just a Jewish issue.

“The degree to which antisemitism is present becomes an indicator of the quality of life in a country and or community,” Lapin said.

Many speakers at the event shared the same sentiment. Several described the Jewish people as the “canaries in the coal mine” of a society. ADL Regional Director Eytan Davidson expressed the need to stand in solidarity with all marginalized people, including people of color and the LGBTQ+ community.

Georgia State House Rep. Long Tran called attention to the rhetoric of rightwing politicians as a likely contributing factor to increased hate speech, specifically referencing the “locker room talk” of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Davidson described the group who distributed the flyers as “loosely organized White supremacists hiding behind the first amendment.”

Besides containing antisemitic content, the flyers suggested that people who might take issue with them are un-American, rhetorically asking “You don’t support free speech?”

Dunwoody police chief Billy Grogan told WSBTV that those who distributed the flyers will not be charged because it is a free speech issue. Davidson assured the community that the ADL and law enforcement are keeping an eye on extremist groups.

Georgia House Bill 30

Rep. Panitch spoke about Georgia House Bill 30 at the event, explaining that it was introduced in 2022 and seeks to provide a legal definition and examples of antisemitism. Similar bills have received bipartisan support and have been adopted by several states. The bill, which survived the legislative “crossover day” to remain active for consideration, seeks to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of anti -