ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed off on a bill defining antisemitism for the first time in state law on Wednesday.
The bill, HB 30, passed last Thursday after being sent to the Georgia House for minor changes.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp joined the General Assembly congress members and community leaders for a signing ceremony of the bill. You can watch Kemp's remarks after the signing in the video player above and on 11Alive's YouTube Channel.
In at least eight states across the country, lawmakers are working on similar measures. A previous version stalled last year after a debate over its wording.
The pressure to act has grown with strong Republican support for Israel in its war with Hamas. A group of prominent evangelical Christians, including Pastor John Hagee of Christians United for Israel, Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and Jentezen Franklin of megachurch Free Chapel, wrote to Georgia lawmakers in December urging them to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition.
The bill states: "'Definition of antisemitism' has the same meaning as provided for in the working definition of antisemitism and the contemporary examples of antisemitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) on May 26, 2016, and incorporated by reference in Presidential Executive Order Number 13899, 84 F.R. 68779 December 11, 2019."
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