A new force has entered a simmering debate over legislation that would make antisemitism a hate crime in Georgia as state lawmakers prepare to return to the Capitol.
More than a dozen evangelical leaders signed a letter this week that urged state senators to adopt a measure that uses a definition of anti-Jewish hate crafted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
“We must each do our part to stem the rising tide of antisemitism sweeping across our country,” read the letter. “And as one cannot defeat that which they are unwilling to define, the IHRA definition is a vital tool in the effort to combat such bigotry.”
Its signatories include Pastor John Hagee of Christians United for Israel, Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Jentezen Franklin, the senior pastor of Free Chapel, the Gainesville megachurch.