Georgia’s sole Jewish legislator targeted with antisemitic postcard prior to bill signing
State Rep. Esther Panitch was the lead sponsor of a bill to codify the state’s definition of antisemitism
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signs antisemitism-related bill sponsored by State Rep. Esther Panitch on Jan. 31. Photo by IAC For Action
By Jacob Kornbluh January 31, 2024
Esther Panitch, the lone Jewish member of the Georgia state legislature, was sent an antisemitic postcard on the eve of the signing ceremony for a bill she sponsored to sharpen the state’s definition of antisemitism.
Panitch, 52, said she discovered the threatening postcard in her mailbox on Wednesday and that it contained explicit antisemitic slurs, including a reference to “gassing the Jews.” She declined to disclose further details about the postcard, which she said she had turned over to law enforcement authorities for investigation.
Atlanta News First was the first to report on the postcard Wednesday afternoon.
In an interview, Panitch said this was not the first time she faced hostility for being Jewish. Last February, she and other Jewish residents of the Sandy Springs and Dunwoody neighborhoods in the northern suburb of Atlanta found antisemitic flyers in plastic bags scattered on their driveways, apparently the work of the Goyim Defense League. Panitch has grown accustomed to being harassed and attacked on social media related to her identity.
But this was different, Panitch said, because it was more personal and direct.
“Somebody invaded my home, even if you didn’t physically walk in,” she explained. “This has my name and my address on it. It was put through the mail. So this was obviously intended for me to see.”
The postcard arrived the day before Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, was expected to sign into law a bill that would make Georgia the 11th state to officially adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism for prosecution of anti-Jewish bias and discrimination claims. An additional 23 states have endorsed the definition through legislative resolutions or executive proclamations. Critics, including some on the Jewish left, say this definition stifles legitimate criticism of Israel.
The bill was the subject of legislative jockeying but passed Georgia’s House and Senate last week.
Panitch, a Democrat first elected in 2022, said the turning point was the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent rise in antisemitic incidents across the U.S. “The whole world could see what Jews were being subjected to in the name of anti-Zionism,” she said. “But if it was just anti-Zionism, antisemitism wouldn’t skyrocket.”
Panitch said she had not planned to publicize the postcard, wanting to spare her family from additional worry, and out of concern it could overshadow the celebration of the bill’s passage. But she said a reporter from the Atlanta news site was at the office when she handed it over to the detective.
“I’m confident that law enforcement takes this seriously and will do whatever the law allows them to do,” Panitch said.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
