Kemp condemns antisemitic flyers found in Atlanta suburbs

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) condemned antisemitic flyers found on residents’ driveways in Atlanta, Ga. suburbs over the weekend.

Residents of the Sandy Springs and Dunwoody neighborhoods, which are predominantly Jewish, found antisemitic flyers encased in plastic ziploc baggies on their driveways Sunday morning.

“This kind of hate has no place in our state and the individuals responsible do not share Georgia’s values,” Kemp wrote in a tweet on Sunday.

The governor added that state law enforcement is ready to assist the local police departments with their investigations into the matter. 

Both the Dunwoody and Sandy Springs police departments have said they are investigating the incidents, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

“We will always condemn acts of antisemitism,” Kemp concluded in his statement. 

Kemp was among a number of local officials and lawmakers who denounced the antisemitic act.

“Please be kind to each other and speak up for each other. I want to personally thank the neighbor who picked them up on my street – so if you know who it is please let me know,” former state Rep. Mike Wilensky (D), who lives in Dunwoody, said in a Facebook post.

The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism told the Journal-Constitution that the fliers were being distributed by antisemitic groups Goyim Defense League (GDL) and White Lives Matter, which it describes as racist networks focused on espousing hate in the Jewish community. 

“Welcome to being a Jew in Georgia-my driveway this morning,” wrote state Rep. Esther Panitch (D) on Twitter, along with photos of the flyers, which she said Sandy Springs police had taken for testing.

“Govern yourselves accordingly, GDL and Anti-Semites who seek to harm/intimidate Jews in Georgia. I’m coming for you with the weight of the State behind me,” she added.

The Atlanta metro area has seen a rapid rise in reported antisemitic incidents in the past year, the Journal reported. 

In response to the rise of antisemitic incidents, state lawmakers introduced legislation last month that would provide an official state definition of antisemitism and require state agencies “to consider such definition when determining whether an alleged act was motivated by discriminatory antisemitic intent.” 

Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch said in a statement. Sunday that “hateful, divisive, and anti-Semitic rhetoric” has no place in the community.

“We live, work, serve and play together,” she added. “At our Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, Jews, Christians, and Muslims worked together planting daffodils in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.”