Criticism grows of Jon Ossoff's vote to restrict ammunition for Israel

Today’s newsletter highlights include:

Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson dies.
State senator ponders women’s sports.
President Joe Biden signs U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter’s bill.

Anat Sultan-Dadon has become one of the most respected diplomats in Atlanta since she was appointed Israel’s consul general in 2019. She’s worked to cultivate relationships across the party spectrum, forging bonds with both senior Republicans and Democrats.

So her statement this weekend criticizing U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff — Georgia’s first Jewish U.S. senator — over his vote on doomed efforts to restrict ammunition sales to Israel packed an extra punch.

“Expressing your criticism of Israel — an allied democracy — by voting against it on a core national security interest during an existential war, is deeply concerning,” Sultan-Dadon wrote, adding that defeating Israel’s enemies should be a “shared imperative for the entire free world.”

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

For Ossoff, a first-term Democrat up for reelection in 2026, the critique is only the latest backlash to his vote. Roughly 50 of Georgia’s most prominent Jewish organizations penned an open letter last week assailing his support for the failed measures that had been sponsored by independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. More than a dozen Senate Democrats also voted for them, including Raphael Warnock of Georgia.

“We all want this war to end,” read the letter, which was also addressed to Warnock. “Limiting Israel’s ability to vanquish enemies that seek not only its defeat but destruction will prevent that from happening.”

State Rep. Esther Panitch, the lone Jewish member of the state Legislature and a fellow Democrat, cast Ossoff as a “disappointment” and amplified social media calls urging donors to withhold their support.

Israel has long been one of the United States’ strongest and most important allies. Yet its war with Hamas has become a flashpoint in U.S. politics, especially on the left. Last week, the world’s top war-crimes court accused three people — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif — of crimes against humanity. (Israel says Deif is dead, but Hamas had not confirmed that.)

Ossoff’s staff has pointed to the floor speech he gave last week that invoked Republican President Ronald Reagan’s decision to block the sale of cluster-type artillery shells to Israel in 1982 to protect innocent lives.

“And Israel, faced by President Reagan’s ultimatum, adjusted its policy to accommodate America’s demand. The United States remained Israel’s closest ally, and the world kept turning,” Ossoff said.

He noted Reagan’s decision is “not a perfect mirror image” of Israel’s plight now, and said the U.S. support for Israel is “rock solid.”

“Had these resolutions passed, however, perhaps Israeli politicians would have received the necessary message that has so far been disregarded, which is, ‘Yes, defend yourself. Yes, defeat your enemies,’ but have mercy for the innocent, restrain your own extremists and respect the interests of the United States,” Ossoff said.

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Credit: Russ Bynum/AP

GOOD MORNING. The Georgia legislative session begins in 49 days. Here are three things to know for today:

Georgia Democrats are planning their strategy to oppose President-elect Donald Trump during his second term, Greg Bluestein reports.
Georgia has nearly $16.5 billion in its savings accounts, enough to pay for nearly half a year’s state spending, the AJC’s David Wickert reports.
State officials certified Georgia’s election results on Friday. Next up: electors for Trump will meet at the state Capitol on Dec. 17 to formally cast their votes, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.

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Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC

SAD NEWS. Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer, state officials announced Sunday night. He was 59.

Thompson, a Republican, was elected to the statewide post in 2022 after spending a decade in the Georgia Senate. His death prompted an outpouring of memories and condolences to social media. That included Gov. Brian Kemp, who said he was “inspired by the strength and courage he showed over the past year in his fight against cancer.”

“That bravery and determination, along with his impact on others, will not be forgotten,” Kemp said.

The governor will appoint someone to serve the remainder of Thompson’s four-year term, which ends in January 2027.

Kemp has already made several other statewide appointments. He tapped Kelly Loeffler to a U.S. Senate seat and John King to the insurance commissioner post in 2019. And he picked Fitz Johnson to fill an open Public Service Commission slot in 2021.

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

LOEFFLER LEFT OUT? For a few hours over the weekend, it seemed like former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler was poised to run the federal Agriculture Department.

CNN and several other national outlets reported Friday that President-elect Donald Trump would tap the Georgian to join his Cabinet and lead the sprawling agency. Back home, Loeffler’s allies were also celebrating her ascension to Trump’s inner circle.

Turned out it was premature. Trump said Saturday he would nominate Brooke Rollins, a conservative activist and his former domestic policy adviser, for the job.

We aren’t quite sure what happened, but we heard at least five different theories. There’s also buzz that Loeffler could wind up in another White House role, though Rollins’ appointment means the Cabinet is full.

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

HOMEWORK. We know how state Sen. Greg Dolezal will be spending the Thanksgiving break.

The Cumming Republican will be preparing perhaps the most anticipated report from the Legislature’s offseason: recommendations on what to do about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

Two years ago, lawmakers deferred that decision to the Georgia High School Association, which promptly voted to require athletes to compete based on their gender assigned at birth.

Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones wants to revisit that. Coincidentally, he also is expected to run for governor. Jones appointed a special committee to study the issue and made Dolezal the chair.

At a hearing last week, transgender activists and allies had their say. Their message was to leave transgender athletes alone, per the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu.

Sasha Buchert, a transgender woman and an attorney with Lambda Legal, said trans kids make up about 1.4% of the population. Kim Siders, parent of a 13-year-old transgender child, said the vast majority of kids who play sports do it just for fun.

“This is a problem that doesn’t exist here,” she said. “You’re hurting these transgender kids, and I think it’s politically motivated.”

Republican lawmakers appeared unmoved. They pointed to an incident in 2022 when a transgender woman competed in the NCAA swimming championships at Georgia Tech, which included sharing a locker room with other competitors.

“The law is currently silent on the collegiate competition level,” Dolezal said.

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

INEVITABLE TEACHER. Incoming state Rep.-elect Bryce Berry’s political life is framed by violence — specifically, two shootings.

The first was the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb near his hometown of St. Louis. Berry was 13 at the time, and the killing got him involved in political organizing.

The second was last year when, as a middle school math teacher in Atlanta, one of Berry’s students witnessed his father being shot. Berry was surprised to hear the student call it “a normal thing.”

“For him to think that’s a normal thing is not a normal thing,” Berry said. “That’s why I got into the race.”

Berry is one of 22 new members of the Georgia General Assembly. He defeated state Rep. Mesha Mainor, whose switch to the Republican Party last year made it impossible for her to win reelection in the heavily Democratic House District 56.

Berry came to Atlanta as a student at Morehouse College. His mother was a teacher. So was his grandmother. But Berry majored in economics.

“I never wanted to teach, I never saw myself teaching and, of course, I ended up teaching,” he said.

Not surprisingly, he says public education will be his top issue in the Legislature. He wants to amend a new law passed last year that lets public money go to private schools in a way that he says would “make outcomes better for our students.” But he knows that will be difficult in a Republican-controlled Legislature.

“I understand we don’t have the votes to do all of the big ideas that I want to do,” he said. “I’m a progressive … . But I’m a realist as well.”

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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC

LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” former Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens and outgoing DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond join the show.

Be sure to download the AJC’s Politically Georgia podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EDT on 90.1 FM WABE. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.

On Friday’s show, Democratic state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver discussed President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet selections. And Dr. Mark Rosenberg, a veteran of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, talked about what health care and Medicaid might look like under Trump.

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TRUMP’S TEAM. President-elect Donald Trump has selected Dr. Dave Weldon, a former congressman from Florida, to head the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Weldon’s nomination was among several announced over the weekend as Trump finalized his Cabinet picks.

The Associated Press reports Weldon’s voting record in Congress suggests he might support downsizing the CDC, including getting rid of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control that works on issues like drownings, drug overdoses and shooting deaths.

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Credit: Susan Walsh/AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

President Joe Biden will pardon the national turkeys, Peach and Blossom, at the White House’s annual Thanksgiving event. Later, the president will travel to New York to serve at a community Friendsgiving dinner.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is on the final day of her vacation in Hawaii, has no public events.
The House and Senate are out of session.

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Credit: Adam Van Brimmer/AJC

BILL SIGNING. President Joe Biden last week signed a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, that reauthorizes a program to study the root causes of heart disease.

The Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2024 was sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers that includes Carter among three others in the House and two in the Senate.

The law requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to collect data and create educational campaigns focused not only on identifying the causes of heart disease but also to identify innovative treatments and helping people deal with the effects of heart conditions.

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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthday:

Jere Morehead, president, University of Georgia.

Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.

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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.

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