Georgia leaders Sunday condemned the surprise attack on Israel by Palestinian militants from Gaza who launched thousands of rockets, killed hundreds, kidnapped civilians and soldiers and invaded Israeli towns and military bases.
Israeli forces fought to retake the area, as their jets bombed Gaza with hundreds reported dead in the 141-square-mile enclave.
In a wave of bipartisan support for Israel, Georgia officials emphasized the horror of the attacks by Hamas and Israel’s right to self-defense, but few mentioned the decades-long struggle over territory that has so frequently meant bloodshed on both sides of the conflict.
Gov. Brian Kemp, who led a state delegation to Israel in May, called the invasion an “egregious act of war upon one of our nation’s greatest allies” as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to inflict an “unprecedented price” on the Hamas terror group.
But while blaming Hamas for setting off the latest spate of violence, Rep. Hank Johnson expressed sympathy for the “innocent people of Israel and Gaza” and said there must be dialogue on the fundamental issues that fuel the conflict.
“For too long, the world has ignored the issue of a Palestinian homeland,” Johnson said. “Until this issue is resolved and justice allowed to reign, peace will continue to elude the world.”
Among Georgia’s roughly 10.7 million people, Jews are a small minority, about 141,000, most of them in metro Atlanta, according to an estimate by the Jewish Virtual Library.
The Atlanta Jewish Federation, which supports education and directs philanthropy to people in need, has called a rally “in solidarity” with Israel for Tuesday in Sandy Springs. On Monday evening, Chabad of Cobb is holding a service “of prayer and unity” at its Marietta location, according to Rabbi Ephraim Silverman.
Dov Wilker says the issue is personal, with family and friends living in Israel and serving in the military.
“My 7-year-old daughter was hearing me talk, the number of people massacred, and said, ‘Why do they hate us so much?’ said Wilker, who is regional director of the American Jewish Committee Atlanta. “That is devastating.”
The viciousness of this attack underscores the insecurities of people who have a long history of being targets, he said. “This has an impact, not just on Israel, but on Jewish people across the world. Here in America, too, we fear for our institutions and our safety.”
Many of Georgia’s Jewish residents reside in the northern Atlanta suburbs, a portion of which is represented in Congress by U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath. She condemned the “unprovoked terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, who has every right to defend herself from the violence being perpetrated against her.”
Palestinians in Georgia are an even smaller group, accounting for just a portion of the roughly 40,000 Arabs in the state, according to the Census Bureau. They too are worried for their families.
Ghada Elnajjar, the daughter of Palestinan refugees, lives in Alpharetta, but she spent summers in Gaza as a child, coming to the United States when she was 11. She has an uncle, several aunts and many cousins who still live in Gaza.
“This will change everything,’ said Elnajjar, 48. “It’s a devastating situation…My aunt is stuck in Gaza and she can’t see any solution.”
Her aunt is a retired schoolteacher, she said. “I can’t even imagine how scared she is.”
The first Palestinian-American elected official in Georgia said the Hamas invasion was not the first recent unjustified act of violence. Both sides have contributed to the awful cycle, said state Rep. Ruwa Romman.
“We absolutely can, and should, condemn violence and terror,” she said. “We should also condemn escalating settler violence and terror aimed at Palestinian business owners and farmers that has served as a rallying cry for this most recent escalation.”
Israel’s ties to Georgia are significant.
Among export markets for Georgia, the only Middle Eastern nation in last year’s top 10 is the United Arab Emirates, which bought about $1.1 billion in goods from the state according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
Israel is a relatively small trade partner with Georgia, as the state’s 34th largest export market. It would likely be little more than a blip on the political map if not for its cultural and religious importance and its high-tech economy, home to a thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurs bubbling with ambitions that stretch far beyond the region.
In the wake of the Hamas attacks and Israel’s counter-attacks, praise of Israel was bipartisan, focusing on Hamas.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, the first Jewish U.S. senator in Georgia history, slammed the “indiscriminate and murderous assault on our Israeli allies.”
Rep. Rick W. Allen, a Republican, called the attack an “act of pure evil” against America’s “strongest ally in the Middle East. Israel has every right to defend itself.”
Democratic state Rep. Esther Panitch, the lone Jewish member of the Georgia Legislature, said she backed Israel’s right to “take any action necessary in the face of this heinous terror.”
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns said he “witnessed the resilience and determination of the Jewish people” during his trip to Israel this year with the state delegation. “As with previous acts of violence against the nation, Israel will prevail. We stand with them today - and always.”
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, who chairs the Democratic Party of Georgia and recently returned from a trip to Israel with McBath, said she is “committed to Israel’s fundamental right to defend itself.”
Tia Mitchell contributed to this story.
Credit: Israel GPO/Kobi Gideon
Credit: Israel GPO/Kobi Gideon
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