Dr. Barry Zisholtz, who retired last year after 46 years as a urological surgeon and who is known more commonly as “Dr. Z.,” received a knock on his door in March. A woman he didn’t recognize told him that she needed the doctor’s help. He asked what the trouble was.
“Your house was redistricted,” the woman told him. “Do you know who your state House representative is?”
Zisholtz, who had planned to spend more time with his wife and their seven children, learned that Georgia’s 86th District was represented by Imani Barnes, who had been elected with some 90% of the vote in 2023 in what had been a solidly Democratic seat.
In December, Barnes was one of dozens of Democrats who abstained from a mostly bipartisan bill condemning Hamas. In January, she voted against a bipartisan bill, which defines antisemitism in state law and which passed both houses of Georgia’s legislature by wide margins. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law that month.
“Who is this person? What’s she about?” Zisholtz told JNS on the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition Summit in Las Vegas last week.
“She’s a very progressive Democrat, and she’s not a friend of Israel or the Jewish people,” he said.
The retired surgeon asked around to see who was running against Barnes in the district in DeKalb County, just outside Atlanta. He was told that nobody was.
With only three days until the filing deadline, Zisholtz threw his hat in the ring.
“This was not on the agenda,” he told JNS, of his late political foray.
All forms of hate
When he researched his opponent more, the retired doctor found that he disagreed with her on almost everything.
“I found she wants illegals to vote. Then I found she’s soft on crime. She’s pro-sanctuary cities,” he told JNS. “So there’s not one thing that I’m really in favor of that she supports, except I’m good with school lunches.”
Barnes told JNS that she has “always been a strong advocate for human rights and justice for all people, including the Jewish community.”
“My commitment to these principles is reflected in my legislative record and the work I do every day for the people of Georgia,” she said. “Regarding the vote on the bill to designate antisemitism as a hate crime, I voted against it because Georgia already has a comprehensive hate crime law that covers crimes motivated by bias, including antisemitic actions.”
“I believe that all forms of hate and discrimination should be addressed under one robust framework, ensuring equal protection for all,” she said. “It is overly simplistic to define my stance on Israel or my relationship with the Jewish community based on one vote. I have consistently chosen the side of humanity, justice and equality.”
She added that her “record and actions speak to my unwavering support for people and all communities striving for peace, dignity and fairness.”
Kitchen-table issues
An Orthodox Jew, who has served on the boards of several Atlanta-area Jewish institutions, Zisholtz knows that Israel and Gaza are not top of mind for most voters in his district.
His campaign platform includes “denouncing all bigotry and racism, including antisemitism” and “calling all terrorists, including Hamas, pure evil in no uncertain terms,” but all are further down the pecking order from kitchen-table issues, like affordable health care, lower prescription drug prices and providing school choice and improved math and reading scores.
Zisholtz, who told JNS that he has knocked on some 9,000 doors, acknowledged that the race is an uphill battle.
“When I started, it looked very difficult, but I had three goals in mind. Number one is to win. Number two is to get the word out that it’s OK to fight back. And number three is to expose the individual for what she did,” Zisholtz said, of Barnes.
The retired doctor figures he has accomplished the second and third goals, and if he can pull off the first one, too, he told JNS that he will donate half of his salary to the local police and the other half to area schools.
“I’m not looking at this for a job,” he insisted.
Zisholtz told JNS that he is one of seven Republicans, who have stepped up to run against otherwise-unopposed House Democrats. “Because we stand for reason,” he said.
On May 21, Barnes won the Democratic primary unopposed, with 4,881 votes. Zisholtz secured all 428 votes in the Republican primary.
