SD Gov. Kristi Noem Signs ‘Strongest’ Hate Crime Bill in America to ‘Stop Antisemitism’

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Chris Menahan

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) on Thursday boasted that she signed the “strongest” hate crime bill in America into law to “stop antisemitism” and “ensure the security of God’s chosen people.”

South Dakota has passed legislation to stop antisemitism. This will be model legislation that other states can implement to stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters and stand with our ally Israel. pic.twitter.com/DnQJNvls56

— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) March 8, 2024

Noem said in a press release after signing the bill that South Dakota is giving Jews additional special privileges under their anti-discrimination laws because they are “God’s chosen people.”

Noem’s full statement:

Ensuring the Security of God’s Chosen People

By: Governor Kristi Noem

March 8, 2024

When I was growing up, my dad would always gather our family together and we would pray for Israel. It was instilled in me from a very young age that the Jews were Gods [sic] chosen people, that Israel was the Holy Land, and that we should always pray for them.

I brought those fundamental ideals with me when I was in the State Legislature, when I served in Congress, and now as Governor of South Dakota. Supporting the State of Israel and our Jewish community has always been extremely important to me. It’s important to support Israel for spiritual, historical, and national security reasons. I am continuing to stand with the Jewish people by signing historic legislation to protect them from antisemitism.

I was shocked and devastated to see the horrific terrorist attacks on the State of Israel on October 7th, 2023. And I have continued to be heartbroken to see radical individuals in the United States of America standing with Hamas – standing with terrorists. Ever since October 7th, we have seen a shocking spike in antisemitic acts of hatred around the world. We have even seen isolated incidents right here in South Dakota.

No one should ever feel concerned for their safety when going to school, when going to work, when they are just trying to live their normal lives. But that is the reality for so many Jewish people across America right now. We see antisemitism on college campuses, among high school students, and even as young as middle and elementary school students. That is unacceptable.

I was very proud to sign HB 1076, a very important bill to combat antisemitism. This bill defines antisemitism and makes it easier to prove when discriminatory conduct is motivated by antisemitism. It is an impactful piece of legislation that will ensure the safety of Jewish people and strengthen South Dakota’s anti-discrimination laws.

We held a beautiful, moving signing ceremony for this bill in the Rotunda of our State Capitol in Pierre. Many prominent Jewish leaders attended, including Elan Carr, the CEO of the Israeli-American Council for Action, nationally renowned Jewish leader and founder of the Jacobson Society Dan Rosen, Rabbi and Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Rabbi Mendel Alperowitz of the Chabad Jewish Center of South Dakota, Renie Schreiber on behalf of Yinam Cohen, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, and Jordan Cope from Stand With Us. A few of our special guests said some words about the impact this legislation will have for the Jewish people. You can view footage of the full bill signing ceremony here.

There are a few other people to thank for their efforts in getting this bill passed and signed into law, including Representative Mike Stevens, Representative Rebecca Reimer, Dan Lederman, and Stephen Rosenthal.

The prime sponsors of this bill, Representative Deutsch and Senator Mehlhaff, put in a lot of hard work with my office and with members of the Jewish community to make sure this is the best bill possible to stop antisemitism and hate. This bill puts the gold standard International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism into state law.

I hope that more states across our great nation will follow this example that we are setting here in South Dakota. It is more important now than ever for our nation’s leaders to stand up and fight against antisemitism. We must always work to ensure the security of God’s chosen people.

No doubt the Anti-Defamation League, who sued the city of Bladensburg, Maryland a few years ago to have a 100-year-old memorial cross for WWI veterans torn down in the name of “separation of church and state,” will also be suing to stop this law that was passed only to protect “God’s chosen people!”

No doubt that lawsuit will be coming any day now (*crickets*)!

The IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism is completely antithetical to the First Amendment.

The IHRA defines anti-Semitism as:

– Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.

– Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.

– Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).

– Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.

– Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.

– Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.

– Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.

– Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.

– Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

– Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

No other ethnic or religious group in America is afforded any such privileges.

The GOP and Kristi Noem have been running on fighting “wokeness” and “safe spaces” but they’ve all transformed into woke SJWs demanding safe spaces and passing hate speech laws in the name of protecting “God’s chosen people” and Israel.

As I reported last week, the Jerusalem Post ran a column calling for “antisemitism” to be “criminalized” worldwide in order to stop criticism of Israel amid their genocidal ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza.

“Given the large-scale resurgence of international antisemitism today, it is now essential to universally criminalize antisemitism,” said the head of the international law program at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Alan Baker. “This must be done despite anticipated negative reactions by Muslim groups and despite the apathetic and misplaced sense of political correctness that is most prevalent in Europe and North America.”

As I noted last week, this global push to outlaw antisemitism makes it abundantly clear that all those laws states like Georgia, Florida, South Dakota and others are passing to “define antisemitism” are in fact aimed at making it illegal to criticize Jewish people and Israel — First Amendment be damned.

Leaked documents from the Anti-Defamation League obtained by the Jewish Daily Forward in 2018 revealed that even the ADL recognized that “anti-BDS” laws making it illegal to boycott Israel were clearly unconstitutional.

They warned that such laws (as Noem passed in South Dakota) would be “harmful to the Jewish community” as they would give “the appearance that the Jewish community exercises undue influence in government.”

Though the ADL had privately warned against said anti-BDS laws, other Jewish groups forged ahead with them and the ADL not only got on board with the anti-BDS effort but became an enthusiastic supporter.

Anti-BDS laws have since been passed in 38 states.

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