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Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Virginia is prepared to keep Jewish people safe as ongoing violence continues in Israel.
“Any act of anti-Semitism, any act of hate, directed towards any Virginian is immediately condemned,” he said following a conversation at the Jewish Community Center in Virginia Beach.
Israel declared war on Hamas, a pro-Palestinian miltant group considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. The declaration happened over the weekend after the group attacked the country.
More than one thousand people, including several Americans, were killed during the Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent airstrikes. Dozens of Americans are still unaccounted for or being held as hostages by Hamas.
“We stand with Israel and it’s a bond that should never, ever, ever be questioned,” Youngkin said.
Youngkin said law enforcement at all levels have been coordinating to curb any violence at synagogues and mosques, where Muslim people worship. Many Palestinians are Muslim.
Rabbi Israel Zoberman was one of the leaders Youngkin spoke to. He echoed the governor’s words on protecting Muslims as well as Jewish people.
“We come from the same part of the world, from the tent of Abraham and Sarah,” he said. “Let peace begin now.”
Zoberman said he felt heartened by the conversation with Youngkin.
“The governor understands us, not just intellectually, but also emotionally. And he will do whatever he can to curb the rise of antisemitism,” he said.
In May, Youngkin signed a bill formally defining antisemitism for use in law enforcement and educators’ training.
They consider Holocaust denial antisemitic, holding individual Jewish people responsible for Israel's actions, or conspiracies that say Jewish people control worldwide systems, like media or the economy.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares also started a new antisemitism task force earlier this year.
Virginia also has the Israel Advisory Board, a group formed in the mid-1990s to help Israeli businesses open operations in the state or help Virginia businesses expand into Israel.
The board’s been successful in bringing a number of businesses to the state, including ZIM Integrated Shipping, based in Norfolk, and Oran Safety Glass in Emporia.
