{"id":169722,"date":"2022-03-29T09:55:33","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T13:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/?p=169722"},"modified":"2022-03-29T09:55:33","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T13:55:33","slug":"iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowa Governor Signs Antisemitism, Israel Boycott Bills"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds addresses the virtual Republican National Convention, on Aug. 25, 2020. (Photo courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images via JTA.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Andrew Lapin<\/p>\n

Iowa\u2019s governor signed bills into law this week codifying a definition of antisemitism for the state and restricting state business with companies that boycott Israel.<\/p>\n

One of the two bills\u00a0signed by Republican Kim Reynolds on Wednesday<\/a>\u00a0calls for the state to adopt the\u00a0International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance\u2019s definition of antisemitism<\/a>\u00a0in discrimination and anti-bias training.<\/p>\n

The other builds on an existing section of the state code that prohibited it from investing in \u201ccompanies that boycott Israel,\u201d by expanding the definition of a \u201ccompany\u201d to include subsidiaries and parent companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we express Iowa\u2019s enduring support for the State of Israel and our categorical rejection of anti-Semitism,\u201d Reynolds said in a statement. \u201cTogether, these bills send an important message: Iowa continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the State of Israel, one of America\u2019s most important and reliable allies while fighting all forms of religious and ethnic discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bills fall into two separate but related trends of legislation. The IHRA\u2019s 2016 working definition of antisemitism,\u00a0while controversial for including certain criticisms of Israel<\/a>, has also\u00a0been adopted by more than 800 entities worldwide<\/a>, including 200 just last year, according to a recent study by the\u00a0Combat Antisemitism Movement<\/a>\u00a0and Tel Aviv University. Its use in anti-bias training, as is proposed in the new Iowa law, has proven popular even as some Republicans are\u00a0seeking to outlaw anti-bias training altogether<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And state provisions on working with companies that \u201cboycott Israel,\u201d\u00a0passed in a flurry during the initial heyday of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement<\/a>, have reentered the spotlight since the ice cream company Ben & Jerry\u2019s\u00a0announced last year that it would no longer do business in \u201cOccupied Palestinian Territory.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Since that announcement, numerous states (including Colorado just this week<\/a>) have invoked their anti-boycott laws to divest public funds from Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Though Iowa\u00a0has already had such a provision on the books since 2016<\/a>, the specific description of which companies are now included under the law would likely make it easier for the state to inflict subsequent punishment on Unilever over the Ben & Jerry\u2019s controversy. The bill was first introduced last month.<\/p>\n

Reynolds was accompanied at the signing ceremony by Yinam Cohen, Israel\u2019s Consulate General to the Midwest.<\/p>\n

About 5,400 Jews live in Iowa, making up 0.2% of the state\u2019s population,\u00a0according to a 2020 study<\/a>\u00a0by Jewish demographers Ira M. Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iowa\u2019s governor signed bills into law this week codifying a definition of antisemitism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13297,"featured_media":169723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,10],"tags":[13193,10258],"section":[],"coauthors":[12308],"yoast_head":"\nIowa Governor Signs Antisemitism, Israel Boycott Bills - Jewish Exponent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iowa Governor Signs Antisemitism, Israel Boycott Bills - Jewish Exponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Iowa\u2019s governor signed bills into law this week codifying a definition of antisemitism.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jewish Exponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jewishexponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-29T13:55:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/3-25-22-iowa-2048x1138-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"445\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"JTA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jewishexponent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@jewishexponent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"JTA\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"JTA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cb0f703e468e172d7553b0448c58dbbd\"},\"headline\":\"Iowa Governor Signs Antisemitism, Israel Boycott Bills\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-29T13:55:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-29T13:55:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/\"},\"wordCount\":453,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/3-25-22-iowa-2048x1138-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Antisemitism\",\"BDS\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Headlines\",\"National\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/iowa-governor-signs-antisemitism-israel-boycott-bills\/\",\"name\":\"Iowa Governor Signs Antisemitism, Israel Boycott Bills - 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