Following a wave of antisemitism flooding New York, Oklahoma Governor, Kevin Sitt, invited the Jewish community to settle in his state.
“The Jewish community is welcome in Oklahoma. When you think about the values of who we are as Oklahomans it matches with the Jewish community, family-focused, very faith-focused, entrepreneurial, hard-working,” Sitt declared
The 51-year-old governor added that “in New York some of the Jewish community are being persecuted and you’ve got the pro-Hamas and Palestinian protesters all over and we’re like, ‘man, that doesn’t happen in Oklahoma.’”
Only 4,425 Jews live in Oklahoma, comprising 0.1% of the population in the state.
Two years ago the Oklahoma Governor landed himself in hot water with Jewish groups in the state, when he said after his successful reelection that “he would claim “every square inch” of Oklahoma for Jesus.” However, according to the New York Post, he has changed his attitude toward the Jews.
Sitt visited Israel for the first time in November 2022 to show support for the war against Hamas, and said he considered “the security of the Jewish state to be non-negotiable,” and Biden’s support “a little squishy right now.”
Sitt added, “We need to support our allies; they’re the best democracy in the Middle East. They should absolutely eradicate Hamas out of Gaza. That’s all there is to it.”
Sitt’s father was a priest and he defines himself as an “Old Testament-loving Christian.” He reads the Bible and since 2023 has been keeping several Jewish commandments, which has become trendy among Evangelist Christians.
Sitt spoke about the Jewish Sabbath and said “Christians — we don’t do a good job of bringing the family together and really setting aside electronics and, and really focusing on the Sabbath. You know, one day a week, and I just think that’s something that we can learn a lot from the Jewish community.”