President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his secretary of Homeland Security, at a time in which the department is playing a critical role in efforts to protect the Jewish community in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security oversees the U.S. borders and immigration policy, which is likely to be Noem’s main focus in the role, given Trump’s prioritizing of the issue. 

But programs such as the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, other efforts to protect Jewish institutions and communities, operations to address domestic and foreign terrorism on U.S. soil and the agency responsible for protecting U.S. critical infrastructure and cyber networks all fall under the DHS’ supervision, giving Noem broad responsibility over programs touching on both antisemitism and homeland threats from Iran and other terrorist actors.

Noem has touted her work to fight antisemitism in South Dakota, which is believed to have the country’s smallest Jewish community, with just one full-time rabbi. In March, she touted a bill to combat antisemitism, codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law.

In remarks at a signing ceremony for that bill, Noem said that her staff had worked hard to get the bill right, and described it as a potential model for other states. A majority of states have signed IHRA codification legislation into law.

“The language that we have in this bill needs to be able to be used in courts and in litigation and to protect people and stop hate in this country against our Jewish community members, so it was important to get it right,” Noem said.

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), who has had strong relationships with national Jewish groups, said that Noem will be “remarkable in combating antisemitism. She’s a true believer in the cause.”

He said Noem has a “long track record,” including her time in Congress, “of understanding the evil that is antisemitism, as well as the critical importance of the bilateral relationship between Israel and the United States.”

How much focus antisemitism will receive, if the department’s energies and funding are directed largely toward the border remains an open question.

In one potential warning sign, funding increases for the NSGP have been difficult to come by in recent years from Congress in light of increased resource demands at the southern border. Earlier this year, the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee proposed providing $305 million for the program in 2025 — the same level as was provided 2023, despite a massive increase in antisemitism since Oct. 7.

Johnson said that Noem, as governor, has shown to be an effective manager of various issues and priorities, arguing that DHS’ anticipated focus on border security won’t prevent her from giving proper attention to antisemitism.

Stephen and Carol Rosenthal, leaders in South Dakota’s small Jewish community, have known Noem for years, since early in her time in Congress, and have had “nothing but fantastic relationships with her,” Stephen Rosenthal told JI.

He said that Noem’s “love for the Jewish people comes from her childhood,” when her family would pray for Israel and the Jewish people. He praised her work on the IHRA legislation, as well as an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions executive order and an anti-Iran bill.

“She’s always been concerned about any acts of antisemitism in our state, that it has no place here,” Carol Rosenthal added. For instance, a neo-Nazi group protested in the state this year against the IHRA bill; the Rosenthals said that Noem condemned the incident and ensured that police responded promptly.

Jacob Forstein, the president of the reform Mt. Zion Congregation in Sioux Falls, said that Noem has “always had the viewpoint that there’s no reason for antisemitic statements or individuals to be in our state. She’s made that point very clear.”

He urged her to continue to fight hate against not only the Jewish community, but every group, in her expanded role.

Mt. Zion received a federal security grant years ago, and Forstein noted that the application process has become much more cumbersome in the ensuing years; he urged Noem to try to cut down on the red tape for that program so that small nonprofits without grant-writing staff are able to apply and worship safely.

Mark Goldfeder, the director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, which worked with Noem on the IHRA bill, said he’s “thrilled with her appointment.”

“She has been an absolute friend and ally to the Jewish community,” Goldfeder said. “I think she’s going to bring wisdom, experience and know-how to that position.”

He said he’d heard from the local Chabad rabbi that Noem had worked to ensure that Jewish institutions “always have what they needed in terms of protection, in terms of additional security they might need.”