Jewish American Heritage Month

2025-2026 Bill 5591: Jewish American Heritage Month - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5591
STATUS INFORMATION
House Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. Bernstein, Alexander, Anderson, Atkinson, Bailey, Ballentine, Bamberg, Bannister, Bauer, Beach, Bowers, Bradley, Brewer, Brittain, Burns, Bustos, Calhoon, Caskey, Chapman, Chumley, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Collins, Cox, Crawford, Cromer, Davis, Dillard, Duncan, Edgerton, Erickson, Ford, Forrest, Frank, Gagnon, Garvin, Gatch, Gibson, Gilliam, Gilliard, Gilreath, Govan, Grant, Guest, Guffey, Haddon, Hager, Hardee, Harris, Hart, Hartnett, Hartz, Hayes, Henderson-Myers, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott, Hixon, Holman, Hosey, Howard, Huff, J.E. Johnson, J.L. Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Kilmartin, King, Kirby, Landing, Lastinger, Lawson, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Luck, Magnuson, Martin, McCabe, McCravy, McDaniel, McGinnis, C. Mitchell, D. Mitchell, Montgomery, J. Moore, T. Moore, Morgan, Moss, Neese, B. Newton, W. Newton, Oremus, Pace, Pedalino, Pope, Rankin, Reese, Rivers, Robbins, Rose, Rutherford, Sanders, Schuessler, Scott, Sessions, G.M. Smith, M.M. Smith, Spann-Wilder, Stavrinakis, Taylor, Teeple, Terribile, Vaughan, Waters, Weeks, Wetmore, White, Whitmire, Wickensimer, Williams, Willis, Wooten and Yow
Document Path: LC-0426HDB-GM26.docx
Introduced in the House on April 28, 2026
Adopted by the House on April 28, 2026
Summary: Jewish American Heritage Month
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

4/28/2026

House

Introduced and adopted (
House Journal-page 9
)

View the latest
legislative information
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VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
04/28/2026

A
house
RESOLUTION

TO
DECLARE THE MONTH OF MAY 2026 AS "JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH" IN SOUTH
CAROLINA AND TO CALL UPON ALL CITIZENS TO COMMEMORATE THIS OCCASION BY
APPROPRIATELY CELEBRATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT THE JEWISH COMMUNITY'S
HISTORY, HERITAGE, AND CULTURE HAVE MADE TO THIS NATION AND TO THE STATE OF
SOUTH CAROLINA.

W
hereas, Jewish immigrants to America, ever since their first arrival
to our shores in the seventeenth century, have played a central role in the
creation, growth, freedom, prosperity, and strength of the United States of
America; and

W
hereas, the biblical and contemporary history of the Jewish people
and the enduring values of the Jewish faith were vital sources of inspiration
for the founding of the United States, the Civil Rights movement, America's
global leadership in the cause of freedom, Americans' commitment to social
justice, and many of our nation's most central tenets; and

W
hereas, South Carolina boasts one of the earliest Jewish
congregations in the South, with Jews first settling in the port city of
Charleston in the late seventeenth century. Charleston emerged as one of the
leading centers of American Jewish life during the nineteenth century, and for
the first two decades of the twentieth century, the city was home to the
largest Jewish community in the United States; and

W
hereas, Jewish Americans have made significant contributions to the
arts, entertainment, science and technology, government, business, culinary
traditions, and other fields in the United States. Jewish Americans have played
an important role in shaping American culture; and

W
hereas, for forty-three years, every President of the United States
has declared a period of time for celebrating the contributions to the United
States of the Jewish community's history, heritage, and culture, and since
2006, the month of May has been presidentially declared to be Jewish American
Heritage Month, pursuant to a bipartisan resolution of the United States
Congress; and

W
hereas, incidents of antisemitic violence and rhetoric are still
prevalent in the nation and in South Carolina, and educational initiatives are
critical in order to combat bigotry; and

W
hereas, it is appropriate to acknowledge and promote awareness of
the myriad invaluable contributions of Jewish Americans in South Carolina and
across the United States and to extend to them the respect and camaraderie
every American deserves. Now, therefore,

B
e it resolved by the
House of
Representatives
:

T
hat the members of the South Carolina
House
of Representatives
, by this resolution, declare the month of May 2026 as
"Jewish American Heritage Month" in South Carolina and call upon all citizens
to commemorate this occasion by appropriately celebrating the contributions
that the Jewish community's history, heritage, and culture have made to this
nation and to the State of South Carolina.

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This web page was last updated on April 28, 2026 at 12:43 PM