Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish spouse of an American president or vice president, is scheduled to lead a White House roundtable on Wednesday about the rise of antisemitism in the U.S.
The roundtable comes amid increasing reports of antisemitic incidents throughout the country. The Anti-Defamation League reported 2,717 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in 2021, a record high since the organization began tracking in 1979 and a 34% increase over 2020.
Antisemitic rhetoric in recent weeks from rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and Kyrie Irving of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, have been most notable. Ye went on Infowars host Alex Jones’ show last week and attacked Jews while showing appreciation for Nazis and Adolf Hitler. Irving last month tweeted a link to an antisemitic movie and was suspended eight games for refusing to apologize and condemning antisemitism, and Nike on Monday severed ties with the athlete.
And former President Donald Trump was criticized for having Ye and noted white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The second gentleman will be joined at the roundtable by White House Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice; Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism; and Keisha Lance Bottoms, senior adviser to the president for public engagement. The gathering will also include 13 Jewish groups, including the ADL, the American Jewish Congress and Jewish on Campus, according to CNN.
The Jewish Insider reported, according to an invitation it received from White House Jewish community liaison Shelley Greenspan, the agenda includes a discussion of the Biden administration’s work on antisemitism and how it can work with Jewish organizations to fight the rise in the U.S.
In a tweet, the ADL said, “We welcome the @WhiteHouse’s decision to convene this much-needed roundtable to address rising #antisemitism. Now is the time for a national strategy to tackle this growing threat and we look forward to the critical conversation.”
Emhoff has been outspoken about the effects of the rise of antisemitism has had on him.
“I’m in pain right now,” he tweeted Friday. “Perpetuating lies, such as the denial of the Holocaust, and praising fascist murderers, is dangerous and fans the flames of antisemitism and hate. We all have an obligation to condemn these vile acts. We must not stay silent.”
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