WASHINGTON – President Biden hosted a White House reception Monday to mark Hanukkah, celebrating the holiday as he continued to denounce growing antisemitism in the US and abroad amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The president, first lady Jill Biden and second man Doug Emhoff will attend the reception. Hanukkah continues through Friday.
The Biden administration in May announced what it called the first national strategy to combat antisemitism.
That lays out more than 100 actions, including a series of measures to raise awareness and understanding of antisemitism and the threat it poses across the US
Still, antisemitism has only risen in some quarters since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants sparked Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, which faces heightened criticism for the mounting Palestinian death toll.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of an impending “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and urged its members to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
President Biden will host a Hanukkah celebration at the White House on Sunday amid Israel’s war on Hamas and concerns about rising antisemitism across the country. Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images Biden lights a menorah with Holocaust survivor Bronia Brandman at the 2022 ceremony at the White House on Dec. 19. 2022. Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
The Biden administration supported a temporary lull since the expiration of the fighting when Hamas released some of the hostages it was holding in Gaza, and pushed for another cease-fire – but fighting continued in the meantime.
The husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, Emhoff is the first Jew to be the spouse of one of the nationally elected leaders.
Keep up with the news on the Israel-Hamas war and the surge in global antisemitism with The Post’s Israel War Updates, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Last week, he presided over a massive menorah lighting ceremony in front of the White House to mark the first night of Hanukkah, saying that American Jews “feel alone” and “in pain.”
The National Menorah lighting ceremony at the Ellipse near the White House on Dec. 7, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis Second man Doug Emhoff speaks at the National Menorah Lighting. Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
On Saturday, Liz Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, resigned amid pressure from donors and criticism of testimony at a congressional hearing in which she was unable to say under repeated questioning that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate school behavior. base.
Universities across the US have been accused of failing to protect Jewish students amid rising fears of antisemitism worldwide and the fallout from the war in Gaza.
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