Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, became the subject of ridicule on social media after telling a wrong story of Hanukkah, a Jewish festival that began on Dec. 7 and will run through Dec. 14.
In a post on X, Emhoff shared a photo of himself and Harris lighting a menorah. He then went on to narrate his version of how the eight-day Jewish holiday came about.
“The story of Hanukkah and the story of the Jewish people has always been one of hope and resilience. In the Hanukkah story, the Jewish people were forced into hiding. No one thought they would survive or that the few drops of oil they had would last. But they survived and the oil kept burning,” he wrote.
He went further, “During those eight days in hiding, they recited their prayers and continued their traditions. That’s why Hanukkah means dedication. It was during those dark nights that the Maccabees dedicated themselves to maintaining hope and faith in the oil, each other, and their Judaism.
He then said that he thinks of the story during “these dark times.”
Emhoff’s narration of the Hanukkah story was, however, false, as it is not about Jews hiding with little oil. The true Hanukkah story is about a small group of Jewish warriors who revolted against the Seleucid Empire during the reign of Antiochus IV. Antiochus. At the time, Antiochus had banned Jews from practicing their faith, going as far as desecrating the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
The revolt was successful and the Jewish warrior group known as Maccabees rededicated the temple. While rededicating the temple, the Jews had very little consecrated olive oil which was only going to be enough to light up the menorah in the Temple for a day. However, out of some sort of miracle, the oil burned for eight days, leading to the celebration of Hanukkah for eight days and eight nights.
Emhoff was called out for his false account of the important Jewish tale. Reacting to the post, National Review editor Philip Klein stated, “The rewriting of Hanukkah as a story of Jews hiding rather than Jews fighting against assimilation is absurd, but also very revealing about the attitude of the left.”
“I know you’re trying but the story of Chanukah is important and should be recounted accurately. This isn’t close,” commented David Friedman, the former U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
“Ummmm this is definitely not the story of Hanukkah… In fact, whole point of Hanukkah is that Jews refused to hide. It’s about Jews fighting, against overwhelming odds, for the right to exist in what is modern-day Israel,” another user wrote.
Ummmm this is definitely not the story of Hanukkah… https://t.co/XAPVYL9l5A
— AG (@AGHamilton29) December 12, 2023
In fact, whole point of Hanukkah is that Jews refused to hide. It's about Jews fighting, against overwhelming odds, for the right to exist in what is modern-day Israel. The oil miraculously lasted for 8 nights after the victory, during the rededication of the 2nd temple.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) December 12, 2023
After getting widely called out on his twisted story, Emhoff deleted the post which he made on Monday night.
