On Capitol Hill this week, where House Speaker Mike Johnson convened a bipartisan pre-Hanukkah celebration, Rabbi Levi Shemtov noted that when the menorah is lit at such an event, it’s purely a symbolic gesture — the actual blessing is reserved for the actual holiday.
That prompted a knowing chuckle from a number of us present; at the White House the night before, after all, there was no such concern.
Instead, at that celebration, President Biden, his wife Jill and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff lit the menorah and those assembled recited all the traditional blessings, despite the fact that Hanukkah doesn’t even begin until next week.
It wasn’t just a misstep but an offense to faithful Jews.
Rabbi Baruch Davidson of Chabad explains, “Our caution is founded on an understanding of the third of the Ten Commandments, ‘You shall not take His name in vain.’ Although this verse is classically interpreted as referring to a senseless oath using G‑d’s name, the avoidance of saying G‑d’s name extends to all expressions, except prayer and Torah study.”
By uttering the actual prayer and saying the name of G-d within it the week before Hanukkah, the White House was offending observant Jews and showing a lack of the kind of “sensitivity” and consideration the left takes pains to afford other groups.
And though a relatively small offense, it’s nonetheless representative of how Democrats have treated the Jewish community: as a mere photo-op prop that is manhandled and cast aside the moment the cameras disappear.
It wasn’t any better last Hanukkah, either.
On the first major Jewish holiday after the gruesome attacks of Oct. 7, the White House invited 800 prominent members of the Jewish community to mark the holiday by lighting a menorah salvaged from a home in the border kibbutz of Kfar Aza, one of the most ravaged communities on that awful day.
President Biden was happy to showcase a Jewish artifact from that community, but not actual Jews from Kfar Aza, or anywhere else in Israel impacted by the attacks.
Later, CNN reported that “several family members of US citizens believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas had asked to attend a Hanukkah reception at the White House Monday night but never received invitations.”
One family member who spoke to CNN, Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was taken hostage on 10/7, confirmed to me that his family didn’t receive an invitation this year, either.
An individual who spoke with White House staffers about the decision was told inviting those families would be seen as “too political.”
Compare those Hanukkah parties with the one I attended on Capitol Hill organized by Speaker Johnson, and it’s easy to see why so many religious Jews are breaking for Republicans.
Post-election, the Republican Jewish Coalition reported that Donald Trump’s biggest gains among Jews came from religious voters, and that up to half of New York’s Jewish community voted for the president-elect.
The tale of the two Hanukkah parties suggests why: Democrats throw a party featuring token Jews like Emhoff, who seemed totally unfamiliar with the holiday’s melodies and prayers.
(Last year, he completely mangled the story of Hannukah, tweeting that it was about Jews “forced into hiding” and “no one thought they would survive.”)
His wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, who pretended to be a friend to Israel while campaigning (even as she repeatedly blasted the Jewish state for defending itself) didn’t even bother showing up.
(Par for the course: She also snubbed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by boycotting his speech to a joint session of Congress this year.)
To add more salt to the wound, Emhoff had the chutzpah to praise the Biden administration’s disastrous handling of antisemitism, even as a new House report revealed the White House’s utter failure to crack down on it since Oct. 7.
On the other hand, Johnson made sure to bring in a rabbi qualified to oversee the ceremony and handle it with respect and dignity.
Memo to Democrats: Religious Jews have been paying attention.
We understand who our friends are, and who is just trying to use us.
We voted accordingly in November, and if trends keep up, you can count on the numbers of religious Jewish voters skewing even more red.
Bethany Mandel is the co-author of “Stolen Youth” and a homeschooling mother of six based in greater Washington, DC.