A day after the sixth anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting – which was the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history – second gentleman Doug Emhoff made the campaign’s final pitch to Jewish voters from a private campaign event at the University of Pittsburgh’s campus just miles from where the 11 worshippers were killed during the Saturday morning Shabbat service on October 27, 2018.
“Yesterday, we marked the anniversary of the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history, a massacre at Shabbat services not far from where we are right now, and one year after the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel, we are all still reeling,” Emhoff said.
It’s an uncomfortable and unsettling time to be Jewish and these are hard days, Emhoff said.
“There is pride in our people, but also a deep sense of insecurity,” he said.
Extinguishing an epidemic of hate
Emhoff recounted how, after Charlottesville, Tree of Life, and October 7, the person he turned to was his wife.
“When we see the antisemitic attacks that are happening week by week in America…Kamala and I recommit ourselves to extinguishing this epidemic of hate,” he said. “And let me make something else clear. We are not afraid, and we do not cower. We take inspiration from communities like this one, which came together as one after Tree of Life.”
Emhoff said it was appealing to hear Trump’s antisemitic and racist speech the night before at Madison Square Garden in the closing days of the campaign and on the anniversary of Tree of Life.
“But nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop me from living fearlessly as a Jew. Nothing will stop Kamala and me from speaking out, and nothing is going to take away our joy or our faith in America,” he said.
He also said Harris’s commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering and goes beyond what she’s said publicly.
“I’ve talked to her before and after her calls with Israel’s leaders and diplomats. She takes seriously her pledge, I’m going to quote Kamala here, to always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself from Iran and Iran backed terrorists,” Emhoff said. “Those are her words, and I saw her determination earlier this month after she spent hours in the Situation Room coordinating in real-time with our military to shoot down the missiles Iran launched into Israel’s skies.”
Harris has been “crystal clear,” pledging to always work to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish people here and around the world and to support the existence of a secure, democratic homeland for the Jewish people.
“These are her words,” he said.
“We actually have a choice right now, and there’s a fire in this country. We either pour water on it, or we pour gasoline on it. Which is it going to be?” Emhoff said. “That’s the choice every one of us faces right now because fighting antisemitism and all forms of hate is a responsibility of every American.”
Emhoff was introduced by Meryl Ainsman, a lifelong Pittsburgh resident who has been involved with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh for over 30 years.
Ainsman recounted finding out about the Tree of Life massacre as it was unfolding near her home, and the promise she made herself to do what was within her power to counter hate and antisemtim in the future.
“I, and my community, would not hide. We would not live in fear. We would promote Judaism and Jewish values, and most important, Jewish joy,” she said. “And we have a lot of work ahead for us.”
Over the past year there’s been an alarming rise in hate crimes and antisemitism across this country and in this election Americans are faced with a choice between two candidates who have radically different ideas on this issue, Ainsman said.
“In the case of Donald Trump, we have someone who claimed that there were very fine people amongst the white supremacists in Charlottesville who chanted, ‘Jews will not replace us’ and killed a young woman,” she said. “And just last week, we were horrified to read the comments by Trump’s former Chief of Staff, General John Kelly, who described how Trump said he wanted to have the generals the kind of generals that Hitler had.”
All of that is frightening, Ainsman said, adding Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday night was even more frightening.
“That type of rhetoric is poor, is abhorrent, and underscores what we all know to be true. Donald Trump is not someone the Jewish community can trust with our safety,” Ainsman said. “No one who likes anything about Hitler is fit to serve as our nation’s commander in chief. Trump’s desire for unchecked power poses a threat not just to Jewish Americans, but to all Americans.”
Americans have the power to elect Vice President Harris, someone Ainsman said has always stood up to hate and antisemitism.
From the stage Yoni Pruce, a senior at the University of Pittsburgh and president of the Student Coalition for Israel at Pitt, said fighting antisemitism was personal for him.
Two of Pruce’s friends were assaulted for being visibly Jewish when walking to Shabbat dinner at Hillel on campus; an incident that inspired Pruce to start wearing a kippah every day.
“I wanted to show the world who I am, that I am Jewish, I’m unafraid, and I will not be silenced. That is why I want to send Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to the White House, because he is a model for all of us about how to live proudly and openly as a Jew,” Pruce said. “And that is why I will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris as our next president.”
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