Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff has been at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism in the United States, with that role becoming even more important following October 7.
Emhoff is the first Jew among any of the four White House principals (the president, vice president, and their respective spouses) and took his role as the highest representative of the Jewish people very seriously.
Despite being a secular Jew and rarely attending synagogue outside of the High Holy Days, he teared up when a mezuzah was affixed to the entryway of the Naval Observatory (the vice president’s residence), according to attending Rabbi Peter Berg.
As part of his role as Second Gentleman, Emhoff has been working to combat antisemitism throughout the US.
The impact of antisemitism
The rise in antisemitism during Biden's term had a significant impact on him, according to his aides, leading him to direct his team to schedule further meetings with leaders.
He had meetings with US Representatives, including former Rep. and CEO of the American Jewish Committee Ted Deutsch; he told Politico at the time, "I take the responsibility very seriously, and I’ve really spoken out and leaned into this more than I thought I would coming into this role."
In January, Emhoff spoke with CNN about the impact October 7 had on him and his role in combatting antisemitism.
"There’s some days I don’t want to do it, because it’s too hard," he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
He told CNN that they have been doing everything they can to push back against the spread of antisemitism.