Trump at Hanukkah reception: I will always celebrate the Jewish people
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to fight antisemitism on US campuses at the White House Hanukkah reception.
By OMRI NAHMIASWhite House senior advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and others stand behind U.S. President Donald Trump as he holds up an executive order on anti-semitism that he signed during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S(photo credit: REUTERS//TOM BRENNER)
WASHINGTON – “I will always celebrate and honor the Jewish people,” US President Donald Trump told the crowd at the White House Hanukkah reception on Wednesday.At the event, Trump signed an executive order (EO) calling on government departments to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.Trump said institutions that receive federal funding must reject antisemitism.“This is our message to universities,” he said. “If you want to extend the tremendous amount of federal dollars that you get every year, you must reject antisemitism, and you will never tolerate the suppression, persecution or silencing of the Jewish people,” “We have also taken a firm stand against the BDS.”As Trump was preparing to leave the room after signing the EO, the crowd chanted “four more years.”A few dozen attendees wore red kippot that had “Trump” printed on them.During the candle-lighting ceremony, the president stood alongside First Lady Melania Trump and welcomed representatives from both sides of the aisle on stage.“Even the Democrats can come up” to the stage, Trump joked.Senators James Lankford, (R-OK) and Tim Scott (R-SC) attended the candle lighting, as well as representatives Elaine Luria (D-VA), Doug Collins (R-GA), Lee Zeldin (R-NY), David Kustoff (R-TN), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Max Rose (D-NY). Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence joined the president for the ceremony.Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser, and her husband, senior adviser Jared Kushner, also attended the event.
“I am very proud that the Jewish faith is a cherished part of our family,” Trump remarked.An orchestra with some 20 musicians played Hanukkah songs at the main entrance of the White House, while guests enjoyed meat and wine.“It’s always extraordinary to bring the highest standard of kashrut [kosher supervision] to what is probably the most important kitchen in the world,” Rabbi Shemtov, the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) in Washington, told The Jerusalem Post.“There were of course the requisite latkas [potato pancakes] and donuts and Hanukkah type foods,” he said. “In addition, there was also the annual, famous lamb chops, and a London broil and chicken delicacies. And, this being a Jewish themed event, there had to be some good sushi. The food was expertly prepped off site and finished in the White House kitchen, with the chefs of the White House frying the donuts and the latkas so that everything was just as tasty as possible, enabling the White House to have its level of cuisine without compromising on kashrut.”On stage, the “Y-Studs A Capella” performed Jewish and Israeli hits to warm up the crowd before the arrival of the president.
