Before we go any further, Hanukkah is a Jewish celebration.
Most of you are now sarcastically saying, “no kidding.”
But look, the VP’s husband is making a fool of himself right now, so we are going to start slow.
When the Greeks Hellenized Israel the temple in Jerusalem was desecrated. The apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees explain the revolt.
According to Jewish tradition, when the temple was rededicated, there was only enough purified olive oil to light the Temple menorah for one day. The oil miraculously lasted eight days, which was long enough for the religious leaders to purify more oil.
Under the Greeks, the Israelites were under strict occupation until they successfully revolted.
On December 11, 2023, the Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff wrote a post celebrating Hanukkah.
Below is what he wrote:
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. 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. In these dark times, I think of that story.
As you can imagine that did not please Jewish Americans because that is not the story. As conservative writer Nick Arama pointed out Hanukkah “was not about hiding but Jews fighting back, about a victory of the Jewish people over an effort to try to crush them and their traditions by an invader force.”
So Doug decided – who knows why – he’d take another crack at a social media post to celebrate Hanukkah twenty-four hours later. Instead of apologizing or retelling the story correctly, Emhoff crafted a Hanukkah message intertwined with political jargon.
“It was an honor to celebrate Hanukkah at the White House last night with President @JoeBiden and members of the Jewish community. Hanukkah is an important reminder that we can always find light and hope, even in times of darkness.
It was an honor to celebrate Hanukkah at the White House last night with President @JoeBiden and members of the Jewish community. Hanukkah is an important reminder that we can always find light and hope, even in times of darkness. pic.twitter.com/ZW074P1P78
— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) December 12, 2023
What a hot mess, it would have been better ifhe didn’t post at all.
