Trump Says Happy Hanukkah To ‘Jewish Brothers And Sisters’
Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump. Image by White House
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Trump said he was “proud to stand with the Jewish people” on Hanukkah.
“Melania and I wish all of our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrating this meaningful holiday a happy and healthy eight nights in the company of those they love,” Trump said in a message Tuesday evening, the first night of the eight-day holiday, and naming the first lady.
“On this holiday, we are proud to stand with the Jewish people who shine as a light to all nations. We also stand with the people of Israel, the Jewish State, which has itself a miraculous history of overcoming the tallest of odds,” the statement said.
Trump’s director of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, lit the “national menorah” on the National Mall, an event organized by American Friends of Lubavitch. He noted that Trump last week recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, breaking with predecessors who held back from full recognition.
“President Trump delivered on a promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” said Cohn, who clashed with Trump this summer over Trump’s equivocal remarks after white supremacists and anti-Semites marched in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“The president made the right decision and it makes these year’s celebration of Hanukkah particularly meaningful,” he said. There were strong winds in Washington, and Cohn’s kippah flew off his head at least once.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
