U.S. VP’s husband warns against rise of hate

WASHINGTON Doug Emhoff, husband of U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, said Wednesday that a rise in antisemitism in the United States shows that an “epidemic of hate” exists in the country and must not become normal.

Emhoff, who is Jewish, led a White House discussion on the issue with Jewish leaders from the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox denominations. They discussed ways to combat hate.

“There is an epidemic of hate facing our country. We’re seeing a rapid rise in antisemitic rhetoric and acts,” he said. “Let me be clear: Words matter. People are no longer saying the quiet parts out loud. They are literally screaming them.”

He said such attitudes are dangerous and must not be accepted.

“We cannot normalize this. We all have an obligation to condemn these vile acts,” Emhoff said. “We must all, all of us, not stay silent.”

The second gentleman, as Emhoff is known, said there is no either-or or both sides on the issue. He is the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. president or vice-president, and has become increasingly outspoken about growing bias toward adherents of the Jewish faith, and hate at large, in the United States. He said what is happening is “painful” to him. “Everyone, all of us must be against this, must be against antisemitism,” he said.

The roundtable, at which various White House and other officials also participated, follows a surge in anti-Jewish vitriol spread by public figures, including Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust-denier, who former president Donald Trump recently hosted at his Florida home, rapper Ye — formerly Kanye West — who openly expressed love for Adolf Hitler, and NBA star Kyrie Irving appeared to promote an antisemitic film on social media.