When I teach American Jewish History at Touro College, one of the highly recommended books for the course is Hanukkah in America by Dianne Ashton, which features the National Menorah on the lawn facing the White House. The book documents how a minor religious holiday became the most visible expression of Jewish identity in America, with the participation of presidents who hosted Hanukkah ceremonies at their official residence.
This past Monday, President Joe Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff lit a menorah inside the White House with remarks relating to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Participants and political observers listened carefully to their words to see whether there is any change to the administration’s unwavering support for Israel amid international pressure for a ceasefire.
“The Talmud says that what comes from the heart, goes to the heart; that’s the warmth and kinship that I feel with the Jewish community,” Biden said. “I ran into trouble and criticism when I said a few years ago that you don’t have to be Jewish to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist.”
He then spoke of taking his children to Dachau, site of a death camp that was liberated by American troops, and hearing from his father on this country’s failure to rescue Jews during the Holocaust.
On social media, there was one quote that set off a debate that most American Jews have settled decades ago. “Were there no Israel, there wouldn’t be a Jew in the world that is safe.”
This line was received with applause, but online critics argued that it implied that America is not safe for Jews and that Jewish citizens who regard this country as their home really belong in Israel. Particularly offended were anti-Zionists for whom the Jewish homeland is anywhere but Israel.
When the First Zionist Congress met in Basel in 1897, the reaction from most American Jews was tepid. The movement for an independent Jewish homeland was regarded as politically and socially unrealistic, and the concept of patriotism was based on loyalty to only one country.
In the century that followed, the Zionist movement proved that one can be an American patriot and support Zionism, based on shared values and the fact that not all Jewish refugees can receive a visa to live in the United States. Jews can live here while appreciating Israel’s role in absorbing their persecuted brethren from Ethiopia, Russia, Yemen, and other countries where it is unsafe to be Jewish.
Every year, a different menorah is used at the White House ceremony, an object with historical meaning borrowed from a museum or a family. This year’s menorah is made from a wooden beam that was removed from the White House in a renovation and topped with silver candle holder cups. It is the first menorah that belongs to the White House, intended for future celebrations.
Biden then noted his relationship with the Israeli Prime Minister. “I’ve made no bones about it. I’ve had my differences with some in the Israeli leadership. I’ve known Bibi for 51 years.” Noting a photo of himself with Bibi taken when he was a 32-year-old Senator from Delaware, he wrote a caption on it: “Bibi, I love you but I don’t agree with a damn thing you have to say.”
“It’s about the same today,” he added. “We continue to provide military assistance until they get rid of Hamas but we have to be careful. The whole world, public opinion can shift overnight. We can’t let that happen.”
In the past month, Biden bypassed Congress to approve the emergency sale of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106 million for the war in Gaza, as Republican lawmakers argue that military assistance should be tied with funding for security on the Mexican border while liberal Democrats seek conditions on the aid. It is a rare move, invoked since 1979 by four presidents since 1979.
Last week, Biden’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood cast the veto at the Security Council, opposing a resolution for an immediate ceasefire. “Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution,” Wood said before the vote. “For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire.”
The emergency vote came at the request of Secretary General Antonio Guterres, on the grounds of preventing a “humanitarian catastrophe.” It was the first time since 1971 that a UN leader invoked an emergency to hold a vote on a resolution.
On this Chanukah, the Jewish community is apprehensive as anti-Israel demonstrators occupy college campuses and public spaces. There is a sense of momentum following the Congressional hearing involving the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and University of Pennsylvania, in which the latter resigned following her failure to directly address the matter. As we look to next year’s presidential election, we hear about leftists threatening Biden’s reelection by sitting out the vote. If he were to lose, a pro-Israel Republican would certainly continue to send military aid, confront anti-Semitism in higher education, and involve the veto at the UN.
Despite the visible threats, it is a fortunate time for American Jews.
By Sergey Kadinsky
