Social media users blasted Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff after he butchered the story of Hanukkah in a now-deleted post Monday.
Emhoff, who is Jewish, incorrectly reframed the holiday, which is a Jewish celebration of victory, as a story of “hiding,” according to the New York Post.
“The story of Hanukkah and the story of the Jewish people has always been one of hope and resilience,” Emhoff wrote on X. “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,” the second gentleman continued.
“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,” Emhoff wrote. “In these dark times, I think of that story.”
Wait you’re telling me Doug Emhoff doesn’t know anything about Judaism I can’t believe it I’m totally shocked I’m stunn- https://t.co/tJ5JXfZ192
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 12, 2023
Hanukkah celebrates the liberation of the Temple of Jerusalem in ancient Israel by the Maccabees, a Jewish militia, from Syrian-Greek occupation approximately 2,200 years ago, according to the outlet. The Maccabees found only one day’s worth of oil when the sought to light the temple’s Menorah for its rededication ceremony, which miraculously burned for eight days when ignited. (RELATED: Kamala’s Husband Condemns College Presidents At Hanukkah Event)
Social media users reacted unfavorably to Emhoff’s religious retelling.
“Doug Emhoff apparently thinks the Macabees were hiding out in some sort of subterranean lair with an oil lamp. This is emphatically not the story of Hanukkah,” former federal prosecutor and current candidate for Missouri attorney general Will Scharf wrote. “Reconsecration of the Temple and recommitment to biblical values and teachings is the story of Hanukkah.”
“I’m really hoping the Second Gentleman left this to some hapless and uneducated intern who couldn’t be bothered to even consult Wikipedia,” Jason Bedrick, a research fellow for the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, wrote. “Eight days of hiding? Yikes, man!”
This is not the first time the second family has come under fire for its handling of the Jewish holiday. Vice President Kamala Harris released a video in 2021 explaining her view on the holiday, saying it “really is about the light.”