Second gentleman Doug Emhoff grieved with the Jewish community of Washington, DC, following the deaths of six hostages held captive in Gaza, promising to use his voice to fight antisemitism and reach a ceasefire deal.
“This is hard. This is raw. I’m gutted, and I know you all are too,” a visibly emotional Emhoff said at the Adas Israel Congregation Tuesday night as they held a vigil for the six hostages killed and those still in captivity.
Emhoff spoke to a full synagogue, with most wiping tears from their eyes after listening to those who have lost family members or still have family held in Gaza.
“How you all feel right now is how I feel, and how we all feel is something that Kamala (Harris) hears directly from me almost each and every day, every time something terrible happens, when it’s devastating, again, I share what I’m feeling with Kamala as my partner, as my wife, not just as our vice president. She knows, she gets it, she cares, she’s committed,” he said.
Emhoff described a call he and Harris had with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American hostage who was killed.
“We tried to use words to express our condolences, but those words were just not enough. We talked about the same Hersh that you just heard Rachel (Goldberg-Polin) talk about. That’s how she talked about Hersh to us on that phone call, as a son, as a brother, and just who you saw, a joyful young man, but their souls were torn apart, just like the garments we tear in mourning. And yet, with this unspeakable tragedy that they were going through, they were actually comforting us on the call,” Emhoff said, saying they asked about the progress on a ceasefire deal that would see the release of the remaining hostages.
“And they told the vice president in no uncertain terms, they do not want Hersh’s death to be in vain,” he added.
Emhoff reiterated the administration’s support for a hostage deal, saying the president and vice president were “working around the clock” to secure a deal.
