White House to host roundtable on combating antisemitism

The White House on Wednesday will host Jewish leaders for an event focused on combating antisemitism in the wake of recent high-profile instances of hateful rhetoric against Jewish people.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, will lead the roundtable along with Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the administration’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, and Susan Rice, the White House domestic policy advisor. Keisha Lance Bottoms, a senior adviser to the president for public engagement, will also attend.

The roundtable will take place amid growing concerns about a rise in antisemitism, sparked largely by former President Trump hosting the rapper Ye and Nick Fuentes, an avowed white nationalist and Holocaust denier, for dinner at his residence last month.

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, then went on the right-wing radio show of Alex Jones and espoused antisemitic rhetoric attacking Jewish people and expressing appreciation for Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

“I’m in pain right now. Perpetuating lies, such as the denial of the Holocaust, and praising fascist murderers, is dangerous and fans the flames of antisemitism and hate,” Emhoff tweeted last week in response to the incident. “We all have an obligation to condemn these vile acts. We must not stay silent.”

President Biden separately tweeted a condemnation of antisemitism, warning that silence was complicity. The White House later said the tweet was in response to the antisemitic rant from Ye.

There have been growing concerns in recent years about an increase in antisemitism. Data from the Anti-Defamation League found 2021 saw the highest number of documented reports of harassment and violence toward Jews of any year since 1979, when it started tracking such cases.