Administration

Emhoff to speak at new Tree of Life synagogue’s groundbreaking

by Brett Samuels 06/17/24 08:51 AM CDT

FILE - Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, attends a roundtable discussion with Jewish leaders about the rise in antisemitism and efforts to fight hate in the United States in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus in Washington, Dec. 7, 2022. Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, is taking his advocacy against antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate to the Swiss Alps. Aides tell The Associated Press that Emhoff will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will attend the groundbreaking ceremony later this week for the new campus of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the White House announced Monday.

Emhoff, who is Jewish, will deliver remarks at the event Sunday, nearly six years after a gunman opened fire at the synagogue, killing 11 people in the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history.

Crews began demolishing the synagogue earlier this year. The new space is expected to include spaces for worship, a museum, a movie theater and an education center, according to The Associated Press.

A memorial to the victims of the October 2018 shooting is planned for a site just outside the synagogue.

Emhoff has made tackling antisemitism a core part of his work as second gentleman.

He has been involved in the White House’s first-ever national strategy to combat antisemitism, and he has stepped up his public-facing role following last October’s attack on Israel that left more than 1,100 Israelis dead, setting off a wider war in the Middle East.