( JTA ) — CHICAGO — Doug Emhoff talked about Passover brisket and riding the bus to Hebrew school. And Chuck Schumer wore a blue-square pin below the American flag on his lapel, symbolizing the struggle against antisemitism.
The second night of the Democratic National Convention was intensely Jewish: Along with Emhoff and Schumer directly discussing their Jewish identities, two other prominent Jewish elected officials — Bernie Sanders and J.B. Pritzker — took the stage, while the night opened with an invocation by Rabbi Sharon Brous. Jewish heritage, inclusion in America and the fight against antisemitism all got prime-time attention.
But just one of the politicians alluded to Israel, in an anguished reference to the war it is waging against Hamas in Gaza. Absent altogether were references to the unshakeable U.S.-Israel alliance, once a staple of Democratic political conventions, and an orthodoxy that permeated last month’s Republican convention in Milwaukee.
Even Schumer, the New York Democratic senator who has long played on the Hebrew origins of his name, “shomer,” to say he sees himself as a guardian of Israel, left the country entirely out of his speech.
“Let me close on a personal note as the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history,” he said. “I want my grandkids and all grandkids to never, never face discrimination because of who they are. But Donald Trump, this is a guy who pedals antisemitic stereotypes.”
He noted that in 2022, the former president dined with Nick Fuentes, an avowed antisemite and Holocaust denier.
“I am wearing this blue square to stand up to antisemitism to stand up to all hate,” he said, referring to the small blue patch, a pin distributed by Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. “Our children, our grandchildren, no matter their race, no matter their creed, their gender or family, deserve better than Donald Trump’s American carnage.”
In addition to a keynote speech by former President Barack Obama, the focus of the night was introducing Emhoff, the second gentleman, to the country.
As Emhoff spoke, Jewish Democrats in the hall raised placards saying “Doug for First Mensch.” He wove mentions of his Jewish identity throughout his speech.
“She comes to synagogue with me for High Holiday services, and I go to church with her for Easter. I get to enjoy her mom’s chili relleno recipe every Christmas, and she makes a mean brisket for Passover,” Emhoff said of his marriage to Harris. “It brings me right back to my grandmother’s apartment in Brooklyn, you know, the one with the plastic-covered couches.”
A film clip featured a photo of Emhoff sporting an impossibly large satin bow tie on his bar mitzvah. The clip frankly discussed Emhoff’s divorce from his first wife (who posted on social media about her excitement at the convention), and their commitment to working together to raise the family.
“We might not look like other families in the White House, but we are ready to represent all families in America,” Emhoff’s son Cole said, introducing his father after the clip.
Emhoff, cheered by the tens of thousands of people packed into the United Center, spoke about his blended family. He said his wife pushed him to make fighting antisemitism a focus of his role . He has chaired the Biden White House’s task force to combat antisemitism and met frequently with victims of antisemitism.
“Kamala has fought against antisemitism and all forms of hate her whole career,” Emhoff said. “She’s the one who encouraged me as second gentleman to take up that fight, which is so personal to me.”
After a season of increasing unhappiness on the party’s left with the Biden administration’s unstinting backing for Israel in its Gaza war, and the perception among some Jews that the party is becoming less hospitable to them as a result, the convention seemed ready to avoid mention of the country. President Joe Biden drew criticism from Republicans for not mentioning the word “Israel” in his speech Monday night, and for saying pro-Palestinian protesters “have a point.”
Emhoff did not mention — as he has elsewhere — that antisemitism has intensified since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and sparked the war. Nor did Schumer, who earlier this year delivered a speech on the Senate floor excoriating the rise of antisemitic expression on the left.
The sole mention of the hostages during prime time came from Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Jewish Vermonter who is the unofficial leader of the progressives and among Israel’s harshest critics.
“We must end this horrific war in Gaza, bring home the hostages and demand an immediate ceasefire,” Sanders said, pausing after the first clause to allow for cheers that were some of the loudest of the evening.
The other major Jewish speaker was Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who focused on roasting Trump — accusing him of pretending to be wealthy — and did not mention anything Jewish. In the past, he has featured the support his family got from Jewish agencies when immigrating in his stump speeches.
Rabbi Sharon Brous, of Los Angeles’ IKAR congregation, which Emhoff attends, joined an imam in delivering an opening benediction. Brous exalted what she called the “American redemption story,” which, she said in prayer, “rejects the inevitability of war, affirming that every one of us — Muslim and Jew, Christian, Black, white, Latino, AAPI, queer and straight, Israeli and Palestinian — deserves to live in dignity and in peace.”
Advocates for the hostages, who were represented at the Republican convention by the parents of one of the captives, struggled to be heard in Chicago.
The Israeli American Council on Tuesday mounted a pop-up “hostage square” a mile from the United Center, where people could tour artistic representations of the Oct. 7 massacres. As of Tuesday night, families of the hostages were still waiting to hear whether they would get a spot on the main convention stage.
Talk of the Israel-Gaza conflict played out outside the United Center during the daytime hours in breakout sessions and in unofficial side events and protests across Chicago . The 30 or so “uncommitted” delegates out of the nearly 4,000 at the convention, who ran on a platform calling for a ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel, ran multiple sessions that featured an American physician who had treated the some of the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed and injured in Israeli strikes.
Jewish groups have revealed the locations of their sessions only at the last minute in order to avoid disruptions, a tactic that was mostly successful until protesters tried to breach a session run by Agudath Israel of America, which attracted visibly Orthodox Jews. Protesters pushed against security guards and tried to get through the doors at the hotel conference room, screaming “Shame on you!”
An hour or so before Emhoff spoke, protesters met on the sidewalk outside the Israeli consulate, burning flags and getting into shoving matches with passersby. Police made several arrests.
In a statement, the consulate blamed Chicago’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, who has described Israel’s actions as “genocidal” and who has been sympathetic to anti-Israel protesters.
“We are beyond disappointed with the ongoing support the mayor has been giving to the anti-Israel protests in Chicago, particularly during the DNC, and his continued disregard for the large pro-Israel and Jewish community in the city,” the consulate said in a statement.
Another Jewish moment may come on Wednesday night. Reports around the convention said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was scheduled for a spot then, when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, will have star billing. Shapiro was among the finalists for the vice-presidential slot.
A campaign launched by some left-wing progressives sought Shapiro’s removal from the shortlist because of his pro-Israel statements. Shapiro and the Harris campaign have forcefully denied that the pressure had anything to do with the selection.
On Tuesday night, Shapiro played a bit part when he was one of the Pennsylvanians to confirm that the state would deliver its nominating votes to Harris, during a playful roll call that was a centerpiece of the evening. Deafening roars began as he took the microphone and soared again as he shouted out the state’s support for Harris and Walz.
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