(LibertySociety.com) – Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, recently spoke out against the rise in antisemitism in the United States following the deadly Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on October 7. During an interview with Ted Johnson of Deadline, he specifically discussed how public figures should counter antisemitic rhetoric from other prominent voices, such as Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
Over the last year, Ye has faced scrutiny on multiple occasions for antisemitic rhetoric. In one post on X, formerly Twitter, Ye said that he was planning to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” which led to Elon Musk temporarily suspending his account. Emhoff told Johnson that each time Ye makes antisemitic comments, others should publicly condemn antisemitism and talk about what it means to be a Jewish person and how awesome it is to be one.
Emhoff discussed the negative discourse that is dominating within groups that were once united behind combatting hatred. He called for change and said that those groups need to get back together and fight. He added that the hatred extends beyond antisemitism and includes Islamophobia and hatred toward the LBGTQ community.
Emhoff believes that American Jews are being targeted because people assume that they agree with the actions of the Israeli government without considering that they may not. He also said that young students at American college campuses are taking a lot of the heat. He pointed out that people are unable to “hold more than one or two things in their head at the same time,” which he said results in the conflation of American Jews and the Israeli government.
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitic incidents have increased by over 400 percent since Israel began its retaliation against Hamas in Gaza. Students on campuses across the United States have marched in support of Palestinians, with many expressing outright hatred toward Jewish people. Administrators have faced backlash for failing to condemn the Hamas attack and improperly addressing the actions of students and student groups. University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill resigned after a contentious line of questioning during a hearing with members of Congress regarding the rise in antisemitism on college campuses.
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