Oy vey: 1st husband gets story of Chanukah wrong

Douglas Emhoff, the Jewish husband of Vice President Kamala Harris whom the Biden administration often tasks with representing it at Jewish events, is being mocked on social media for a post that confused the story of Chanukah.

“The story of Chanukah and the story of the Jewish people has always been one of hope and resilience,” Emhoff observed. “In the Chanukah story, the Jewish people were forced into hiding. No one thought they would survive or that the few drops of oil they had would last. But they survived and the oil kept burning.”

“During those eight days in hiding, they recited their prayers and continued their traditions,” Emhoff added. “That’s why Chanukah means dedication. It was during those dark nights that the Maccabees dedicated themselves to maintaining hope and faith in the oil, each other and their Judaism.”

“In these dark times, I think of that story,” Emhoff said.

The Chanukah story is not about Jews hiding for eight days with a little bit of oil. It is about the Jews, having won a military victory, rededicating the Temple and finding only a small amount of oil — enough for one day — which then miraculously lasted for eight.

“Um this is definitely not the story of Chanukah,” wrote an attorney, who has a large following and uses the pseudonym AG Hamilton.

“How could this have happened?” posted National Review senior writer Noah Rothman.

“How to say ‘I don’t anything about Judaism’ without saying ‘I don’t know anything about Judaism’,” wrote another user, Olia Klein. “This level of ignorance is embarrassing.”