Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to address antisemitism at US Conference of Mayors in Columbus

Arianna Smith, The Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·3 min read
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Second Gentleman of the United States Doug Emhoff takes questions from journalists outside of Neighborhood Medical Center in Tallahassee, Florida in 2021.
Second Gentleman of the United States Doug Emhoff takes questions from journalists outside of Neighborhood Medical Center in Tallahassee, Florida in 2021.
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Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will join the United States Conference of Mayors at a roundtable discussion in Columbus Monday to present efforts to counter antisemitism.

Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, will travel to Columbus for the 91st annual United States Conference of Mayors meeting, hosted by Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, to present a bipartisan plan to counter antisemitism in response to the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, created by the Biden-Harris Administration and launched on Thursday.

The strategy consists of four pillars with a goal of increasing awareness of antisemitism and the appreciation for Jewish culture, improving safety for the Jewish community, countering discrimination towards Jews while reversing desensitization to antisemitism, and building solidarity within communities while simultaneously condemning hatred.

Emhoff's goal is to facilitate discussion and planning on how communities and local officials can create a sense of unity through a "whole-of-society approach," according to a White House official in an email.

During the launch of the counter-antisemitism strategy, Emhoff, who is Jewish, said the rates of antisemitic hate crimes are the highest they have ever been and that 63% of religion-motivated hate crimes in the nation are targeted towards Jews, despite consisting of 2% of the United States' population.

"At its core, antisemitism divides us, it erodes our trust in government institutions and one another," Emhoff said.

Kelly Fishman, interim regional director and education director for the Anti-Defamation League serving Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Western Pennsylvania, said that in 2021 and 2022 the U.S. had the highest rates of antisemitism ever recorded, with a 36% increase alone in 2022, according to the audit report of antisemitic instances ADL produces every year.

"In Ohio we saw a 37% increase, so we are above that national average when we're looking at antisemitic incidents here in Ohio," Fishman said.

Fishman said that the incidents reported consist of any situation in which someone is targeted specifically due to their Jewish identity and religion. ADL splits these instances into three categories: harassment, vandalism and assault.

"We did not see any assaults reported in 2022, so that was actually fantastic because in 2021 we had five, so that is the one area we saw a decrease was assaults," Fishman said.

Fishman said that although Ohio is not among the states with the highest antisemitic incidents reported, such as New York or Florida, it is still very high on the list.

Fishman said there have been more individuals reaching out for educational opportunities related to antisemitism and the increase in reported incidents, which she believes is supported by the recent launch of the Biden-Harris U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.

A multitude of other topics are planned to be discussed during the conference including public safety, mental health, homelessness, along with recent legislation passed and signed into law under the Biden-Harris Administration, according to the United States Conference of Mayors website.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Emhoff to address antisemitism at US Conference of Mayors in Columbus