President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed guests at the White House to celebrate Hanukkah on Thursday, including eight Holocaust survivors.
Trump recalled the history behind the Hanukkah feast day, telling the story of the Maccabees that rebelled against tyranny and recaptured the temple.
He called up the survivors of the Holocaust to join him at the front of the room. The names of the survivors were Sara Censor, Bertha Einhorn, David Einhorn, Ethel Flam, Gita Landau, Dolly Rabinowitz, Ruth Salamon, and Zahava Ungar, according to the White House.
“Each of you has endured evil beyond description,” Trump said, praising them for bearing witness to the horrors of the Holocaust. “Today and every day we renew our solemn pledge. Never again.”
Other guests included Congressman Lee Zeldin, Governor-elect of Colorado Jarid Polis, and Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen also attended the ceremony.
“Throughout history, the Jewish people have suffered unthinkable repression and terrible violence, yet in the face of his hardship, the Jewish people have endured, overcome and thrived,” Trump said.
He recalled the October shooting at a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburg, again recognizing the victims and praised the congregation who stood against the hate exhibited by the shooter.
Trump vowed to combat anti-Semitism everywhere in the world.
“We must stamp out this vile hatred from the world,” he said.
The president also highlighted his decision to end the Iran deal and move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as well as his close relationship with Israel.
The crowd cheered Trump, and some in the audience chanted, “Four more years! Four more years!”
“It’s actually six more,” Trump replied. “We’ll go for six.”
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