When asked this week about Hanukkah — which starts on Thursday at sundown — White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre equivocated her concerns of Islamophobia, a pivot that raised some eyebrows.
"We have seen an uptick in hate, just more broadly, in different communities — obviously, also in the Muslim community," Pierre said in a daily press briefing Tuesday, as Newsweek reported.
"And so, we will do everything that we can to make sure that these communities feel safe."
Talking about Islamophobia when asked about antisemitism raised the ire of some, according to Newsweek.
"Obviously, over the past couple of weeks since this — certainly since this war started, we have seen the increase of antisemitism," Pierre continued. "You know, we understand the fear that people in the Jewish community must be feeling right now, which is why we have taken action to do everything that we can to make sure that people in that community feel protected. And so, that's what we're going to continue to do."
Hanukkah celebrations are reportedly going to be tempered by the ongoing Israel war on Hamas, as terrorists still hold over 100 hostages after the Oct. 7 attack, The Washington Post reported.
"I don't entirely know how you can celebrate a festival of victory fully and completely when we are a people at war; that's a challenge," National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership President Rabbi Brad Hirschfield told the Post.
The White House's Hanukkah celebration remains slated for Monday.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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