US Vice President's husband 'invents' a New Pshat in the Hanukkah story ... "The Jews Hid for 8 Days"

 

Douglas Emhoff, husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris, posted a photo of him lighting Hanukkah candles together with his wife, with a post about the story of Hanukkah and the heroism of the Maccabees, but many users posted comments criticizing that, "this is not the real story of Hanukkah."

Following the criticism, Emhoff, who is Jewish, deleted the post. 

"The story of Hanukkah and the story of the Jewish people has always been one of hope and resilience. In the Hanukkah story, the Jewish people were forced into hiding," he wrote. "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, that’s why Hanukkah 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."

However, shortly after the publication, many users began criticizing Emhoff, claiming that the details are not accurate and that it is not the true story of Hanukkah. 

The Israel Heritage Foundation published a tweet in which they wrote, "Disgraceful! No one in the US should ever need to hide their identity! Sorry, this is not what we expected from you! Every Jew in the USA will always be able to expose their identity."

A user named Talia Katz added in a tweet, "That's ... not the Hanukkah story." A user named Jack Posobiec added, "Doug Emhoff deleted this, which is not the story of Hanukkah, the Maccabean Revolt depicted in the Bible."

Jason Bedrick of The Heritage Foundation also criticized, "I’m really hoping the second gentleman left this to some hapless and uneducated intern who couldn’t be bothered to even check Wikipedia. Eight days of hiding? Yikes, man," he wrote.