Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish person to serve as the spouse of a nationally elected U.S. leader, will deliver remarks on Sunday at the groundbreaking of the memorial to victims of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.

What You Need To Know

  • Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will speak Sunday at the groundbreaking of the memorial to victims of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting

  • A gunman driven by hatred of Jews killed 11 worshipers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, the country's deadliest antisemitic attack

  • The campus will include a new place of worship, a museum devoted to studying the hatred of Jewish people in the U.S. and a memorial to the victims

  • Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, is the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president in U.S. history 

The White House announced that Emhoff, who has been among the most visible and outspoken Biden administration officials on combating antisemitism at home and abroad, would attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Tree of Life campus.

The synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood was home to the deadliest antisemitic attack in the United States, in which 11 worshipers were killed by a gunman driven by hatred of Jews. The space will include a new place of worship, a museum devoted to studying the hatred of Jews in the U.S. and a memorial to the victims.

The June 23 event will include community leaders, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who will serve as the ceremony's host.

In an interview with Spectrum News last year ahead of the Jewish high holidays -- and weeks before Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza -- Emhoff talked about his faith and his role in the White House, particularly when it comes to countering anti-Jewish hate.

“Coming in, I thought that was going to be the big headline: there's finally a man in this role. And I'd say I'll go first, I better not be the last. But I’m also the first Jewish person ever to be married to a president or vice president and that has become a big deal and I decided to just lean into it,” he said, calling it “a pretty awesome responsibility.” 

During his time at the White House, the second gentleman has been outspoken about countering a rise in antisemitism. He played a large role in President Joe Biden’s U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, the first of its kind, announced in May.