On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the Democratic and Republican nominees for president, each marked the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel as the fighting that has roiled the region since appears on the verge of expanding.
Harris on Monday was joined by her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of any president or vice president, to commemorate the anniversary of some 1,500 fighters from Palestinian terror group Hamas launching a cross-border attack in Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting around 250, including a dozen Americans. The Oct. 7 attack was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
The Middle East has been in turmoil throughout the year since, with Israel’s retaliatory campaign in leaving tens of thousands of people dead in the Gaza Strip. The conflict now threatens to spread amid escalating fighting between Israel and Lebanese-based terrorist group, Hezbollah.
The second couple on Monday marked the day by planting a pomegranate tree on the grounds of the Vice President’s Residence, which Harris said was dedicated to “the 1,200 innocent souls” killed on Oct. 7 “in an act of pure evil.”
She noted that pomegranate trees are a symbol of “hope and righteousness” in Judaism.
“So for years to come, this pomegranate tree will stand here, spreading its roots and growing stronger to remind future vice presidents of the United States, their families and all who pass through these grounds, not only of the horror of Oct. 7, but the strength and the endurance of the Jewish people,” Harris said.
Emhoff noted that it is the first fruit tree planted by a second family at the Vice President’s Residence, also known as the Naval Observatory.
Delivering brief remarks before planting the tree, Harris said she is “devastated by the pain and loss” on Oct. 7, while encouraging the world not to “lose faith.”
“So in this moment, on the one-year commemoration of Oct. 7, what is asked of us?” Harris said after citing a quote from a Jewish philosopher. “First and foremost, I believe that we must never forget.”
Harris pledged to ensure Israel always has what it needs to defend itself, fight for the release of hostages and “relieve the immense suffering of innocent Palestinians in Gaza.”
Emhoff noted that he takes his role as the first Jewish spouse “very seriously,” mentioning his work in the Biden administration on combating antisemitism and affixing a mezuzah on the residence.
“What happened on Oct. 7 is seared into our souls,” Emhoff said.
Trump also marked the anniversary on Monday by visiting the resting place of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who led the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Judaism for nearly 50 years. He was also set to deliver remarks at a remembrance event in Florida in the evening.
In a statement, Karoline Leavitt, the national press secretary for Trump’s campaign, asserted that the events of Oct. 7 “would have never happened if President Trump were still in the White House” last year.
“For Americans and Israelis alike, it's imperative that President Trump is re-elected so he can end the bloodshed caused by an emboldened Iranian terrorist regime, which is stronger and richer today from the Harris-Biden Administration's incompetence and weak policies,” her statement continued.
At the White House, meanwhile, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were joined by Rabbi Aaron Alexander of Adas Israel Congregation in Washington on Monday to commemorate the day.
The Bidens stood in front of a small round table in the White House Blue Room on Monday as Rabbi Alexander recited a prayer that is recited at burial and memorial services for those in the Jewish faith. The prayer, “El Malei Rachamim” translates to “God full of mercy" or "God full of compassion."
The president then lit a yahrzeit candle, which, in Judaism, is lit in memory of the dead, before the three bowed their heads in a moment of silence.
Alexander, the White House said, is a friend of the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American who was 23 years old when he was taken hostage by Hamas while attending the Nova music festival in Israel on Oct. 7 last year and held for 11 months before he was killed. His body, along with those of five others, was found in a tunnel underneath the Gaza city of Rafah this summer.
About 100 hostages are believed to still be in Hamas custody.
Biden did not give remarks during the brief solemn ceremony at the White House on Monday but reflected on the day in a statement released by the White House.
“On this solemn anniversary, let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7th attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day,” the statement reads in part. “The October 7th attack brought to the surface painful memories left by millennia of hatred and violence against the Jewish people.”
The president in the statement reiterated his commitment to Israel’s security and freedom to defend itself while also asserting that “Far too many civilians have suffered” in the year since. He also condemned the “vicious surge in antisemitism in America” and pledged to continue working for a ceasefire in Gaza and a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border.
It comes just days after Biden told reporters that he didn’t know whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding up a deal on the matter in order to influence the presidential election in the U.S. next month.
"No administration has helped Israel more than I have," Biden told reporters at the White House press briefing on Friday.
“And I think Bibi should remember that,” he continued. “And whether he's trying to influence the election, I don't know, but I'm not counting on that."
The U.S., along with Egypt and Qatar, have been trying for months to shore up a cease-fire deal that would pause the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of hostages. The Biden administration this summer said the parties were close to getting an agreement over the finish line but the escalation of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah over the last few weeks appeared to dim the chances.
The U.S. and its allies have called for a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. Iran, which backs both Hamas and Hezbollah, launched a direct attack on Israel last week, threatening to widen the conflict even further.
Harris on Monday told reporters that she and Biden “are not giving up” on a potential ceasefire deal and are doing “everything” they can possibly do.
The conflict has caused rifts within the Democratic Party and become a major issue on the campaign trail as some push back on the Biden administration’s support of Israel as the civilian death toll in the Palestinian territory rose. Harris on Friday met with Arab and Muslim leaders while on a campaign stop in Michigan, a major battleground state with a large Arab population.
Trump, on the other hand, has received heat for comments he has made about Jewish voters, including that they would have “a lot to do” with a negative outcome for his campaign if he loses in November.
Speaking at the Philos Project’s Memorial Rally and March on the National Mall in Washington on Monday, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, called Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7 “disgraceful” while criticizing Biden and Harris for their handling of the hostage situation.
“It is disgraceful that we have an American president and vice president who haven’t done a thing,” Vance said. “Vice President Harris, our message is bring them home.”
“We can do it, we just need real leadership,” he added.
Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, meanwhile, stopped by an exhibition for the Nova music festival in Los Angeles on Monday.
“Last month, I met with families of Americans who are still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza,” Walz said in a statement on Monday. “I offered them my wholehearted support as Vice President Harris and President Biden continue doing everything possible to secure the release of all hostages, including the remains of those who have been tragically confirmed to be deceased.”