{"id":71248,"date":"2018-12-07T08:09:15","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T16:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=71248"},"modified":"2018-12-07T08:09:15","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T16:09:15","slug":"president-trump-and-vice-president-pence-at-a-hanukkah-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=71248","title":{"rendered":"President Trump and Vice President Pence at a Hanukkah Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you very much.  How are you?  (Applause.)  You know our great Vice President and Karen Pence, two spectacular people.  And they wanted to be here with us and I wanted to have them.  Thank you all for coming to the White House.  Melania and I are delighted to welcome you and to wish you a very happy Hanukkah.  (Applause.)  Happy Hanukkah.  This week, America is grieving the loss of President George H.W. Bush, who is being laid to rest today at his library in Texas.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AvO2u9WUrxE\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, Melania and I were honored to attend the state funeral at the National Cathedral and to pay our respects to the entire Bush family.  The memorial was a beautiful tribute to President Bush\u2019s extraordinary life and a noble legacy to public service.  He was a wonderful man.  We will always remember this great statesman and beloved American patriot.  He really was very special.  (Applause.)  So thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>This afternoon, we have many wonderful guests in attendance to celebrate Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights.  I want to thank the students of the Y-Studs a capella group for their terrific performance.  (Applause.)  Where are they?  Raise your hand.  Good job, huh?  I heard that beautiful sound without a lot of instruments.  You don\u2019t need instruments.  You have \u2014 that\u2019s your instrument right there.<br \/>\nWe\u2019re glad to be joined by Secretary Betsy DeVos.  Where\u2019s Betsy?  (Applause.)  Where is Betsy?  Betsy, thank you.  Thank you, Betsy.<\/p>\n<p>Senator \u2014 a very good friend of mine, and a great, great patriot and senator \u2014 Senator Roy Blunt.  Roy?  Where is our Roy?  (Applause.)  Where\u2019s our Roy?  Yeah.  Thank you, Roy.  Great guy.<\/p>\n<p>Representatives Ted Deutch, Josh Gottheimer \u2014 (applause) \u2014 where are you guys?  Put your hands up.  I don\u2019t know.  David Kustoff.  Lee Zeldin.  (Applause.)  Terrific guy.  Lee \u2014 is that Lee back there?  Good.  Good job, Lee.  Congratulations.  You had a great electoral victory.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado Governor-elect Jared Polis.  Where is Jared?  (Applause.)  Where is he?  Thank you.  Congratulations.  Great job.<\/p>\n<p>And thank you as well to Jared Kushner \u2014 I\u2019m sure none of you have ever heard that name \u2014 for being here.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Today, I am thrilled to commemorate the miracle of Hanukkah.  More than 2,000 years ago, a band of Jewish patriots, led by Judah Maccabee, reclaimed their freedom from an oppressive dictator who had persecuted the Jewish people and ransacked the Holy Temple.<\/p>\n<p>After their victory, they prepared to rededicate the Temple.  They found only enough oil to light the lamp for a single night.  You\u2019ve all heard that before.  But, despite this, the lamp burned brightly for eight nights, an everlasting symbol of Jewish perseverance.  Incredible.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout history, the Jewish people have suffered unthinkable repression and terrible violence.  Yet, in the face of this hardship, the Jewish people have endured, overcome, and thrived.  Thrived like few, that I can tell you.  Thrived.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Five weeks ago, our nation mourned a horrific tragedy.  Fourteen \u2014 eleven Jewish-Americans were brutally murdered in a sinister anti-Semitic attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.  And we went to see what had happened and to meet some of the people.  And they were incredible people.  And the way they stood up so bravely, so proudly, was just something very incredible to see.  The rabbi was just a great person.<\/p>\n<p>In the aftermath of that wicked assault, we reaffirmed our solemn duty to confront anti-Semitism everywhere it occurs.  (Applause.)  We must stamp out this vile hatred from the world.<\/p>\n<p>We are joined for today\u2019s ceremony by those who suffered through history\u2019s darkest hour.  Here with us this afternoon are eight survivors of the Nazi Holocaust.  Sara Censor \u2014 where is Sara?  Where is Sara?  She\u2019s here someplace.  Hi, Sara.  Oh, you look so young.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>MS. CENSOR:  (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  She said she\u2019s not.  She is.  (Laughter.)  Young at heart.  Bertha Einhorn \u2014 Bertha.  Where is Bertha?  Hi, Bertha.  Do you want to \u2014 come on up here, folks.  Come on up here.  Can you help them up?  (Applause.)  Ethel Flam.  Gita Landau.  Come on up.  Come on up.  That\u2019s nice.  (Applause.)  Dolly Rabinowitz, Ruth Salamon, and Zahava Ungar.  Come on up.  Very nice.  Very nice.  Thank you all.  That\u2019s so good.  Great.  Thank you very much.  Isn\u2019t that nice?  Beautiful.  Beautiful.  (Applause.)  Where\u2019s David Einhorn?  David \u2014 get up here, David.  Come on up here, David.  Come on up here, David.  That\u2019s great.  Thank you very much.  Beautiful.  Please.<\/p>\n<p>You honor us, truly, with your presence, and you inspire us with your courage.  Thank you very much for being here.  Each of you has endured evil beyond description.  Your treasured attendance at this ceremony calls to mind the words of Elie Wiesel: \u201cFor the dead and the living, we must bear witness.\u201d  Today and every day, we renew our solemn pledge: Never Again.  Right?  Never again.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>From the depths of despair, the Jewish people built a mighty and majestic nation, a thriving democracy in the heart of the Middle East, and a light of hope to all of the world.  My administration will always stand with our cherished friend and partner, the state of Israel.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Let\u2019s hear it, everybody!  Come on!  Come on!  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>We have left the horrible Iran nuclear deal and imposed \u2014 (applause) \u2014 it was a horrible, horrible deal, should have never been made \u2014 and imposed the toughest-ever sanctioned \u2014 we sanctioned Iran like, I guess, few have ever been sanctioned before.<\/p>\n<p>We must never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon or a nuclear bomb.  (Applause.)  We cannot let the world\u2019s leading sponsor of terror \u2014 a regime that chants \u201cDeath to America,\u201d and threatens Israel all of the time with annihilation, and constantly screams out \u201cDeath to Israel\u201d \u2014 to possess the deadliest weapon on Earth.  We will not allow that to happen.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Exactly one year ago today, at my direction, the United States recognized the true capital of Israel and quickly moved \u2014 (applause) \u2014<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Come on, everybody!  Come on!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  Four more years!  Four more years!  Four more years!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Well, we quickly \u2014<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Six more years!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That is actually six more, but we won\u2019t (inaudible).  (Laughter.)  Minor detail.  I\u2019ve actually never heard \u201cfour more years.\u201d  That\u2019s an interesting one.  We\u2019ll go for six, and then we\u2019ll all be in very good shape.  (Applause.)  We\u2019re going to all be in very good shape.<\/p>\n<p>And we quickly moved the American embassy to Jerusalem and we got it built.  You know that story, right?  It was going to cost billions of dollars \u2014 billions.  And I said, \u201cWhat do you mean, \u2018billions\u2019?\u201d  And David Friedman, who \u2014 I don\u2019t know if David is here \u2014 your ambassador, who is great.  (Applause.)  He called me up and he said, \u201cI think we can do it for a lot less.\u201d  I said, \u201cWe better do it for a lot less.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They literally had me signing something \u2014 over a billion dollars \u2014 to build the embassy.  And David said, \u201cYou know, we already own a site.  It\u2019s the best site in all of Jerusalem.  The building is set back.  We could renovate the building, and we could do it for less than $200,000.\u201d  (Laughter.)  So I said, \u201cSo you got a billion and it will probably never get built or you got $200,000.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now what I said to David \u2014 I said \u2014 first time I\u2019ve ever done this in my entire life \u2014 I said, \u201cDavid, I never said this before, but $200,000 is too cheap.\u201d  (Laughter.)  \u201cYou got to raise it.  How about $400,000?\u201d  And we did it for right around $400,000, using all Jerusalem stone.<\/p>\n<p>You know, Jerusalem stone is a very expensive stone that people bring to this country with \u2014 almost as a ceremony.  It\u2019s beautiful.  But over there, you have a lot of Jerusalem stone.  We use all Jerusalem stone and it\u2019s so beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>And we opened it four months later.  Think of that, four months later.  And \u2014 (applause) \u2014 and it\u2019s built and it\u2019s really beautiful.  You have to go see it.  It\u2019s beautiful.  Great location.  Best location.  You couldn\u2019t get a better location.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s all opened and it\u2019s done and it\u2019s finished.  And that doesn\u2019t mean we won\u2019t build a bigger, better \u2014 but if you take a look at it \u2014 not going to get much better.  It\u2019s a beautiful job.<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER:  As promised!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  So we did something for $400,000 that \u2014<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER:  As promised!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  \u2014 was supposed to cost a billion.  Say it.  What?<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE MEMBER:  As promised!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  As promised.  I kept my promise.  That\u2019s true.  (Applause.)  Even more than that \u2014 I said I was going to designate the site; we didn\u2019t say we were going to build it so fast.  (Laughter.)  I didn\u2019t know we\u2019d build it so fast.<\/p>\n<p>But we have it built and it\u2019s a beautiful, beautiful embassy.  And it\u2019s an honor to do it for all of the people in the room.  It\u2019s an honor to do it for all of you, I have to say, because that\u2019s really who we\u2019re doing it for.  So congratulations.  (Applause.)  Great honor.<\/p>\n<p>Civilization is indebted to the Jewish people for their incredible contributions to art and science, history, culture, and society.  Since the founding of America, Jewish communities have uplifted every aspect of our national life.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we renew our gratitude for those amazing blessings and we reaffirm our unbreakable solidarity with the Jewish people.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank Vice President Mike Pence.  A tremendous supporter \u2014 (applause) \u2014 a tremendous supporter of yours.  And Karen.  And they go there and they love your country.  They love your country.  And they love this country.  That\u2019s a good combination, right?<\/p>\n<p>AUDIENCE:  Yes!<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s a good contribution.  That\u2019s really \u2014 hello, David.  One of my fabulous lawyers right up here.  Hello, David.  He is a great lawyer, too.<\/p>\n<p>So I want to thank everybody.  I want to thank everybody in the room.  Happy Hanukkah.  (Applause.)  And now \u2014 happy Hanukkah.<\/p>\n<p>And now I\u2019d like to ask Chaplain Shmuel Felzenberg to come up and say a blessing while we light the menorah.  Thank you all.  Thank you all.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>CHAPLAIN FELZENBERG:  Good afternoon, and happy Hanukkah.  As we prepare to kindle the Hanukkah lights, we recall the story of the Maccabees, who, more than 2,000 years ago, fought against Hellenist oppression in the ancient land of Israel.  They fought to restore the religious identity and dignity of both their land and their people.<\/p>\n<p>As Jews around the world light the candles this evening, we pray for the triumph of light over darkness, and good over evil.<\/p>\n<p>As we light, it is incumbent upon us to remember those American service members currently deployed in harm\u2019s way, including my son, as they stand on the front edge of freedom for our stake.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>There are two blessings we recite in Hebrew prior to the lighting, but allow me first to share with you their contents in English.  \u201cBlessed are you, Lord our God, King of Universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And second, \u201cBlessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>(The blessings are recited in Hebrew.)  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>(The chaplain lights the menorah and a song is sung.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Mike, I\u2019d like to ask you to come up and say just a few words, and then we\u2019re going to shake a few hands.  And thank you all very much.<\/p>\n<p>Vice President, Mike Pence.  Mike.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Mr. President.  And it\u2019s such a joy to be able to be here with our First Family.  Karen and I are honored to be able to extend to you the warmest wishes to you and your family, people all across this country \u2014 wishes for a happy Hanukkah.<\/p>\n<p>And it is the greatest honor of my life to serve as Vice President to the most pro-Israel President in American history.  (Applause.)  Happy Hanukkah to you all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you very much. How are you? (Applause.) You know our great Vice President and Karen Pence, two spectacular people. And they wanted to be here with us and I wanted to have them. Thank you all for coming to the White House. Melania and I are delighted to welcome you and to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/whitehouselogo200.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}