Biden to host first ever White House Rosh Hashanah party

In 1993, Bill Clinton became the first US president to host a Hanukkah party for White House staff. The event proved memorable for 6-year-old Ilana Kattan, who told Slate that her hair caught on fire during the proceedings after her ponytail dipped into a Menorah flame. The president then put out the blaze with his bare hands.

President George W. Bush scaled up the annual party to a public event for American-Jewish community leaders, a tradition which President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump continued.

Last year, Biden hosted an in-person menorah lighting for Chanukah, while other recent Jewish events held by the White House have been virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff (R), next to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (C) and Dr. Rabbi Aaron Glatt (L), lights the Liberty Bell menorah, during the menorah lighting ceremony in celebration of Hanukkah in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on December 1, 2021. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

In another first, Kamala Harris’ husband Douglas Emhoff became the first to affix a mezuzah on the entry to the official Vice-Presidential residence when they moved in last November. 

Emhoff, who married fellow lawyer Harris in 2014, is the first Jewish spouse of an American president or vice president.