White House says Biden did not visit Tree of Life synagogue

WASHINGTON – President Biden did not visit the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh following the murder of 11 worshipers – despite saying so, the White House admitted on Friday.

Biden told Jewish leaders on Thursday he remembered “spending time at” and “going” to the Tree of Life, but synagogue told Post he had never been there. .

Nearly 24 hours after being asked about the gap, a White House official said in a statement that Biden “is referring to a call he had with Rabbi Tree of Life in 2019.”

Biden’s initial misrepresentation received a lot of criticism and was featured in segments on CNN and Fox News.

The 2018 mass shooting against the Tree of Life was the worst anti-Jewish hate crime in U.S. history.

Biden has a reputation for making false or embellished statements and abandoned his first presidential campaign in 1988 due to a plagiarism scandal. But at nearly 79, his mental acuity is also a frequent subject of public debate.

In an infamous misrepresentation, Biden in 2020 claimed he “had the great honor of being arrested” in South Africa as he “tried to see [Nelson Mandela] on Robbens Island ”, where Mandela was in prison until 1990. He said Mandela thanked him for it.

Biden later admitted, “I wasn’t arrested, I was arrested. I couldn’t get to where I wanted to go.

Biden dropped out of the 1988 Democratic presidential primary over a plagiarism scandal. He admitted to plagiarizing a law school article and was exposed for use without lines of credit by UK Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock.

However, Biden struggled with his memory during Thursday’s event.

The president couldn’t remember the name of the song “Hava Nagila” when talking about his daughter’s marriage to a Jewish man, saying, “My mind is going blank now, what song is played where everyone else? is on the chair? I do not remember.

Although Biden incorrectly said he visited the Tree of Life, congregation rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers said there was no grudge in a statement released by the White House.

“President Biden kindly called me on my cell phone as I sat at Dulles Airport awaiting a flight back to Pittsburgh after testifying before Congress in July 2019,” Myers said.

“In a sincere manner, he offered his condolences and asked how we were doing. We talked about the challenges of anti-Semitism, and he made it clear that he would confront it with us as president. The conversation meant a lot to me, and I will always be grateful for his kind words and continued support to our community. “

Then-President Donald Trump visited the Tree of Life three days after a mass shooting. Trump was joined by prominent Jewish members of his administration, including his daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.