Leading an official presidential delegation to the Olympic Games may be the most fun job in politics right now — and that’s what brings Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to Paris this week. 

While in the French capital, Emhoff also devoted time to meeting with international leaders about the global surge in antisemitism. The visit comes just weeks after his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, became the likely Democratic nominee for president, bringing a greater spotlight to Emhoff and the work he has done combating antisemitism for the past two years. 

At a Thursday event hosted by the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO, Emhoff announced a contribution of $2.2 million from the U.S. to UNESCO for its antisemitism-related work. On Friday morning, before a visit to the Athletes’ Village and then an evening as a spectator on the sidelines of Olympic events, Emhoff spoke at a memorial ceremony for victims of a 1982 attack at a kosher restaurant.

“On Aug. 9, 1982, six innocent people, including two Americans, were murdered at the Chez Jo Goldenberg restaurant. Twenty-two others were injured,” Emhoff said, speaking on the 42nd anniversary of the attack, one of the deadliest for French Jews since the Holocaust. “They were murdered by terrorists who hated them simply because of their connection to the Jewish community.” Emhoff and U.S. Ambassador to France Denise Campbell Bauer lit a candle in honor of the victims of the attack. 

The assailants were believed to be members of the Fatah-Revolutionary Council, a Palestinian group based in Iraq. Only one person has been arrested — but not yet convicted — for the attack, while other suspects remain at large. 

Emhoff decried the “ferocious surge of antisemitism occurring around the world, including here in France,” calling it a “crisis.”

“We are seeing it on our streets, our college campuses, in our places of worship, and online,” Emhoff continued. “And since the heinous terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 — and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war — we are witnessing the worst wave of Jew-hatred the globe has experienced since World War II.”

In his remarks, Emhoff praised U.S. efforts to work with European partners to fight antisemitism and “stop malign actors who seek to widen societal divisions and undermine democratic institutions across the globe.” He praised the recently announced Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism, a document spearheaded by U.S. antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt and endorsed by 39 countries and international organizations. 

Emhoff touted the work of the Biden-Harris administration, including its national strategy to counter antisemitism released in May 2023. He also specifically highlighted Harris’ commitment to fighting antisemitism — a topic she has not addressed as frequently as her husband.

“President [Joe] Biden and Vice President Harris will continue to take action to address hate and the rising tide of antisemitism and violence around the world,” Emhoff said. “The vice president has spent her career fighting antisemitism and hate in all forms, and will always stand up against antisemitism whenever and wherever it occurs.”

It was Harris, Emhoff said, who “encouraged me to embrace this role” as an advocate for the Jewish community. “She and I knew that someone had to speak out. And I knew I had to take on this fight, no matter how difficult it was. It’s important that we all call out and condemn antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head.” 

Emhoff deviated from his prepared remarks to add one line: “I love being Jewish.” When he finished speaking, he walked down the block and ordered falafel at L’As du Fallafel, a popular kosher food stand in the fashionable Marais district that usually has a line snaking around the block.