JTA reports that Orrin Hatch, who died this past weekend at the age of 88 after a lengthy political career that made him the longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate, was a devout Mormon from Utah who was a lifelong friend of Jews and Israel — and the most visible way he showed his adoration was through the mezuzah he wore around his neck.
“It is difficult for me to express the profound reverence I have for the Jewish people,” Hatch said in a May 14, 2018 speech on the floor of the Senate given in support of then-President Donald Trump’s recent and controversial decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. “As a symbol of my respect, I wear a mezuzah around my neck. I have done so every day for the past almost four decades — actually, more than four decades.”
“The mezuzah reminds me of the affinity that I, as a member of the Mormon faith, hold for the Jewish people and their history,” Hatch continued in his speech.
JTA reports that Orrin Hatch, who died this past weekend at the age of 88 after a lengthy political career that made him the longest-serving Republican in the history of the Senate, was a devout Mormon from Utah who was a lifelong friend of Jews and Israel — and the most visible way he showed his adoration was through the mezuzah he wore around his neck.
“It is difficult for me to express the profound reverence I have for the Jewish people,” Hatch said in a May 14, 2018 speech on the floor of the Senate given in support of then-President Donald Trump’s recent and controversial decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. “As a symbol of my respect, I wear a mezuzah around my neck. I have done so every day for the past almost four decades — actually, more than four decades.”
“The mezuzah reminds me of the affinity that I, as a member of the Mormon faith, hold for the Jewish people and their history,” Hatch continued in his speech.