Parkland victim’s brother dons skullcap in Oval Office: ‘Jewish pride is important’

A sibling of one of the Parkland high school shooting victims wore a Kippah during a meeting with President Trump because he is “proud to be Jewish.”

By: World Israel News

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was one of 17 mass shooting victims at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, participated in a roundtable discussion with President Donald Trump and other victims at the White House. Andrew was joined by his sons, Huck and Hunter.

Prior to the event on Wednesday, the three had a private meeting with Trump, during which Hunter wore a Kippah, a traditional Jewish head covering.

“I wore it there because I’m proud to be Jewish,” Hunter told Chabad.org.

“I wanted to wear my kippah in the highest office of the land,” he added, explaining that his “Jewish peers in this country need to be proud of being Jewish, and that’s how we can honor Meadow’s memory as a beautiful Jewish girl.”

In last week’s tragedy, the following five of the 17 victims killed by shooter Nikolas Cruz were Jews: Jamie Guttenberg, Alyssa Alhadeff, Alex Schachter, Meadow Pollack, and teacher Scott Beigel, who was lauded for putting himself in the line of fire to save his students. Since the shooting, Rabbi Avraham Friedman of Chabad of Coral Springs, a longtime friend of the Pollack family, has been a constant presence in their home, offering comfort and support and helping them to observe the Jewish rites of mourning.

“I thought of Rabbi Friedman as I walked into the Oval Office with my kippah,” says Hunter. “The tefillin, the learning, the Jewish stuff has been very comforting to me and my family.”