Meadow Pollack's family meeting with President Donald Trump, left, at the White House. Her brother, Hunter, says he wore a kippah to send a message that his peers should "be proud to be Jewish." From left, around the desk: Brandon Schoengrund, Julie Phillips-Pollack, Andrew Pollack, Hunter Pollack and Huck Pollack. Standing by the door is White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
On Wednesday morning – a week after Meadow Pollack, 18, was killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. – her father, Andrew Pollack, and brothers, Huck and Hunter, flew to Washington, D.C., for a roundtable discussion with President Donald Trump at the White House. The televised meeting was widely seen, with Andrew’s dramatic and forceful words about fixing school security striking a chord around the country, being extensively reported and shared on social media.
“I wore it there because I’m proud to be Jewish,” Hunter Pollack told Chabad.org. “I wanted to wear my kippah in the highest office of the land. My 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.”Prior to the public meeting, Andrew, Huck and Hunter had a private conversation with the president in the Oval Office. Entering the meeting, Hunter chose to wear a kippah, a mark of Jewish pride clearly seen in the official White House photos.
Since last week’s tragedy, which left Meadow and 16 others dead, Rabbi Avraham Friedman of Chabad of Coral Springs, a longtime family friend and mentor, has been a constant presence in the Pollack home, offering comfort and support. He has also been putting on tefillin and praying with family members, in addition to those making shiva calls, and teaching the traditional mourners’ Mishnayot each night.
“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.”
