No, video does not show Jewish singer performing at RNC celebration for J.D. Vance

What is the claim? 

Social media users across X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram have shared a video of United States Senator J.D. Vance and a Jewish singer performing claiming it shows the celebration performance at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after Vance was announced as former U.S. President Donald Trump's running mate for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The video captures a performance by the singer, after which Vance delivers a speech.

One X user posted the video clip with the caption, “This was the celebration performance at the RNC after JD Vance was announced as VP pick." At the time of writing this story, this post had amassed over 5,900,000 views and more than 10,300 likes. The archives of this and other such posts can be seen here, here, here, here, and here.

Screenshots from social media posts claiming that it shows the celebrations after Senator J.D. Vance was announced as Donald Trump’s running mate. (Source: Instagram/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

The video, with this claim, has been shared by several social media users.

Screenshots from similar posts (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, we found that the viral video clip is not from the RNC but was captured at an event hosted by a Jewish organization, the Tzedek Association, in New York, on February 25, 2024.

What are the facts? 

In the video, we noted that in his speech, Vance mentioned that the event was in New York and congratulated an organization for its work. However, the RNC was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In the viral video, Vance is seen wearing a red tie, and the background prominently displays the logos of the Tzedek Association. This is unlike Vance's appearance on day one of the recent RNC event (archived here) when he was seen wearing a light blue tie and a blue suit.

While Vance, a Trump critic-turned-loyalist, appeared at the RNC event to the applause of the crowd, he did not give a speech. The newly announced running mate is scheduled to introduce himself and deliver a speech at the RNC on Wednesday, July 17, in what will be his first speech as the Republican vice-presidential nominee.

We identified the singer in the video as Shulem Lemmer (archived here), an American Belz Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn. Lemmer has also posted some photos on his official X account (archived here) with Vance and other guests on March 6, 2024, referring to the event organized by Tzedek. These photos show Vance in the same clothes as the viral video.

The American country music band Sixwire performed on both the first and second day of the RNC, not Lemmer.

What does the video show? 

We found a longer version of the video (archived here), posted by the YouTube channel Shiezoli on March 10, 2024. The clip was titled in English and Hebrew, “Tzedek Association Appreciation Event Highlights, February 25, 2024, | Tzedek worker status by Irgun Tzedek.” 

According to the video's description, it shows an appreciation event held at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel in Tarrytown, New York, on February 25, 2024, in honor of Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, founder and president of the Tzedek Association. The event was hosted by the Tzedek Association, a Jewish organization that works for the rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals and to reform the current American sentencing system. 

Screenshot from the original video (Source: shiezoli/YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)

The original video is 13 minutes and 51 seconds long, and the viral clip circulating on social media can be seen from the timestamp 3:42 to 5:54. Between 3:42 to 4:30, Vance can be seen at various instances while the singer is performing in the background, as seen in the viral clip. 

From 4:46 to 5:53, Vance gave a speech expressing his gratitude to Rabbi Margaretten and thanking all the people present for welcoming him to the event. He also stressed the importance of the organization’s work in rehabilitating formerly incarcerated individuals.

We also found an X post (archived here) from a Jewish news outlet, The Belaaz, which posted a similar clip stating that it showed Vance speaking at a Tzedek Association event. 

Additionally, we found a statement (archived here) from the official X account of Rabbi Moshe Margaretten, clarifying that the viral video showed the Tzedek Association celebration on February 25, 2024, in New York.

The verdict 

A video of a Jewish singer performing at an event where Senator Vance delivered a speech in February has been shared with the false claim it shows celebrations at the RNC after he was selected as Trump’s running mate for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Follow Logically Facts' coverage and fact-checking of the U.S. Election 2024 here.