WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden condemned the “ferocious rise of anti-Semitism in America and around the world” during a ceremony Tuesday in memory of Holocaust victims, at a time when the Hamas attack against Israel and the controversy over war in Gaza have triggered new waves violence and hate speech towards the Jews.
“We risk people not knowing the truth,” Biden said of the horrors of the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were systematically killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. “This hatred continues to run deep in the hearts of too many people around the world. »
Biden’s remarks at the Capitol came amid pro-Palestinian protests — some of which have involved anti-Semitic chants and threats against Jewish students and supporters of Israel — that have rocked college campuses across the country. It comes as the Democratic president struggles to balance his support for Israel following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack — the deadliest day for Jews worldwide since the Holocaust — with his efforts to protect civilian life in Gaza.
Biden said that on October 7, Hamas “gave life” to this hatred by killing more than 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians.
“Not 75 years later, but only seven and a half months later, and people are already forgetting, they are already forgetting, that Hamas started this terror, that it was Hamas that brutalized the Israelis, that it was Hamas which took and continues to hold hostages,” Biden said. “I haven’t forgotten him, neither have you. And we won’t forget.
Biden, whose relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become strained over his government’s efforts to invade the southern Gaza town of Rafah, said U.S. support for Israel was “ironclad… even when we disagree.”
Biden avoided the upcoming presidential election in his speech. But his speech comes as former President Donald Trump critical the outgoing president for not having done more to fight anti-Semitism – while ignoring his own long history of rhetoric which evokes the language of Nazi Germany and plays on stereotypes of Jews in politics.
The Capitol event, hosted by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, also featured remarks from House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Holocaust survivors, local youth and elected officials took part in the remembrance ceremony, which included a recitation of Jewish prayers for the dead.
The campus protests have posed a political challenge for Biden, whose coalition has historically relied on younger voters, many of whom criticize his public support for Israel.
Biden said, “There is no place on any campus in America” or any place in America for anti-Semitism or threats of violence. He added: “We are not a lawless country, we are a civil society.”
Along with Biden’s speech, his administration announced new measures to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses and beyond. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights was sending every school district and college in the country a letter describing examples of anti-Semitism and other acts of hate that could lead to federal civil rights investigations.
The Department of Homeland Security was preparing to inform schools and community groups about resources and funding available to promote campus safety and address threats. And the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism was meeting with tech companies to discuss how to combat the rise in online hate conflicts.
On Monday, Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish spouse of a nationally elected U.S. leader, met with Jewish students at the White House to discuss the administration’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism . He heard students describe their own experiences with hate, including threats of violence and hate speech, his office said.
The Trump campaign released a video Monday on Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, that aimed to contrast the 2024 presidential candidates’ responses on anti-Semitism.
The video shows footage of Trump visiting Israel and speeches he gave, pledging to stand with the Jewish people and fight anti-Semitism, while also showing footage of campus protests and clips of Biden responding to protesters unhappy with his administration’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas. .
One of the clips shows Biden saying, “They’re right,” but does not include the next sentence in which Biden said, “We need to provide a lot more care to Gaza.”
Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer said in response that “President Biden opposes anti-Semitism and is committed to the safety of the Jewish community and the security of Israel – this that Donald Trump does not do.”
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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in New York and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.
News Source : apnews.com
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