President Joe Biden compared Hamas’ actions to those of the Nazis and condemned the “fierce wave of anti-Semitism” surging across the United States.
“I have not forgotten it, nor have you, and we will not forget it,” the president said during remarks at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the US Capitol.
“As Jews around the world still face the atrocities and trauma of that day and its aftermath, we have seen a fierce surge of anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world,” he said.
‘I haven’t forgotten it nor have you. And we will not forget,’ Biden told Jewish leaders.
Biden’s speech at the Capitol on Tuesday came as tries to balance his support for Israelthe war with concern for the citizens of Gaza and amid tensions in his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu.
He spoke at a critical moment: Israel sent tanks into Rafah and took control of the Gaza side of a crossing into Egypt that is a major conduit for humanitarian aid. And in the United States, college campuses have been rocked by pro-Palestinian protests, with some schools canceling graduation speeches as demonstrations turned anti-Semitic.
The president, in a powerful speech received with several rounds of applause, promised to support Israel’s right to exist “even when we disagree.”
He began his remarks by tracing the rise of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany in 1933, noting that the dictator came to power by “reviving one of the oldest forms of prejudice and hatred: anti-Semitism” through propaganda and economic hardship.
“We recommit ourselves to harnessing the lessons of one of the darkest chapters in human history, revitalizing ourselves, and taking responsibility for never again,” he said.
And, he noted, “the truth is that we run the risk of people not knowing the truth.”
“Now, here we are not 75 years later, but only seven and a half months later,” he added, referring to the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
“People are already forgetting, already forgetting, that Hamas unleashed this terror,” he said and swore: “Neither I nor you have forgotten it.” And we won’t forget it.’
He wore a dark suit and tie during his keynote speech at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual National Days of Remembrance Commemoration. The audience was filled with members of Congress, Jewish leaders and Holocaust survivors.
President Joe Biden, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hold images of the victims of the Holocaust during the annual Holocaust Survivor Days of Remembrance ceremony at the United States Capitol.
Smoke billows from shopping center following Israeli airstrike east of Rafah, Gaza
The president has struggled to balance his support for Israel with his efforts to protect Palestinian civilians.
Around a million refugees have crowded into Rafah. Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday against a large-scale attack in the area, but Israeli forces advanced anyway.
Progressives have urged the president to do more to help Palestinian refugees.
And young voters, a key constituency for Biden, have expressed discontent with the war.
As the issue becomes more controversial, some campus protests have begun to include anti-Semitic chants and threats toward Jewish students.
Biden defended Americans’ right to free speech but said violence had no place in the country.
“There is no place on any American campus, anywhere in America, for anti-Semitism or threats of violence of any era, whether against Jews or anyone else,” he said.
‘Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It is against the law. We are not a lawless country. We are civil society.’
“We know that scapegoating and demonizing any minority is a threat to all minorities and to the very foundations of our democracy.”
He then reiterated his commitment to Israel.
‘To the Jewish community, I want you to know that I see your fear, your pain, your pain. Let me assure you as president that you are not alone. You belong. You always have and you always will. “My commitment to the security of the Jewish people, the security of Israel and its right to exist as an independent state is ironclad, even when we disagree,” he said.
“That is why I call on all Americans to remain united against anti-Semitism and hatred in all its forms.”
According to health authorities, some 35,000 people have died in Gaza. And many of the area’s 2.3 million people are on the brink of famine, and the UN is concerned about famine conditions.
Biden himself has confronted protesters at his public events and many of them have called him “Genocide Joe.”
He has said little about the protesters who follow him and those who have been disrupting college campuses. More than 2,000 people have been arrested on university campuses since April 18.
“There is a right to protest, but there is no right to cause chaos,” he said last week in his first in-depth remarks on the matter. “People have the right to receive an education, the right to earn a degree, the right to cross campus safely without fear of being attacked.”
Israeli tanks cross into Rafah in the Gaza Strip
Student groups called for a Day of Rage for Gaza in New York City as campus demonstrations against the war continue.
Along with Biden’s speech, his administration highlights its actions to combat anti-Semitism.
The Department of Education is sending every school district and university in the country a letter outlining examples of anti-Semitism and other types of hate that could lead to federal civil rights investigations.
Since the Oct. 7 attack, the department has opened more than 100 investigations into complaints of anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination under Title VI.
On Monday, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, met with Jewish college students at the White House to discuss the administration’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism.
Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security is working to “create an online campus security resource guide” to provide “financial, educational and technical assistance” to campuses, according to a White House fact sheet.
And the State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism “will convene technology companies to identify best practices for addressing anti-Semitic content online,” the fact sheet said.
Biden’s Republican rival in the presidential race, Donald Trump, has sought to take advantage of Democratic divisions over the Israel response to improve the GOP’s chances among Jewish voters, who traditionally vote Democratic.
“American Jews are realizing that the Democratic Party has become a truly anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist cabal, and that is why more and more American Jews are supporting President Trump,” campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said. of Trump. Reuters.
About seven in 10 American Jewish voters support Democrats, while three in 10 are aligned with Republicans, according to the Pew Research Center.
A protester is detained on the street during demonstrations in New York
A Palestinian man watches smoke rise after Israeli attacks as Israeli forces launch a ground and air operation in the eastern part of Rafah.
In response, the Biden campaign has released a long list of Trump’s anti-Semitic comments and behavior, including reports that Trump allegedly said Adolf Hitler “did some good things.”
But polls show that young voters are unhappy with the president.
A poll by Harvard University’s Kennedy School Institute of Politics found that only 18% of young voters approve of Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.