WASHINGTON (TND) — After the Nazis slaughtered six million Jews during the Holocaust, much of the world vowed never again. President Biden on Tuesday used a Holocaust Remembrance Day event to address rising antisemitism in America.
The president addressed a new wound for the Jewish people, Hama's Oct. 7 attack in Israel, the deadliest day for Jews since Nazi-controlled Germany.
Biden said that on Oct. 7, Hamas “brought to life” that hatred with the killing of more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and warned that, already, people are beginning to forget who was responsible.
Biden condemned what he called a "ferocious surge" in hatred against Jews in America, seeping into protests over the ongoing war in Gaza on college campuses nationwide.
"Antisemitic posters and slogans calling for the annihilation of Israel, the world's only Jewish state," Biden said. "It’s absolutely despicable and it must stop."
The president also called for law and order after thousands of protesters were arrested in the last month.
On Tuesday, President Biden announced new actions by his administration to combat the issue.
The Department of Education issued new guidance to schools and universities as to what counts as antisemitic discrimination.
Federal agencies are also elevating efforts to address community-based violence, like the vandalism experienced by a Jewish shop owner in Baltimore.
So it looks like they tried to put the beginning of the swastika on one side. But it was very rainy and windy on Saturday night so my guess is that they just gave up on finishing it up," Idan Tzameret, the owner of Kitchen Design by Idan told WBFF.In Rotterdam, New York, 50 gravestones were destroyed and damaged in a Jewish cemetery.
Biden's Tuesday address comes amid mounting criticism on all sides. For some Republicans, the rebuke did not come quickly enough.
"What’s not clear is why it took so long for President Biden to come to a microphone and condemn antisemitism. The reason, in part, is because his base refuses to let him do so," Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said on Meet the Press Sunday.
Progressive Democrats increasingly side against Israel, but Biden has said his support of the Jewish state will never waiver.
"My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and the right for it to exist as a Jewish state is ironclad even when we disagree," Biden said.
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign on Monday released a video on Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust remembrance day, that aimed to contrast the 2024 presidential candidates’ responses on antisemitism.
The video shows images of Trump visiting Israel and speeches he has given pledging to stand with Jewish people and confront antisemitism, while showing footage of the protests on campuses and clips of Biden responding to protesters upset with his administration’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
One of the clips shows Biden saying, “They have a point,” but it does not include the next sentence in which Biden said, “We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.”
Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said in response that “President Biden stands against antisemitism and is committed to the safety of the Jewish community, and security of Israel — Donald Trump does not.”
On Wednesday, the House Committee on Education and Workforce will hold a hearing to investigate antisemitism in K-12 schools.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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