Biden reminds world of Hamas atrocities at Capitol Hill’s Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony

MAY 7, 2024 22:02

Updated: MAY 7, 2024 22:41

US President Joe Biden addresses rising levels of antisemitism, during a speech at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's Annual Days of Remembrance ceremony, at the US Capitol building in Washington, US, May 7, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein) — US President Joe Biden addresses rising levels of antisemitism, during a speech at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum's Annual Days of Remembrance ceremony, at the US Capitol building in Washington, US, May 7, 2024.

(photo credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

Though these days of remembrance fall on difficult times, Biden said, Americans must never rest. They must rise against hate.

Seven months to the day after more than 1,200 people in Israel were killed and another 253 were taken hostage, US President Joe Biden and congressional leaders joined Holocaust survivors at the Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual remembrance ceremony on Capitol Hill with the escalation of Israel’s war with Hamas looming large.

Biden was greeted with a standing ovation in sharp contrast to the scores of anti-war and pro-Palestinian protesters who have become a fixture at the president’s events.

“During these sacred days of remembrance, we grieve. We give voice to the six million Jews who were systematically targeted, murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War Two,” Biden said in his opening remarks.

“We honor the memory of the victims, the pain of the survivors, and the bravery of the heroes who stood up to Hitler’s unspeakable evil,” Biden added. “We recommit to heading and heeding the lessons of one of the darkest chapters in human history, to revitalize and realize the responsibility of ‘Never Again, Never Again.’”

A history of antisemitism

The ancient hatred of Jews didn’t begin with the Holocaust and it didn’t end with the Holocaust either, Biden stressed, and it was brought to life on October 7, when Hamas unleashed the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, driven by the ancient desire to wipe the Jewish people off of the face of the earth.

US President Joe Biden meets with holocaust survivors Dr. Gita Cycowicz and Rena Quint during his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, July 13, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN)

Biden accused people around the world of already forgetting October 7 or denying and minimizing the atrocities that took place.

Biden acknowledged the rise in antisemitism post-October 7 and invoked the images of the past few weeks in which Jewish students on college campuses were being harassed and attacked on their way to class.

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“I understand people have strong beliefs and deep convictions about the world and America. I respect and protect a fundamental right to free speech; to debate, disagree, to protest peacefully, and [to] make our voices heard,” the president said.

Biden once again repeated that his commitment to the safety of the Jewish people and the security of Israel is ironclad, even when there’s disagreement.

As Israel faces global pressure to agree to a ceasefire deal that includes the release of some hostages, Biden said his administration was working “around the clock” to free the remaining hostages.

Though these days of remembrance fall on difficult times, Biden said, Americans must never rest. They must rise against hate.

“God bless the victims and survivors of the Shoah,” Biden said. “And the resilient hearts, the courageous spirit, and the eternal flame of faith of the Jewish people.”