The News
US President Joe Biden condemned the “ferocious surge of antisemitism in America and around the world” at a Tuesday ceremony to remember victims of the Holocaust.
Biden said Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel had reignited antisemitism around the world during his speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Annual Day of Remembrance Celebration.
“Now, here we are, not 75 years later, but just 7 and a half months later, and people are already forgetting, they’re already forgetting that Hamas released this terror,” Biden said. “I have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget.”
Biden speech came as he grapples with how to handle a surge of pro-Palestinian demonstrations across US campuses that have led to thousands of arrests and canceled graduation ceremonies. Last week, the president delivered his first direct remarks on the unrest, criticizing protests as “not peaceful” and stating that they hadn’t changed his mind about his Israel policy.
Republicans have characterized the protests as a breeding ground for antisemitism.
On Tuesday, Biden reiterated the right to free speech in the US, as he tried to thread the needle of supporting protesters’ right to demonstrate while denouncing antisemitism reports on campuses.
“In America, we respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech,” he said. “There is no place on any campus in America, any place in America, for antisemitism or hate speech or threats of violence of any kind.”
In conjunction with the speech, the Biden administration announced new measures to combat antisemitism on campuses, including sending every school district and college guidance outlining examples of antisemitism that are subject to civil rights investigations.
“This guidance is meant to ensure that colleges and universities do a better job of protecting both Jewish students and all of their students,” the administration said.