Washington
CNN
—
President Joe Biden called on Tuesday to combat the rapidly rising tide of anti-Semitism, linking the horrors of the Holocaust to Hamas’ attacks on Israel and saying such hatred has no place in the United States.
Biden’s speech was a somber moment of reflection during a tense and pivotal period leading up to his re-election bid. The October 7 attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza have proven to be one of the most politically difficult periods of President Biden’s tenure, with anti-Semitism opposed to American values. It’s especially personal for longtime supporters of Israel.
But Biden’s staunch support for Israel’s war against Hamas, which has now led to the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinians, has caused deep rifts in the coalition that sent him to the White House in 2020. . Protests on college campuses over Israel’s campaign and Mr. Biden’s support for the administration have spread across the United States, highlighting potential problems facing the young voters the president needs to win a second term. .
In his keynote address Tuesday at the Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual memorial service on Capitol Hill, Biden spoke about the horrors experienced by Jews under the Nazi regime, what happened last year in Israel, and Hamas. I tried to draw a connection with the rise of anti-Semitism. attack.
“This ancient hatred of Jews did not begin with the Holocaust. It did not end with the Holocaust, nor did it end after victory in World War II. This hatred of too many people around the world It remains close to our hearts and requires continued vigilance and candor from us,” Biden said.
He continued, “Now we’re here, not 75 years later, but only seven and a half months later, and people are already starting to forget. They’re already starting to forget that Hamas unleashed this horror. You’re forgetting…I haven’t forgotten, you haven’t, and we won’t either.”
Biden said anti-Semitism in the U.S. has risen “at high speed” in the aftermath of Oct. 7, from propaganda on social media to harassment and attacks on Jewish students on campus. It pointed out.
“Too many people deny, downplay, justify and ignore the Holocaust and the horrors of October 7th, including the horrific use of sexual violence by Hamas as an act of torture and terrorism. “It’s absolutely despicable and it has to stop,” he said aloud.
Tuesday’s remarks represent a continuation of the White House’s strong condemnation of anti-Semitism throughout the conflict, but come amid the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and Mr. Biden’s bid to preserve his fractured coalition government in 2024. This took place amidst growing voices from demonstrators in the country.
The president spoke out strongly against the escalating anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the days following the Hamas attack on Israel, and in an Oct. 19 Oval Office speech said Americans should not “stand by and remain silent. I can’t do that.” However, in the seven months since the war began, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic incidents have increased significantly.
The latest data from the Anti-Defamation League, which has tracked anti-Semitic incidents in the United States since 1979, shows a 140% increase in incidents from 2022 to 2023, with a “dramatic” increase after Oct. 7. is said to have been seen. A 2024 study on anti-Semitic attitudes in America found that young Americans are “more likely to endorse anti-Semitic tropes.”
“We are at a moment of crisis for the Jewish community. Anti-Semitism has already reached historic levels, and anti-Semitism in all its forms is now facing a tsunami of hatred on campuses across the country.” There has never been a more important time than now to condemn this doctrine with all its might,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. .
Although the president has categorically condemned anti-Semitism, the Gaza war is a politically risky topic for Biden and the White House, who are also trying to show empathy for the situation Palestinians currently face in Gaza. It has become. The president has faced protests at nearly every public event outside the White House in recent months for supporting Israel’s war against Hamas, and since the days of the Oct. 7 attack, the president’s commitment to war has The response has come under intense scrutiny.
The president and his administration may now be facing a new turning point in the war. The speech came as the Israeli military called on residents of eastern Rafah, Gaza City, to “evacuate immediately” and questioned whether an attack on the city, which Israel has long threatened to carry out, would soon take place. is occurring. The Biden administration has issued a strong warning.
More than a million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah during the nearly seven-month war, where Hamas is believed to have regrouped after Israel razed much of northern Gaza. Mr. Biden and his top officials have repeatedly stressed that they want to see from the Israeli side a clear plan to protect civilians before troops move into the region. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Biden “made this clear again” in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that no such plan exists in the U.S. It is not clear whether it was presented.
At the same time, Hamas announced on Monday that it had agreed to a cease-fire proposal brokered by the governments of Qatar and Egypt, which appeared to be a significant departure from one that had been shaped with Israeli input. The Israeli government was considering Hamas’s proposal on Monday, but operations in Rafah continued.
The speech also came as the administration stepped up its response to pro-Palestinian protests over the war that have spread to universities across the country, with images of tension and some violence. More than 2,000 people have been arrested on university campuses since April 18th.
The president made his most substantive comments on the issue last Thursday, saying he supports the right to protest and freedom of speech but that “order must prevail.”
“Vandalism, trespassing, broken windows, campus closures, forced cancellations of classes and graduations – none of these are peaceful protests,” Biden said. “Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law.”
Asked by reporters whether sentiment on campus had caused him to change his mind about the conflict, Biden said a resounding “no.”
This statement is seen to signal a change in the administration’s response to protests. The next day, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona sent a letter to college and university presidents condemning the “abhorrent” incidents of anti-Semitism on campuses and highlighting available resources. This is a move aimed at further strengthening the government’s public response to protests.
He cited specific reports from Jewish students of being physically assaulted and harassed while walking on campus, anti-Semitic remarks such as “Jewish students should go back to Poland,” and abusive language. He cited the presence of a swastika on the door of his dormitory room.
And on Monday, the day before Biden’s speech, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff hosted a roundtable with a number of Jewish students at the White House. The first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president and a leading advocate on the issue, Mr. Emhoff has made tackling anti-Semitism a cornerstone of his own portfolio and is a top Jewish campus leader. are in contact with them.
Tuesday’s speech came alongside a series of new actions the Biden administration is taking to strengthen the national strategy to counter anti-Semitism, the White House said in a fact sheet.
The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has sent a letter to every school district and university in the country listing specific examples of anti-Semitic discrimination that can be investigated under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. There are currently 141 public investigations underway with universities under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial aid.
The Department of Homeland Security is working to “build an online campus safety resource guide” to provide “financial, educational, and technical assistance” to campuses. The fact sheet states that DHS also develops and shares “best practices for community-based targeted violence and terrorism prevention.”
The State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy to Oversee and Combat Anti-Semitism will “convene technology companies to identify best practices for combating anti-Semitic content online,” the fact sheet said.
Biden’s speech came the day after Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). To commemorate the day, the Biden campaign released a long list of former President Donald Trump’s anti-Semitic statements and actions, including Trump’s comment about Adolf Hitler that he “did some good things.” It also included reports that it was. And, like many of Biden’s recent speeches, the speech was not written with a focus on drawing political contrasts with Trump, senior administration officials said.
Still, Mr. Biden’s unwavering support for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza is eroding some of the support he needs among younger voters in the months before the general election. According to a poll by the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, only 18% of young voters approve of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
CNN’s Dana Bash and MJ Lee contributed to this report.
This article has been updated with additional reporting.
