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Biden condemns ‘minimizing Oct. 7th crimes’ on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

He emphasized his administration’s commitment to combating antisemitism and to working to free the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, US President Joe Biden warned of the rise of antisemitism and the tendency to minimize or deny the October 7th attacks of Hamas against Israelis.

Last May, President Biden established the first US national strategy for combating antisemitism, and on Friday attacked the “scourge of anti-Semitism” arising since the October 7th massacre, which was the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust.

In a statement, President Biden said, “In the wake of the Hamas massacre, we have seen an alarming rise in despicable antisemitism at home and abroad, bringing back the painful scars of millennia of hatred and genocide against the Jewish people. This is unacceptable.”

He added, “We cannot remember everything that Jewish survivors of the Holocaust went through and remain silent when Jews are attacked and targeted again today.”

President Biden strongly criticized “efforts to downplay the horrors that Hamas perpetrated on October 7, particularly its appalling and unforgivable use of rape and sexual violence to terrorize victims.”

He emphasized his administration’s commitment to combating antisemitism and to working to free the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

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“It is our shared moral responsibility to oppose anti-Semitism and hate-fueled violence at home and abroad, and to deliver on the promise ‘Never Again.”

The President concluded that Israelis are “close to our hearts,” and added that his administration is “committed to perpetuating the lessons of the Holocaust, to fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of violence fueled by hatred… ”

He said, “We remember the enduring strength, spirit and resistance of the Jewish people, even in the darkest times.”

Shortly after the October 7th attacks, President Biden visited Israel and affirmed his support for the Jewish State and its right to defend itself.

He said during his visit to Israel, “You are not alone. You are not alone. As long as the United States stands — and we will stand forever — we will not let you ever be alone.”

He added, “Most importantly, the — I know the recent terrorist assault on the people of this nation has left a deep, deep wound.”