Biden Condemns Mounting Anti-Semitism in Holocaust Remembrance Speech

‘It’s absolutely despicable and it must stop,’ the president said.

President Joe Biden speaks at the annual Days of Remembrance ceremony for Holocaust survivors at the U.S. Capitol on May 7, 2024. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden declared on May 7 that hatred of Jews “continues to lie deep in the hearts of too many people” and urged all Americans to support his administration in its battle against “a ferocious surge of anti-Semitism in America and around the world.”

Speaking at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Remembrance Day event, President Biden said: “This ancient hatred of Jews didn’t begin with the Holocaust. It didn’t end with the Holocaust either.”

We’ve seen “too many people denying, downplaying, rationalizing, and ignoring the horrors of the Holocaust and October 7, including Hamas’s appalling use of sexual violence to torture and terrorize Jews,” he said.

“It’s absolutely despicable, and it must stop,” President Biden said from Emancipation Hall on Capitol Hill.

He gave examples of the recent surge in anti-Semitism, including “vicious propaganda on social media,” Jews being forced to hide under baseball caps and tuck their Star of Davids into their shirts, Jewish students being attacked and harassed while walking to class, and the spreading of anti-Semitic posters and slogans calling for the annihilation of Israel.

The president echoed the slogan “Never Again” and equated its meaning to “never forget,” not just the Holocaust but also the recent Hamas attack, during which its terrorists took hundreds hostage and killed 1,200. It was deemed the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust and started the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. 

“Here we are, not 75 years later but just seven and a half months later, and people are already forgetting that Hamas unleashed this terror. It was Hamas that brutalized Israelis. It was Hamas that took and continues to hold hostages. I have not forgotten nor have you, and we will not forget.”

The ceremony of remembrance comes as violent anti-Semitic protests continue to erupt on college campuses, and President Biden once again denounced them as going beyond the definition of a peaceful protest and outright acting against the law.

“There is no place on any campus in America or any place in America for anti-Semitism or hate speech or threats of violence of any kind,” he said.

Biden’s New Measures

The president’s speech comes as new measures to combat anti-Semitism are set to be announced. Among them include the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issuing of new guidance to every school district and college in the country, providing examples of anti-Semitic discrimination and other forms of hate that could lead to investigations for violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

According to the White House, the OCR has opened more than 100 investigations over the past seven months into complaints alleging discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, including anti-Semitism. The four years of the previous administration saw comparatively fewer cases opened at 27, the fact sheet stated.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will collaborate with interagency partners to develop an online campus safety resources guide to assist campuses. The DHS will also work on sharing best practices for community-based targeted violence and terrorism prevention.

Furthermore, the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism at the Department of State will convene technology firms to identify best practices to address anti-Semitic content online, while federal agencies will continue to provide information to technology companies regarding symbols and themes associated with violent extremism.

The White House stated that these actions build upon the work of the President’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, which was released a year ago. This strategy includes over 100 actions taken by the Biden administration and calls for action directed at Congress, state and local governments, companies, technology platforms, educators, and civil society.

The strategy involves actions by various departments and agencies, including the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security which the White House says have provided greater security to Jewish institutions, and the Department of Education, which has addressed anti-Semitism in educational environments.

“The Biden administration has taken aggressive action to implement the strategy and to speak out forcefully against hate of all kinds, especially in the wake of the October 7th attacks. Through the National Security Supplemental, President Biden secured an additional $400 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which funds security improvements and training to nonprofits and houses of worship, including campus organizations and community centers. This funding has been critical to the security of Jewish institutions,” reads the White House fact sheet.

However, President Biden did not mention any specific measures during his address.

‘Alarming Rise’ of Anti-Semitism on Campuses

Rabbi David Feldman attends the pro-Palestine protest at Fordham University, on May 1, 2024. Juliette Fairley/The Epoch Times

Since the Oct. 7 attack, the Israeli military has carried out operations in Gaza to eradicate Hamas, a terror group and the de facto authority in Gaza.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry has reported that over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military operations. The Gaza Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas terrorists.

The Israeli military’s response has prompted concerns and outrage internationally amid reports from humanitarian bodies and the United Nations of civilian injuries, particularly to women and children. At the same time, the Israeli military has long pointed to what it says is Hamas intentionally using women and children as shields.

Pushback against the Israeli military’s response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack has seen pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protesters set up encampments at U.S. colleges and universities, such as Columbia, UCLA, Harvard, and MIT, causing disruptions to education and occasionally resulting in harassment, intimidation, and violence.

Violence has erupted at some of these encampments, some of which were declared unlawful, with law enforcement called in to move them off campus after negotiations reached an impasse.

Addressing the protests, the White House says that since the Oct. 7 attack, there’s been an “alarming rise” of anti-Semitic incidents around the country, in particular, “instances of violence and hate during some protests at college campuses across the Nation.”

Education Secretary Warns Colleges of Anti-Discrimination Rules

On May 3, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued a letter to over 5,000 leaders at colleges, universities, and schools receiving federal funding. He urged action to combat hate, ensure safe learning environments, and reminded them of the federal anti-discrimination laws under Title VI.

The letter highlighted disturbing reports of Jewish students facing physical assaults, harassment, and verbal abuse, as well as finding the Nazi’s black appropriated swastikas painted on their dorm room doors. Mr. Cardona reminded the institutions that federal law protects against anti-Semitic discrimination that violates Title VI.

“These and other such incidents are abhorrent, period. They have no place on our college campuses,” Mr. Cardona wrote. “Antisemitism is discrimination and is prohibited by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And we stand against antisemitism. We also stand against other forms of hate.”

Title VI regulations provide all students with a school environment free from discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.

“The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) stands ready to support schools in fulfilling this promise and to ensure every student’s right to learn without discrimination,” Mr. Cardon wrote.