Photo: Anna Moneymaker Getty Images via Agence France-Presse US President Joe Biden during the annual Days of Remembrance ceremony, hosted by the US Holocaust Museum, at the Capitol, May 7, 2024
Danny Kemp – Agence France-Presse in Washington
Posted at 2:21 p.m.
- United States
Joe Biden pledged Tuesday to combat the “fearsome” progression of anti-Semitism, which he said has “no place” in the United States and in particular in universities, the scene of pro-Palestinian mobilizations.
“People are already forgetting that it was Hamas which unleashed this terror,” said the American president, from the Capitol in Washington, in reference to the unprecedented attack on October 7 by the Palestinian movement, following which Israel launched a vast military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“I have not forgotten,” said Joe Biden, who spoke at the annual Days ceremony of remembrance, organized by the American Holocaust Museum at the Capitol, recalling that this attack had been the deadliest for Jews since the end of the Nazi extermination enterprise.
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“We have seen a fearsome increase in anti-Semitism in America and around the world,” the 81-year-old Democrat, running for a second term, continued, reiterating his “ironclad” support for Israel.
“At university, Jewish students were blocked, harassed, attacked or saw posters in their classes, or heard anti-Semitic slogans calling for the elimination Israel,” Joe Biden said again.
“We have an obligation to learn the lessons of history so as not to subject our future to the horrors of the past,” declared the American president, whose response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus has been criticized, from both the right and the left.
The White House has announced initiatives targeting campuses in particular.
Among them, a new circular from the Ministry of Education specifies what constitutes anti-Semitic discrimination.
The Department of Homeland Security will implement new online resources for universities.
Photo: Saul Loeb Agence France-Presse At left, President Joe Biden, followed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, among the Days of Remembrance crowd at the Capitol, May 7, 2024
“Contaminated”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will, for its part, bring together the big names in technology to better identify and combat anti-Semitic speech on the Internet.
The American president's speech comes a few days after his initial remarks on the student protests against Israel's war in Gaza, which had lasted for several weeks.
He had remained silent for a long time, which had drawn criticism both Republican and Democratic camps in the middle of an election year.
Jewish students are alarmed by an increase in anti-Semitic acts and rhetoric since October 7, and the president Israeli Isaac Herzog denounced last week “reputable universities” which according to him are “contaminated by hatred”.
Many Jewish students took part in the pro-Palestinian mobilization against the actions of the Israeli government.
Across the country, police were repeatedly called to dismantle encampments and dislodge the demonstrators manu militari.
Columbia University in New York, the epicenter of this pro-Palestinian student movement, announced on Monday that it was “giving up” its ceremony with great fanfare. graduation.
His Republican opponent Donald Trump had accused Joe Biden of inaction in the face of the pro-Palestinian movement: “They are radical left freaks and they must be stopped now.”
The 81-year-old Democrat also attracts criticism from progressive elected officials in his party, who accuse him of ignoring students' demands, and turning a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinian civilians.
“I understand that people have strong convictions,” he said on Tuesday, without explicitly mentioning the very heavy toll of the war in Gaza, which left 34,789 dead in the Gaza Strip, mainly civilians. according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
“In America we respect fundamental freedom of expression,” assured the American president, indicating however that the demonstrators must respect the law “. Last week, he said that order should prevail on campus.