Speak out, act to fight antisemitism —Biden

By : Umar Abdulrahmon 

The President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, on Wednesday urged citizens to speak out and act in order to fight antisemitism. Biden said this in his passover speech titled, ‘My message to the Jewish community this Passover’, as seen on the White House website.

He decried the rising attacks against Jews fuelled by antisemitism in the US, saying “failure to call out hate is complicity…And we will not be silent.”

He said, “Tonight, Jews around the world will gather around the seder table to celebrate Passover. They will recount the miraculous story of the Jewish people’s exodus from slavery in Egypt to freedom. It is a timeless, powerful story of faith, hope and redemption that has inspired oppressed people everywhere for generations.

“But Passover is more than just a recounting of the past. It is also a cautionary tale of the present and our future as a democracy. As Jews read from the Haggadah about how evil in every generation has tried to destroy them, antisemitism is rising to record levels today.

“According to the FBI, more than half of religious hate crimes in America in 2021 targeted Jews and were motivated by antisemitism. The Anti-Defamation League similarly found that in 2022 antisemitic incidents in America reached their highest levels on record since it started tracking incidents more than 40 years ago.

“We see this evil across society. Terrorist attacks on synagogues. Bricks thrown through windows of Jewish businesses. Antisemitic flyers left on the front lawns of Jewish homes. Swastikas on cars and cemeteries.

“Antisemitic graffiti and acts in elementary, middle and high schools. Jewish students harassed on college campuses. Failure to call out hate is complicity…And we will not be silent.”

Biden said acts of antisemitism hidden in everday life of citizens show the worst parts of human history. He therefore assured that his administration is committed to the safety of the Jews.

“These acts are unconscionable and despicable. They carry in them terrifying echoes of the worst chapters in human history. And they’re not only a strike against Jews, they’re also a threat to other minority communities and a stain on the soul of our nation.

“To the Jewish community, I want you to know that I see your fear, your hurt and your concern that this venom is being normalized. I decided to run for President after I saw it in Charlottesville, when neo-Nazis marched from the shadows spewing the same antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the 1930s.

“A closer look at what’s behind the rise of anti-Semitism in America, through the eyes of a survivor of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and the victim of desecration at a Jewish cemetery.

“Rest assured that I am committed to the safety of the Jewish people. I stand with you. America stands with you. Under my presidency, we continue to condemn antisemitism at every turn. Failure to call out hate is complicity. Silence is complicity. And we will not be silent.

“As the Passover holiday teaches, our work starts with the sacred duty to remember. Last year, I visited Israel once again to reaffirm America’s unshakeable commitment to its security. I returned to Yad Vashem to honor the 6 million murdered Jews, to keep alive the truth and horror of the Holocaust and to remind us all of our shared responsibility to make real the promise of ‘Never Again’.”