总统乔·拜登谴责他所谓的“凶猛的激增”反犹太主义哈马斯在10月7日袭击美国时犯下的暴行以色列周二在美国国会大厦的演讲中。
他的主旨演讲是美国大屠杀纪念馆纪念纪念日仪式的一部分，纪念在大屠杀中遇难的600万犹太人以及其他纳粹迫害受害者。
“对我来说，永不再简单地翻译意味着永不忘记，”拜登在一群大屠杀幸存者、美国犹太人和议员聚集在解放大厅前说。
拜登说:“在这里，我们不是75年后，而是仅仅7个半月之后，人们已经忘记了。“他们已经忘记是哈马斯发动了这场恐怖行动。是哈马斯残酷对待以色列人。是哈马斯劫持并继续扣押人质。我没有忘记，你也没有忘记。我们不会忘记。”
这番高调的言论出现在一个令人担忧的政治时刻以色列入侵拉法织机反对加沙战争的大学抗议活动正在美国各地展开
拜登一直面临共和党和民主党的批评，因为他试图在坚定不移地支持以色列安全与同情加沙遇难和受苦的巴勒斯坦人之间取得平衡。
但他周二传达的信息主要集中在他对以色列的坚定支持以及对10月7日发生的针对犹太人的暴行的谴责，以及此后几个月对该社区的骚扰——包括大学校园事件、社交媒体上的宣传等。
“对犹太社区，我想让你们知道，我看到了你们的恐惧、伤害和痛苦。让我作为你们的总统向你们保证，你们并不孤单，”拜登说。“我对犹太人民的安全、以色列的安全及其作为一个独立的犹太国家存在的权利的承诺是坚定不移的，即使我们存在分歧。”
据以色列外交部称，哈马斯或其他巴勒斯坦武装分子已造成至少1700名以色列人死亡，8700人受伤。根据哈马斯控制的加沙卫生部的数据，自10月7日以来，以色列的军事行动已造成加沙34，000多人死亡，78，000多人受伤。
拜登在讲话中没有直接评论加沙或巴勒斯坦人面临的人道主义危机。在校园抗议活动中，拜登再次强调了言论自由的权利，但公开反对犹太学生“在步行去上课时被阻止、骚扰或袭击”的情况。
“我知道人们对世界有着坚定的信念和深刻的信念，”他说。“在美国，我们尊重和保护言论自由、辩论和表达不同意见、和平抗议和发出自己声音的基本权利。”
拜登继续说:“但美国的任何校园【或】美国的任何地方都没有反犹太主义或仇恨言论或任何形式的暴力威胁的一席之地，无论是针对犹太人还是其他任何人。
众议院议长·迈克·约翰逊和众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯也在周二的纪念仪式上发表了讲话。
拜登因校园骚乱受到共和党人的严厉批评，许多保守派议员批评他的回应不够充分。总体而言，共和党议员抓住了抗议活动的机会，进一步阐述了他们对拜登政府执政期间“混乱”的看法，并表明了他们对以色列的大力支持。
约翰逊利用他的言论继续批评校园骚乱，甚至将校园骚乱与第二次世界大战期间德国高等院校的反犹太主义活动相提并论。
“我们记得当时发生的事情，今天我们目睹美国大学迅速成为犹太学生和教师的敌对场所，”他说。“曾经为国际学院所羡慕的校园已经被一种反犹太病毒所征服。“
约翰逊说:“现在是明确道德的时候了，我们必须结束这种疯狂行为。
杰弗里斯说，反犹太主义和其他形式的仇恨言论不是“民主党问题或共和党问题”，而是“美国问题”。
杰弗里斯说:“我们必须将反犹太主义与种族主义、性别歧视、伊斯兰恐惧症、仇外心理、同性恋恐惧症以及所有其他形式的仇恨一起粉碎。”
白宫周二还宣布了旨在打击反犹太主义抬头的新行动，包括在大学校园内。
其中包括指示教育部向学区和大学发布新的指南，提供引发第六条调查的反犹太主义和其他形式仇恨的例子;国土安全部和合作伙伴创建了一个网站，其中包括校园安全资源;并与科技公司合作处理网上反犹太主义内容。
拜登在讲话中说:“我们已经看到美国和世界各地的反犹太主义浪潮汹涌而来。”他补充说，“这是绝对卑鄙的，必须停止。”
Biden condemns 'ferocious surge' in antisemitism during Holocaust remembrance ceremony
PresidentJoe Bidendenounced what he called a "ferocious surge" ofantisemitismin America and the atrocities committed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack onIsraelin a speech at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
His keynote remarks were part of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum ceremony marking the Days of Remembrance to honor the memory of the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust as well as other victims of Nazi persecution.
"Never again simply translated for me means never forget," Biden said before a crowd of Holocaust survivors, Jewish Americans and lawmakers gathered in Emancipation Hall.
"Here we are not 75 years later but just seven and a half months later, and people are already forgetting," Biden said. "They're already forgetting that Hamas unleashed this terror. It was Hamas who brutalized Israelis. It was Hamas who took and continues to hold hostages. I have not forgotten, nor have you. And we will not forget."
The high-profile remarks came at a fraught political moment, as a possibleIsraeli invasion of Rafah loomsand college protests against the war in Gaza are unfolding across the U.S.
Biden has faced criticism from Republicans and Democrats as he's tried to balance unwavering support for Israel's security with sympathy for the Palestinians killed and suffering in Gaza.
But his message Tuesday largely focused on his staunch support for Israel and condemnation of the atrocities against Jews witnessed on Oct. 7 as well as the harassment of the community in the months since -- including incidents on college campuses, propaganda on social media and more.
"To the Jewish community I want you to know I see your fear, your hurt, your pain. Let me reassure you as your president, you're not alone," Biden said. "My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad even when we disagree."
At least 1,700 Israelis have been killed and 8,700 others injured by Hamas or other Palestinian militants, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since Oct. 7, Israeli military operations have killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza and injured more than 78,000 others, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
Biden did not directly comment on Gaza or the humanitarian crisis unfolding for Palestinians in his speech. On campus protests, Biden again emphasized the right to free speech but spoke out against instances were Jewish students have been "blocked, harassed or attacked while walking to class."
"I understand people have strong belief and deep convictions about the world," he said. "In America, we respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech, to debate and disagree, to protest peacefully and make our voices heard."
"But there is no place on any campus in America [or] any place in America for antisemitism or hate speech or threats of violence of any kind whether against Jews or anyone else," Biden continued.
Tuesday's remembrance ceremony also featured remarks by House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Biden's faced heavy criticism from Republicans over the campus unrest, with many conservative lawmakers blasting his response as insufficient. Overall, GOP lawmakers have seized on the protests to further their narrative of "chaos" under the Biden administration and to show their strong support for Israel.
Johnson used his remarks to continue criticism of the campus unrest, going so far as to compare them to antisemitic activity at German institutions of higher learning during World War II.
"We remember what happened then and now today we are witnessing American universities quickly becoming hostile places for Jewish students and faculty," he said. "The very campuses which were once the envy of the international academy have succumbed to an antisemitic virus."
"Now is a time for moral clarity and we must put an end to this madness," Johnson said.
Jeffries said antisemitism and other forms of hate speech was not a "Democratic issue or Republican issue" but "an American issue."
"We must crush antisemitism along with racism, sexism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia and all other forms of hatred together," Jeffries said.
The White House on Tuesday also announced new actions intended to combat the rise in antisemitism, including on college campuses.
They include directing the Department of Education to issue new guidance to school districts and universities providing examples of antisemitism and other forms of hate that trigger Title VI investigations; the creation of a website by the Department of Homeland Security and partners that includes campus safety resources; and working with technology firms to address antisemitic content online.
"We've seen a ferocious surge of antisemitism in America and around the world," Biden said in his speech, adding it is "absolutely despicable and it must stop."
