Biden compares Hamas to Nazis and condemns the 'ferocious surge of ... trends now
President Joe Biden compared the actions of Hamas to those of the Nazis and condemned the 'ferocious surge of antisemitism' rising up around America.
'I have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget,' the president said during remarks at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.
'As Jews around the world still cope with the atrocities and trauma of that day and its aftermath, we've seen a ferocious surge of antisemitism in America and around the world,' he noted.
'I have not forgotten nor have you. And we will not forget,' Biden told Jewish leaders
Biden's speech on Capitol Hill on Tuesday came as he tries to balance his support for Israel's war with concern for the citizens of Gaza and amid tension in his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu.
He spoke at a critical time: Israel has sent tanks into Rafah and taken control of the Gaza side of a crossing to Egypt that is a major conduit for humanitarian aid. And, in the U.S., college campuses have been rocked by pro-Palestinian protests with some schools canceling commencement addresses as the demonstrates grow anti-semitic.
The president, in a forceful speech greeted with several rounds of applause, vowed to support Israel's right to exist 'even when we disagree.'
He began his remarks by tracing the rise of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany in 1933, noting the dictator rose to 'power by rekindling one of the world's oldest forms of prejudice and hate- antisemitism' through propoganda and ecnoomic hardship.
'We recommit to heading the lessons of one of the darkest chapters in human history, revitalize and realize the responsibility of never again,' he noted.
And, he pointed out, 'the truth is, we're at risk of people not knowing the truth.'
'Now, here we are not 75. years later, but just seven and a half months later,' he added in reference to the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas - the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust
'People are already forgetting - already forgetting - that Hamas unleashed this terror,' he said and vowed: 'I have not forgotten nor have you. And we will not forget.'
He wore a dark suit and tie during his keynote address at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's annual National Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance. The audience was filled with members of Congress, Jewish leaders and survivors of the Holocaust.
President Joe Biden, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hold images of Holocaust victims during the annual Days of Remembrance ceremony for Holocaust survivors at the US Capitol
Smoke rises from shopping center following Israeli airstrike on east of Rafah, Gaza
The president has struggled to balance his support for Israel with his efforts to protect the civilian population of Palestine.
About a million refugees have crowded into Rafah. Biden on Monday warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a full-scale assault on the area but Israeli forces moved forward anyway.
Progressives have urged the president to do more to help the Palestinian refugees.
And young voters, a key constituency for Biden, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the war.
As the issue grows more contested, some protests on campuses have started to feature antisemitic chants and threats toward Jewish students.
Biden defended Americans' right to free speech but said violence had no place in the country.
'There's no place on any campus in America - any place in America - for antisemitism or threats of
