President Biden will deliver the keynote address on Tuesday at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance, where he will draw on the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel to amplify concerns about anti-Semitism in the United States and abroad.
Biden’s speech from the Capitol comes during weeks of protests on American college campuses against Israel’s war in Gaza, with students demanding that the Biden administration stop sending weapons to Israel. In some cases, demonstrations have included anti-Semitic rhetoric and harassment against Jewish students.
“The president can be expected to make clear that during these holy days of remembrance, we honor the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and recommit to heeding the lessons of this dark chapter. Never again,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
“He will talk about the horrors of October 7, when Hamas unleashed the deadliest day on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and he will talk about how, since October 7, we have seen an alarming rise in anti-Semitism in the United States. in our cities, our communities and on our campuses.”
The speech comes at a critical time for Biden, who has struggled to balance his support for Israel’s war against Hamas with outrage over the toll it has taken on civilians in Gaza. Jewish groups have been pressing the administration to take stronger steps to combat anti-Semitism.
On Tuesday, the administration will release new guidance from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to all schools and universities nationwide, outlining examples of anti-Semitic discrimination, as well as other forms of hate, that could lead to investigations for rights violations. Civilians. Act. Landmark legislation prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin, and the department has interpreted it as extending to Jewish students.
Since the Oct. 7 attack, the department has opened more than 100 investigations into complaints of anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination under Title VI.
For months, Biden has faced fierce criticism for his support for Israel, even within his own party; some protesters have branded him “Genocide Joe.”
Jean-Pierre said that during his Tuesday speech, Biden would also reaffirm the administration’s commitment to “respect and protect the fundamental right to freedom of expression,” but stressed that “there is no place on any campus, or anywhere, for anti-Semitism.”
The protests have led to police raids and arrests on several campuses and have continued into the start of graduation season.
Biden has walked a tightrope in responding to protests at universities, denouncing violence and harassing behavior while also trying to acknowledge anger over conditions in Gaza. Health officials say the death toll has surpassed 34,000 Palestinians and humanitarian agencies have warned that the besieged enclave is on the brink of famine.
“There is a right to protest, but there is no right to cause chaos,” Biden said last week in his first in-depth comments on campus protests. “People have the right to receive an education, the right to earn a degree, the right to cross campus safely without fear of being attacked.” Anti-Semitism, she added, “has no place” in the United States.
Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden understood it was an “incredibly painful moment” and that he respected Americans’ right to protest, but reiterated his position that vandalism, trespassing and forced cancellation of graduations did not apply.
“The president understands how important this moment is,” Jean-Pierre said.