Joe Biden must deliver a solemn condemnation of anti-Semitism on Tuesday at the Capitol, at a time when the White House is denouncing incidents that occurred during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at American universities.
His address to Congress comes as part of the annual Days of Remembrance ceremony, organized by the United States Holocaust Museum on Capitol Hill. The Democrat will “recommit to keeping in mind the lessons of this dark chapter” of History, according to the White House.
“This year’s ceremony is particularly serious, since it is being held seven months after the attack by the terrorist group Hamas on Israel on October 7, with the heaviest toll in Jewish lives since the Holocaust. Since then, anti-Semitic incidents have seen a worrying increase across the country and around the world – most recently in the form of violence and hatred during some university protests,” the US executive said in another statement, which details initiatives targeting campuses in particular.
A notable silence
Among them, a new circular from the Ministry of Education specifies what constitutes anti-Semitic discrimination. An informative document since education is not a federal jurisdiction in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security will implement new online resources for universities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for its part, will bring together the big names in tech to better identify and combat anti-Semitic speech on the internet.
The US president’s speech comes days after his first remarks on student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. He had previously remained silent for several days, which had sparked criticism from both the Republican and Democratic camps in the middle of an election year.
Anti-Semitism on the rise
Jewish students have been alarmed by an increase in anti-Semitic acts and rhetoric since October 7, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog denounced last week “reputable universities” which he said were “contaminated by hatred.”
Joe Biden “will reaffirm that we respect and protect the fundamental right of freedom of expression, but that anti-Semitism must not be tolerated neither on campuses nor elsewhere,” declared his spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre . Many Jewish students took part in the pro-Palestinian mobilization against the actions of the Israeli government.
The US president raised the issue of anti-Semitism in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
“Order must prevail”
American campuses have been shaken for several weeks by demonstrations opposing the war waged by Israel in Gaza. Columbia University in New York, the epicenter of this pro-Palestinian student movement, announced on Monday that it was “giving up” its graduation ceremony with great fanfare.
The prestigious establishment will favor more modest events for security reasons according to him, after three weeks of anger condemned by Joe Biden and repressed by the police.
Six months before the presidential election, in a polarized United States, the Democratic president spoke last week to affirm that “order must prevail” on campuses, while affirming that there was no question of “to silence people”.
His Republican opponent Donald Trump accused him of inaction in the face of the pro-Palestinian movement: “They are radical left-wing weirdos and they must be stopped now.”
