(AFP) – US President Joe Biden will speak out against anti-Semitism at a Holocaust memorial ceremony Tuesday, as tensions remain high over nationwide campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Police have broken up several of the protests and Biden, who is seeking reelection in November, drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats for staying silent for days on the issue.
Biden’s speech at the US Capitol also comes as he warns Israel against invading the crowded Gazan city of Rafah, while pushing for a ceasefire with Hamas — which said Monday it had accepted a deal.
The White House said Biden would stress “our moral duty to combat the rising scourge of anti-Semitism” in his keynote address at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual Days of Remembrance ceremony.
“He will speak to the horrors of October 7 when Hamas unleashed the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
“And he will speak to how since October 7, we’ve seen an alarming rise in anti-Semitism in the US — in our cities, our communities and on our campuses.”
Biden would also announce additional measures to curb anti-Semitism on campuses, the White House said.
They include guidance from the US education department on identifying anti-Semitic discrimination and other forms of hate, and convening tech firms to discuss how to tackle anti-Semitic content.
Jewish students have reported an increase in anti-Semitism since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, and Israel’s president said last week that US campuses were “contaminated” by hatred.
Protesters against the war in Gaza deny anti-Semitic incidents and have criticized the lack of attention given to alleged harassment of Muslim and Palestinian students.
– ‘Hate-fueled’ –
Biden “will reaffirm that we respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech,” Jean-Pierre said, while at the same time making clear “there is no place on any campus or anywhere for anti-Semitism.”
Biden also discussed anti-Semitism in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, during which he pushed for Israel not to invade Rafah, according to a readout of the conversation.
The two leaders discussed the “shared commitment” of Israel and the US to remember the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust by Nazi Germany “and to forcefully act against anti-Semitism and all forms of hate-fueled violence,” it said.
Campuses across the United States have been rocked by weeks of protests against Israel’s offensive on Gaza, with police being called in to dismantle encampments, including in prestigious Columbia University.
Columbia, the epicenter of the demonstrations, on Monday canceled its main graduation ceremony.
The Ivy League school in New York, where at least 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested last week, cited security concerns as it canceled the ceremony scheduled for May 15. Students have criticized what they say is a heavy handed response.
After staying mostly silent on the protests, Biden insisted in a televised address last week that “order must prevail” and that there was “no place in America for anti-Semitism.”
Biden’s administration has tried to walk a fine line between free speech and complaints of intimidation.
Republicans have accused him of being soft on what they say is anti-Semitic sentiment among the protesters, while demonstrators have accused their detractors of conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. – Danny KEMP
© 2024 AFP
