Biden's remarks on antisemitism confirm his ongoing support for Israel amid strained relations with Netanyahu.
The president spoke out against hatred towards Jews, which has occurred during certain college protests. He also criticized extremists who distort the truth of the Holocaust and promised Jewish Americans that they belong in the country during a time of increased antisemitism. "I see your fear, your hurt, and your pain. Let me reassure you, as your president, you're not alone. You belong. You always have and you always will," Biden said.
The speech drew attention due to the recent turmoil in the Middle East and the controversial political response in the US. While Biden didn't mention politics directly, he didn't shy away from addressing the situation either. His support for Israel amid criticism from his own party was acknowledged, and he emphasized his firm commitment to their safety and existence as an independent Jewish state.
The president didn't deliver any cautionary messages to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, potentially moving towards an offensive against Hamas in Rafah. Despite concerns from Biden's administration about potential human casualties, the president reiterated his unwavering support. "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," he said during a Holocaust Memorial Museum event on Capitol Hill.
Biden also did not acknowledge the suffering of Gazans during the current crisis, but stated that his administration is working relentlessly to end the conflict through a diplomatic initiative in the Middle East.
He spoke firmly against violence during campus protests. While acknowledging the importance of free speech, he condemned instances of antisemitic taunting against Jewish students. "Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law. We're not a lawless society. We uphold the rule of law, and no one should have to hide or be brave just to be themselves," Biden said.
The speech was aimed at resetting the narrative and reaffirming his stance on an important issue. Although it's questionable if such efforts are still effective in the age of social media, Biden's words were a clear expression of his principles six months before the presidential election rematch with his predecessor, Donald Trump.
While Biden was speaking in the ceremonial trappings of the presidency, Trump was in court in Manhattan, listening to a key witness in his hush money trial arising from the 2016 election. The stark contrast between the candidates was undeniable. Biden's speech would not have been noteworthy under normal circumstances, but Israel's response to the October 7 Hamas terror attacks has sparked a global protest movement. Some pro-Palestinian supporters view Israel's bombings of civilian areas where Hamas is present as a crime against humanity similar to genocide.
However, Biden made it clear that there was no excuse for the October 7 terror attacks, effectively dismissing those trying to justify them by reference to previous Israeli repression against the people of Gaza. In doing so, he linked the attacks to the same desire to eliminate Jews and threaten Israel's existence. He condemned "denying, downplaying, rationalizing, and ignoring the horrors of the Holocaust and October 7 - including Hamas' shameful use of sexual violence to torture and terrorize Jews. It's absolutely disgusting - and it needs to stop," Biden stated forcefully.
"Now, here we are - not 75 years later, but just seven and a half months later - and people are already forgetting. They're already forgetting that Hamas unleashed this terror. ... I have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget."
A president's actions are always politically charged, and significant speeches usually cater to several audiences. There's no doubt that Biden's speech received close scrutiny in Israel and could be seen as indicating that Netanyahu might face no consequences if he disregards US warnings regarding a Rafah assault aimed at dismantling Hamas commanders - even if Biden's credibility is in question.
Biden's speech on Tuesday might upset progressives, but it could provide some protection for him on the right. Republicans, spearheaded by Trump, are portraying college protests as a sign of radical left-wing activism that Biden cannot manage, and they're demanding a strong leader to restore order. Centrist voters in swing states could become disenchanted with this perspective.
GOP Speaker Mike Johnson, who has spearheaded House Republicans' portrayal of campus protests as a symbol of the liberal elite's rot in academia, used the Holocaust memorial event to conjure his most extreme analogy yet on Tuesday.
"German universities... were at the heart of the Renaissance and intellectual life. But it was at these same elite centers of learning where Jewish faculty and students were expelled, where anti-Jewish courses were introduced, and where professors performed horrific pseudo-science experiments on Jews brought from nearby concentration camps," Johnson said. "We remember what happened then, and today, we are witnessing American universities quickly becoming hostile places for Jewish students and faculty."
Although Jewish students in the United States endure heinous abuse on campus, there is currently no similarity between Nazi Germany's organized effort to destroy Judaism and the creation of a White superpower. In reality, in recent years, anti-Semitic extremism has been more prevalent among right-wing protesters, such as the one in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 that Trump failed to clearly denounce - an incident that convinced Biden to run for the presidency.
Trump once again reached for Nazi imagery over the weekend to accuse Biden of being behind his numerous legal threats, depicting the president and Democrats as running a "Gestapo" administration.
This was just the latest instance of political figures on the right and left employing misleading historical analogies for political benefit. Some progressives have, for example, compared Trump's authoritarian tendencies to 1930s tyrants, therefore undermining the stark contrast between current events and history's horrors and obscuring a full understanding of the threat posed by the Republican candidate.
Increasing historical knowledge and preventing it from being exploited for political advantage was a significant theme of Biden's speech, which coincidentally took place on VE Day's 79th anniversary, commemorating the Allies' victory over Nazism in World War II.
"Never forgetting means we must keep telling the story. We must keep teaching the truth. We must keep teaching our children and grandchildren. The truth is, we're at risk of people not knowing the truth," said Biden.
This message carried even more weight coming from a 81-year-old president who was born during World War II and lived through the Nazis' shadow rather than learning about it secondhand in classrooms or movies.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
