U.S. President Joe Biden proclaimed May 5 to May 12 the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust ahead of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust remembrance day, which begins on Sunday night.
“During Yom HaShoah and these days of remembrance, we mourn the six million Jews who were systematically targeted and murdered in the Holocaust, one of the darkest chapters in human history,” Biden stated.
“We also mourn the Roma, Sinti, Slavs, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, racial minorities and political dissidents who were killed or endured abuse by the Nazis and their collaborators, as well as those who risked or lost their lives to protect others,” the U.S. president added.
Biden listed many of the things he has done as a senator and as president to mark Holocaust remembrance and to combat Jew-hatred.
“As Americans, we cannot stay silent as Jews are attacked, harassed and targeted. We must also forcefully push back attempts to ignore, deny, distort or revise the history of Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust or Hamas’s murders and other atrocities committed on Oct. 7—including the appalling and unforgiveable [sic] use of rape and sexual assault to terrorize and torture Jewish women and girls,” he added.
During the remembrance week, “we mourn the lives tragically stolen in the Shoah and on Oct. 7. As we hold the Jewish community close to our hearts, we recommit to remembering so that what happened can never be erased,” Biden stated.
“Some injustices are so heinous, horrific and grievous that they cannot be buried, no matter how hard people try,” he added. “In silence, wounds deepen, but in remembrance comes healing, justice and repair.”
“Toward those aims, we must all forcefully act against antisemitism and all forms of hate-fueled violence,” Biden said. “As we do, we honor the courage, strength, and resilience of the Jewish people, who have inspired the world for generations by turning pain into purpose, healing into hope and darkness into light.”
