U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Monday that Washington “welcomes” the Israeli one-year presidency and congratulates the United Kingdom on completing a “highly successful presidency” of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, whose working definition of Jew-hatred is widely used by states and organizations.
“As one of the founders of the IHRA, the United States is deeply committed to maintaining IHRA’s preeminence in the fight against Holocaust distortion and denial and in helping the world to better understand, remember and learn about the Holocaust to advance the sacred cause of ‘Never Again,’” Rubio stated.
“Israel’s strong leadership of this vital international institution comes at a crucial time when antisemitism is rising and the number of Holocaust survivors is sadly but inevitably diminishing,” he added.
The U.S. secretary stated that a visit to Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to Holocaust victims, two weeks prior “was a stark reminder to me that the horror and depravity of the murder of 6 million Jews is still within living memory.”
He added that “Holocaust distortion, a shocking form of antisemitism, has proliferated and the poison of antisemitism continues to spread.”
“We see it in violent attacks on Jews, defacement of Holocaust memorials and dangerous rhetoric in universities and international organizations,” Rubio stated. “The Trump administration is already vigorously fighting antisemitism.”
