In his speech, Biden describes the rise in anti-Semitism in the USA

Abe Foxman and all the survivors who embody absolute courage, dignity and grace are also here. During these holy days of remembrance we mourn. We give a voice to the six million Jews who were systematically attacked and murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. We honor the memory of the victims, the pain of the survivors, the courage of the heroes who stood up to Hitler's unspeakable evil. And we recommit ourselves to addressing and heeding the lessons of one of the darkest chapters in human history to revive and recognize responsibility for never again.

Never again, for me simply translated, means never forget. Never forget. Never forgetting means that we must continue to tell the story, we must continue to teach the truth, we must continue to teach our children and grandchildren. The truth is that we are in danger of people not knowing the truth. That's why my father taught me and my siblings about the horrors of the Shoah as children at the family dinner table. That's why I visited Yad Vashem with my family as a senator, as vice president, as president. And that's why I took my grandchildren to Dachau, so that they could see and witness the dangers of indifference, of complicity in silence in the face of the evil that they knew was happening.

Germany 1933, the rise of Hitler and his Nazi Party to power through the revival of one of the oldest forms of prejudice and hatred: anti-Semitism. His role did not begin with mass murder; It started slowly throughout economic, political, social and cultural life. Propaganda that demonizes Jews. Boycotts of Jewish businesses. Synagogues defaced with swastikas. Harassment against Jews on the streets and in schools, anti-Semitic demonstrations, pogroms, organized riots. Faced with the world's indifference, Hitler knew he could extend his reign of terror by exterminating the Jews from Germany and destroying Jews across Europe through genocide, which the Nazis called the final solution. Concentration camps, gas chambers, mass shootings. By the end of the war, six million Jews – one in three Jews in the world – were murdered.

This ancient hatred of Jews did not begin with the Holocaust. Nor did it end with the Holocaust. Or after – even after our victory in World War II. This hatred continues to run deep in the hearts of too many people around the world and requires our continued vigilance and openness. This hatred came to life on October 7, 2023. On this holy Jewish holiday, the terrorist group Hamas unleashed the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Driven by the age-old desire to wipe the Jewish people from the face of the earth, over 1,200 innocent people, babies, parents, grandparents, were slaughtered in a kibbutz, massacred at a music festival, brutally raped, mutilated and sexually abused.

Thousands more bear wounds, bullets and shrapnel as a reminder of the terrible day they experienced. Hundreds were taken hostage, including survivors of the Shoah. Now here we are, not 75 years later, but just seven and a half months later, and people are already forgetting. You already forget it. That Hamas unleashed this terror. It was Hamas that brutalized the Israelis. It was Hamas that took and continues to hold hostages. I haven't forgotten it, and neither have you. And we won't forget it.

While Jews around the world continue to grapple with the atrocity and trauma of that day and its aftermath, we have seen a sharp rise in anti-Semitism in America and around the world. Malicious propaganda on social media. Jews are forced to hide their yarmulkes under baseball caps and tuck their Jewish stars into their shirts. On university campuses, Jewish students were blocked, harassed and attacked on their way to class. Anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic posters, slogans, calls for the destruction of Israel, the only Jewish state in the world.

Too many people deny, trivialize, rationalize and ignore the horrors of the Holocaust and October 7th, including Hamas' horrific use of sexual violence to torture and terrorize Jews. This is absolutely despicable and must stop. Silence and denial can hide much but erase nothing. Some injustices are so heinous, so terrible, so painful that they cannot be married or buried, no matter how hard people try.

In my view, an important lesson from the Holocaust, as mentioned above, is that it is not or was not inevitable. We know that hate never goes away; it just hides. With a little oxygen it comes out from under the rocks. We also know what stops hate. One thing: all of us. The late Rabbi Jonathan Sachs described anti-Semitism as a virus that has survived and mutated over time. Together we cannot allow this to continue. We must remember our founding principle as a nation.

We have an obligation to learn the lessons of history so that we do not abandon our future to the horrors of the past. We cannot allow hate a safe haven against anyone. Anyone. From the founding, Jewish Americans represented only about 2 percent of the U.S. population and helped advance the cause of freedom for all in our country. From this experience we know that scapegoating and demonizing a minority is a threat to every minority and the foundation of our democracy.

In moments like these, we need to put these principles we talk about into action. I understand that people have strong convictions and deep convictions about the world. In America, we respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech. To debate, disagree, protest peacefully and make our voices heard. I get it, this is America. But there is no place on any campus in America – anywhere in America – for anti-Semitism, hate speech or threats of violence of any kind. Whether against Jews or anyone else. Violent attacks and destruction of property are not peaceful protests. It's against the law. And we are not a lawless country. We are a civil society. We uphold the rule of law and no one should have to hide or be brave just to be themselves.

The Jewish community, I want you to know: I see your fear, your pain, your pain. Let me assure you that as your President, you are not alone. You belong. You always have and you always will. And my commitment to the security of the Jewish people, the security of Israel and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad, even when we disagree.

My government is working around the clock to free the remaining hostages. Just so we've already freed the hostages. And we won't rest until we get them all home. My government, under the leadership of our second gentleman, has launched our country's first national strategy to combat anti-Semitism, mobilizing the full force of the federal government to protect the Jewish community, but we know that this is not just the task of government or the Jews alone.

That's why I call on all Americans to stand together against anti-Semitism and hate in all its forms. My dear friend, he became a friend, said the late Elie Wiesel, quote: “A person of integrity can make a difference.” We need to remember that now more than ever. Here in the U.S. Capitol's Emancipation Hall, a bronze bust of Raoul Wallenberg sits among the towering statues of history. A Lutheran, he was born in Sweden and was a businessman and diplomat. While stationed in Hungary during World War II, he used diplomatic cover to hide and rescue approximately 100,000 Jews over a six-month period.

Among them was a 16-year-old Jewish boy who had escaped from a Nazi labor camp. After the war ended, this boy received a scholarship from the Hillel Foundation to study in America. He arrived in New York City penniless but determined to turn his pain into meaning with his wife, also a Holocaust survivor. He became a renowned economist and foreign policy thinker, eventually arriving in this Capitol on the staff of a first-term senator.

That Jewish refugee was Tom Lantos and that senator was me. Tom and his wife Annette and their family became dear friends to me and my family. Tom later became the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, where he became a leading voice for civil and human rights around the world. Tom never met Raoul, who was captured by the Soviets and never heard from again. But through Tom's efforts, Raoul's bust is here in the Capitol. He was also the second person after Winston Churchill to be awarded honorary US citizenship.

The Holocaust Museum here in Washington is on a street – in the name of Raoul. The story of one person's power to put aside our differences, recognize our common humanity, stand up to hate, and their age-old story of resilience in the face of immense pain and persecution to find hope, meaning and purpose in life that we try to live and share with each other. This story remains.

Let me close with this. I know that these days of remembrance come at difficult times. We would all do well to remember that these days also fall during the month in which we celebrate Jewish American heritage. A legacy that extends from our beginnings and enriches every single part of American life today. The great American – the great Jewish American – Tom Lantos used the expression “The façade of civilization is paper thin.” We are his guardians and can never rest.

My fellow Americans, we must, we must be those watchdogs. We must never rest. We must stand up against hatred, meet across the divide and recognize our shared humanity. And God bless the victims and survivors of the Shoah. May the resilient hearts, courageous spirit and eternal flame of faith of the Jewish people shine their light across America and the entire world. Praise God. Thank you all.