US President Joe Biden posted to his Twitter account on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which began in Israel on Monday evening.
“On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we grieve the 6 million Jews and millions of other innocent lives lost during one of the darkest chapters in history,” he wrote.
“We can’t redeem the past. But we can commit to building a future where we uphold the values of justice, equality, and diversity,” added Biden.
Last week, Biden signed a proclamation declaring that April 16 through April 23 would be a week of observance of the Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust.
“During Yom HaShoah and throughout these days of remembrance, we mourn the six million Jews who were murdered during the horror of the Holocaust &mdash as well as the millions of Roma and Sinti, Slavs, disabled persons, LGBTQI+ individuals, and political dissidents who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators. Together with courageous survivors, descendants of victims, and people around the world, we renew our solemn vow: Never again,”” Biden said in the proclamation.
“Last year, I returned to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, to pay tribute to the lives that were stolen during this dark chapter of our history and to honor their memory. I will never forget meeting with two survivors on that sacred ground and hearing their stories. The horrors of the Holocaust are painful to recount &mdash the savage murder of innocent families and the systemic dehumanization of entire populations. We remember the cries for help that went unanswered and the bright futures cut short. We must never look away from the truth of what happened. The rite of remembrance becomes more urgent with each passing year, as fewer survivors remain to share their stories and open our eyes to the harms of unchecked hatred.”
“Unfortunately, hatred never truly goes away. It only hides &mdash lurking until it is given the oxygen to emerge again. We have seen this hard truth across our country, from swastikas on cars and antisemitic banners on bridges to attacks against Jewish people at schools and synagogues and outright Holocaust denialism. The venom and violence of antisemitism goes against all the values we stand for as Americans. And it is a stark reminder &mdash as my dear friend Elie Wiesel once said &mdash that “Indifference is always the friend of the enemy. And as my father taught me, “silence is complicity,”” stated Biden.
“Hate must have no safe harbor in America or anywhere else. Today and always, we make our message clear: Evil will not win. Hate will not prevail. And the violence of antisemitism will not be the story of our time. Together, we can ensure that “never again” is a promise we keep,” concluded Biden.
Israel marked the start of Holocaust Remembrance Day with a special ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog spoke at the ceremony.
This year, Israel’s commemorations will highlight the Jewish resistance in the Holocaust and mark the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
