In one of the most important speeches of his presidency, Joe Biden hit a home run.
His forceful and sweeping remarks at an event marking Holocaust Remembrance Day captured the horrors of Nazi Germany, the Hamas terror attack and the echoes of both that are ringing loudly on American college campuses.
“This ancient hatred of Jews didn’t begin with the Holocaust — it didn’t end with the Holocaust, either, or even after our victory in World War II,” Biden said at the Capitol.
“This hatred continues to lie deep in the hearts of too many people in the world and requires our continued vigilance and outspokenness.”
In one of several references to the slaughter on Oct. 7, he said, “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.”
He denounced the “ferocious surge” of antisemitism in the US, saying too many people are “denying, downplaying, rationalizing and ignoring the horrors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 — including Hamas’ appalling use of sexual violence to torture and terrorize. It’s absolutely despicable — and it must stop.”
Bravo!
The speech was well written and well delivered as Biden largely avoided his usual stumbles and mumbles.
It’s also remarkable that he has such strong feelings about the rancid antisemitism unfolding in America, given how quiet he has been despite a clamor for him to denounce it.
Yet a speech, even an excellent one, is just a speech unless it is backed up with actions and policy.
And therein lies the disconnect between what Biden says and what he’s actually doing, and not doing.
Many of his actions over the last six months actually undercut the sentiments he expressed Tuesday.
And the conflicting pattern continues as he foolishly appears determined to stop Israel from eliminating the remnants of Hamas with its assault on Rafah.
This is a crucial time in Israel’s history.
Iran, by activating Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, is generating the most serious threat to Israel’s existence in decades.
Yet instead of the world rallying to help crush the threat, the wolves in Europe and America smell blood and see a chance to neuter if not destroy the Jewish state.
While Biden’s heart may be with Israel, he has too often sought a balance of interests, as if good and evil are equally deserving.
And so with one hand, he offers Israel military support, and with the other he condemns its methods in Gaza and denounces its democratically elected government, the only one in the region.
He promises Palestinians a state, over Israeli objections and without any plan for security, guaranteeing the current war will not be the last.
Similarly, the antisemitism he decries has been roiling college campuses for months, yet he waited until the Holocaust event to wholeheartedly denounce it.
And his Department of Justice, which has been a bulldog at his beck and call when it comes to prosecuting his political opponents, is AWOL in the face of a clear conspiracy to harass Jews and foment hatred across the country.
In defiance of a necessary strategy, he stubbornly refuses to tighten the screws on Iran, giving the mullahs more money and more freedom to torment Israel and our other regional allies.
