On Second Anniversary of Tree of Life Shooting, Biden Vows to Confront Antisemitism
Former US Vice President Joe Biden accepts the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, during a speech delivered for the largely-virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, Aug. 20, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Kevin Lamarque.
i24 News – On the second anniversary of the deadly shooting attack in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden vowed to confront antisemitism.
In an opinion article published Tuesday by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Biden said, “Antisemitism is a cancer that has fueled a dangerous rise in hate crimes over the past four years.”
“If I have the honor of being elected, you have my word: we will forcefully denounce this evil, no matter the source,” he pledged, promising more funds for security for places of worship and programs against homegrown extremism.
He said the antisemitism at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in August 2017, as well as US President Donald Trump’s statement that there were “very fine people on both sides” was what brought him into the US presidential race.
The phrase, spoken by Trump at a press conference following a deadly car-ramming attack on Charlottesville counterprotesters, is frequently cited in the US media without the president’s clarification that “neo-Nazis and the white nationalists” were nowhere near being very fine and “should be condemned totally.”
“I will work with our ally Israel to ensure it can always defend itself and to pursue the lasting security of a two-state solution,” Biden vowed.
A recent poll found that Biden enjoyed a solid lead against Trump in terms of Jewish support, with some 75% of American Jewry backing him.
Another poll suggested that there may be a deep divide in the US Jewish community, as Orthodox Jews overwhelmingly picked the incumbent leader.