The President of the United States, Joe Biden, yesterday (Monday) strongly condemned the growing anti-Semitism in the country and in the world, during a ceremony in honor of Hanukkah at the White House.
"Silence is cooperation," Biden said.
"I will not be silent. America will not be silent," he added.
Biden emphasized that the manifestations of hatred, anti-Semitism and violence have no place in the United States.
The president hosted the event with his wife, the first lady, Jill Biden.
The ceremony included a blessing and the lighting of a menorah.
The Bidens added a menorah to the White House collection this year.
The menorah, created by the White House Carpentry Workshop, is the first piece of Jewish art to be included in the archives, according to a White House official.
Preparing the White House kitchen for Hanukkah during the days of President Bush (Photo: GettyImages)
Last week, Biden launched a new intergovernmental group tasked with formulating a national strategy to combat anti-Semitism.
The group, which will be led by the White House's domestic policy and national security committees, will consult with community leaders, government officials, lawmakers and activists as it formulates the national strategy to deal with anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, the Associated Press reported.
Biden pledged to heal the "soul of the nation" after witnessing a march by hate groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, during which marchers carried torches and swastikas.
The parade was one of the reasons that led then-Senator Biden to run for president in 2020.
On Sunday - Hanukkah Eve - Vice President Kamala Harris and her Jewish husband Doug Emanhoff lit a menorah borrowed from the Jewish Museum in New York.
The menorah was created in the 19th century in Eastern Europe and has an engraving in Hebrew according to which it was dedicated to an aid society that provided help to members of the Jewish community in Eastern Europe and Jewish immigrants to the United States.
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