Senator Joe Lieberman
Photo: AP
Congress commemorates Shoah, mentions Iran
Annual Shoah memorial service held at Capitol Building. Senator Joe Lieberman, Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor say Israel still threatened by regime filled with hate
WASHINGTON – A day after the memorial service at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum attended by President George W. Bush, the US Congress' annual memorial service was held at the Capitol Building.
The main speaker at the even was Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman, who said, "Today, again, we see people around the world being singled out and murdered on the basis of their religious, sectarian, or ethnic identity, in places as diverse as Darfur and Iraq.
Senior Congress officials, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Harry Reid, lit candles in memory of the victims.
Wednesday's Memorial Service
Yitzhak Benhorin
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"In Iran we hear a president—an Islamist extremist—denying that the Nazi Holocaust happened, and then threatening the annihilation of Israel and death to America."
Israeli Ambassador to the US Sallai Meridor warned that the lesson of the Holocaust had not been learned in full and that the world was not standing up to evil.
When a regime filled with hate denies the Holocaust and openly declared that it plans to wipe Israel off the map, when is threatens the world's security and looks to destroy values and a way of life, is the world doing enough to recognize the extent of the danger and doing all it can to prevent it, Meridor asked during the ceremony.
During his speech at the Congress, the Israeli ambassador suggested that Holocaust Memorial Day become a day of commitment.
We must make sure to fulfill the commitment that "never again" will not be an empty promise, he said. We must promise today that the Jewish people will not be defenseless again and that the State of Israel will forever be safe and strong, he added.
